Teenage sexuality and rights in Chile: from denial to punishment

Claudia Ahumada, Lidia Casas Becerra

While Chile sees itself as a country that has fully restored human rights since its return todemocratic rule in 1990, the rights of teenagers to comprehensive sexuality education are still notbeing met. This paper reviews the recent history of sexuality education in Chile and relatedlegislation, policies and programmes. It also reports a 2008 review of the bylaws of 189 randomlyselected Chilean schools, which found that although such bylaws are mandatory, the absence ofbylaws to prevent discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, HIV and sexuality was common. Inrelation to how sexual behaviour and discipline were addressed, bylaws that were non-compliantwith the law were very common. Opposition to sexuality education in schools in Chile is predicatedon the denial of teenage sexuality, and many schools punish sexual behaviour where transgression isperceived to have taken place. While the wider Chilean society has been moving towards greaterrecognition of individual autonomy and sexual diversity, this cultural shift has yet to be reflectedin the government’s political agenda, in spite of good intentions. Given this state of affairs, theChilean polity needs to recognise its youth as having human rights, or will continue to fail in itscommitment to them.

Invoking conscientious objection in reproductive health care: evolving issues in Peru, Mexico and Chile

Lidia Casas Becerra

s Latin American countries seek to guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights,opponents of women's rights and reproductive choice have become more strident in their opposition,and are increasingly claiming conscientious objection to providing these services. Conscientiousobjection must be seen in the context of the rights and interests at stake, including women's healthneeds and right to self-determination. An analysis of law and policy on conscientious objection in Peru,Mexico and Chile shows that it is being used to erode women's rights, especially where it is construedto have no limits, as in Peru. Conscientious objection must be distinguished from politically-motivatedattempts to undermine the law; otherwise, the still fragile re-democratisation processes underway inLatin America may be placed at risk. True conscientious objection requires that a balance be struckbetween the rights of the objector and the health rights of patients, in this case women. Health careproviders are entitled to their beliefs and to have those beliefs accommodated, but it is neither viablenor ethically acceptable for conscientious objectors to exercise this right without regard for the right tohealth care of others, or for policy and services to be rendered ineffectual because of individualobjectors.

Tensions and Exclusions: the Knotty Policy Encounter Between Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and HIV

Aziza Ahmed, Luisa Cabal, Susana T. Fried
2019

Criminal Law and the Risk of Harm: A Commentary on the Impact of Criminal Laws on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Sexual Conduct and Key Populations

Luisa Cabal, Verónica Birga, Lucinda O'Hanlon, Christina Zampas
2018

Criminal law is one of the most powerful tools that a State can use to exert control over individuals. It provides a means by which the State may legitimately restrict individual conduct, so as to prevent harm or address harms that have already occurred. In some areas, however, the criminal law itself can be harmful and, for this reason, must be carefully regarded to ensure that it is not employed in ways which are unjust or undermining of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of health and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In the areas of consensual sexual conduct, including adultery, sex work and same-sex relations; drug use; HIV exposure and transmission; abortion and other sexual and reproductive health and rights, human rights bodies as well as international, regional and national courts have expressed concerns about the impact of criminal law on the enjoyment of human rights, including on gender equality and the right to health.

Luisa Cabal: SRHR Voices from AIDS 2018

Luisa Cabal
2018 | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Luisa Cabal, Chief Human Rights and Law at UNAIDS, talks about the relevance and priorities of sexual and reproductive health and rights at AIDS 2018 held in Amsterdam.

Legal Barriers to Access Abortion ServicesThrough a Human Rights Lens: The Uruguayan Experience

Lucía Berro Pizzarossa
2018

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) has increasingly gained importance in the field of international human rights law. The work of the United Nations (UN) bodies, in particular the recently adopted General Comment 22 (GC 22), has been instrumental in signalling the importance of the SRH legal framework and in setting clear guidelines to steer countries into enacting/modifying/repealing national laws in order to comply with their international obligations vis-à-vis SRH. Although within the region Uruguay is regarded as a pioneer in terms of women’s status and rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, evidence points to a number of challenges. This article explores the extent to which the Uruguayan abortion law complies with the country’s international human rights obligations as conceptualised by GC 22. It uses the Uruguayan abortion law, its regulatory decree, and the highest administrative court’s decision in Alonso et al v. Poder Ejecutivo as the main pivots for the discussion. The results reveal that – in spite of the praise it receives at the international level and the adoption of a less restrictive abortion law – Uruguay has fallen short in adopting a legal framework that complies with the international standards and guarantees effective access to abortion services.

Contested sexualities: legal strategies by self- proclaimed “pro-life” NGOs against sexual and reproductive rights in Argentina

Angélica Peñas Defago, José Manuel Morán Faúndes
2014

Over the past few decades political processes recognizing and broadening sexual and reproductive rights have produced a reaction from conservative sectors seeking to block those gains. Although the Catholic Church hierarchy and some Evangelical churches have led the opposition to these rights, various sectors of civil society have begun to foment resistance to pluralist sexual politics. In Argentina self-proclaimed pro-life nongovernmental organizations have become important in the local context, using channels legitimized by contemporary democracy. While they initially devoted themselves primarily to the issue of abortion through activities associated with assistencialism and cultural impact, their actions since the 1990s have diversified, entering into the politico-institutional field and aiming at other issues associated with the country’s sexual policy. The movement and religion overlap at many levels and are separate in others. The complexity of the relationship between them requires rethinking of the normative frameworks through which progress on sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America is usually theorized. The separation of religion and politics under the paradigm of laicism can be insufficient to guarantee sexual pluralism in our societies.

En las últimas décadas, los procesos políticos por el reconocimiento y ampliación de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos han generado la reacción de sectores conservadores que buscan obstaculizar dichas conquistas. Si bien la jerarquía católica y algunas iglesias evangélicas han protagonizado el rechazo a estos derechos, distintos sectores de la sociedad civil han comenzado también a activar una resistencia a las políticas sexuales pluralistas. En Argentina las organizaciones no-gubernamentales autodenominadas pro-vida han adquirido relevancia en el contexto local, utilizando los canales legitimados por la democracia contemporánea. Mientras las primeras se abocaron centralmente a la temática del aborto desde acciones asociadas al asistencialismo y al impacto cultural, a partir de los noventa sus acciones se han diversificado, entrando al campo político-institucional y orientándose a otros temas asociados a la política sexual del país. Este movimiento y la religión se superponen en muchos niveles y se separan en otros. La complejidad que reviste su relación implica repensar los marcos normativos mediante los cuales se ha solido teorizar el avance en los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en América Latina. La separación de la religión y la política bajo el paradigma de la laicidad puede resultar una estrategia insuficiente para garantizar el pluralismo sexual al interior de nuestras sociedades.