Annotation:
This document explores the consequences of
violence - including sexual, partner, and
institutional violence - on women's
reproductive and sexual health. Focusing
on Latin America and the Caribbean, the
authors show how access to reproductive
health services and to information
concerning reproductive health are
necessary to a womans full enjoyment of
her human rights. They also demonstrate
how violence can be an obstacle to many
women's access to reproductive health.
Reproductive health is said to implicate
the human rights to health, life, non-
discrimination, privacy, security,
education, information, and freedom from
violence. Women involved in physically or
sexually abusive intimate relationships
are more likely to have their partners
interfere with their use of contraception,
to experience unwanted pregnancies, and to
have unsafe abortions. States that
restrict access to reproductive health
services present an institutional barrier
to pregnant women in violent situations
who wish to escape their situation. It is
recommended that states in the Americas
decriminalize abortion and integrate
reproductive health services into their
approaches to stopping domestic violence.