Sexual and reproductive health and rights

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is a concept that combines the four fields of sexual health, reproductive health, sexual rights, and reproductive rights. SRHR is lesser known than sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and is often used interchangeably. While there are interconnections between SRH and SRHR, SRHR should be understood as a distinct and important concept (Pithavadian et al., 2023). SRH refers to specific states of overall health and well-being concerning all aspects of sexuality and reproduction. In this way, a person could have varied levels of negative or positive SRH. Yet, ideal SRH can only be achieved through actioning SRHR (Pithavadian et al., 2023). Through attaining SRHR, every person has the right to make informed decisions about when, with who, how, and where to become sexually active; sexual consent and navigating sexual coercion/rape; respectful relationships and marriages; when and whether to have children; contraception usage; and options and access to appropriate healthcare services for sexual or reproductive health issues (Cottingham et al., 2010; Dune et al., 2021). Therefore, SRHR is integral to achieve optimum SRH which highlights the interrelationship between these two concepts (Pithavadian et al., 2023).