SRJC warmly welcomes the passing of the National Sexual and Reproductive Justice Strategy by cabinet in February this year. This strategy is the cumulative efforts of civil society consultation, including SRJC and its members, over the last decade to recede socio-economic, structural and institutional barriers to individuals, particularly women’s, ability to make informed, consensual decisions concerning their reproductive autonomy and sexual wellbeing.
SRJC goes beyond rights by recognising the intersects of rights to broader socio-economic inequalities. The strategy outlines 6 key areas of importance, namely the:
- strengthening of information and knowledge management;
- improvement of governance in the social sector;
- increased interdepartmental coordination;
- integration of SRHR services into service delivery frameworks;
- youth participation; and
- reviewing of service delivery systems for persons with disabilities.
The policy notably mentions the countering of negative, restrictive social, religious and cultural values that hinder such justice. Our spirits are renewed by this acknowledgement. The South African government’s choice to embrace a justice strategy for SRHR makes clear the country stands firm in our protection and advancement of sexual and reproductive freedom amidst the growing campaigns and consolidating encroaching force of anti-rights actors.
We are honoured to have directly informed the conception of SRJ, in South Africa as employed in the strategy, “Sexual and Reproductive Justice links reproductive rights with the social, political, and economic inequalities that affect an individual’s ability to access sexual and reproductive health care services”. As the SRJ strategy rightfully states “Human experiences cannot be accurately understood by prioritising any one single factor or constellation of factors” rather one must account for the individual as affected by their locality and positioning within society.
