Editing Reproductive rights (section)

==Gender equality and violence against women==
{{Further|Gender equality|Violence against women|Sexual violence|Forced marriage|Child marriage}}
Addressing issues of gender-based violence is crucial for attaining reproductive rights. The [[United Nations Population Fund]] refers to "Equality and equity for men and women, to enable individuals to make free and informed choices in all spheres of life, free from discrimination based on gender" and "Sexual and reproductive security, including freedom from sexual violence and coercion, and the right to privacy," as part of achieving reproductive rights,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/rights/rights.htm |title=United Nations Population Fund &#124; Supporting the Constellation of Reproductive Rights |publisher=UNFPA |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> and states that the right to liberty and security of the person which is fundamental to reproductive rights obliges states to:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/english/ch3/ch3_box9.htm |title=United Nations Population Fund &#124; State of World Population 2005 |publisher=UNFPA |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
* Take measures to prevent, punish and eradicate all forms of gender-based violence
* Eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting

The WHO states:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/hhr/activities/GRR/en/ |title=WHO &#124; Gender and Reproductive Rights |publisher=Who.int |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
:Gender and Reproductive Rights (GRR) aims to promote and protect human rights and gender equality as they relate to sexual and reproductive health by developing strategies and mechanisms for promoting gender equity and equality and human rights in the Departments global and national activities, as well as within the functioning and priority-setting of the Department itself.

Amnesty International writes that:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/stop-violence-against-women/issues/implementation-existing-laws/srr |title=Sexual and reproductive rights &#124; Amnesty International |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=6 November 2007 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
:Violence against women violates women's rights to life, physical and mental integrity, to the highest attainable standard of health, to freedom from torture and it violates their sexual and reproductive rights.

One key issue for achieving reproductive rights is criminalization of [[sexual violence]]. If a woman is not protected from forced sexual intercourse, she is not protected from [[forced pregnancy]], namely [[pregnancy from rape]]. In order for a woman to be able to have reproductive rights, she must have the right to choose with whom and when to reproduce; and first of all, decide whether, when, and under what circumstances to be sexually active.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/gender_rights/sexual_health/en/ |title=WHO &#124; Gender and human rights |publisher=Who.int |date=31 January 2002 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In many countries, these rights of women are not respected, because women do not have a choice in regard to their partner, with [[forced marriage]] and [[child marriage]] being common in parts of the world; and neither do they have any rights in regard to sexual activity, as many countries do not allow women to refuse to engage in sexual intercourse when they do not want to (because [[marital rape]] is not criminalized in those countries) or to engage in consensual sexual intercourse if they want to (because sex outside marriage is illegal in those countries). In addition to legal barriers, there are also social barriers, because in many countries a complete sexual subordination of a woman to her husband is expected (for instance, in one survey 74% of women in Mali said that a husband is justified to beat his wife if she refuses to have sex with him<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bioline.org.br/request?rh04047 |title=Bioline International Official Site (site up-dated regularly) |publisher=Bioline.org.br |date=9 February 2015 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>), while sexual/romantic relations disapproved by family members, or generally sex outside marriage, can result in serious violence, such as [[honor killings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/ |title=Ethics: Honour Crimes |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>