What does Médecins du Monde do for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights – SRHR?

Regardless of the context or country, sexual and reproductive rights are constantly challenged, still face opposition, and lie at the heart of revisionist and conservative policies that have been advancing worldwide for the past 10 years. At Médecins du Monde, we firmly believe that every person must be able to make their own choices about their body, their health, and their sexuality.

What are Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights – SRHR?

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights – SRHR address fundamental aspects of a person’s life: their body, sexuality, health, emotional and sexual relationships, and choice of parenthood. As essential human rights, sexual and reproductive rights aim to promote an autonomous life, a sexuality that is free and consensual, without violence or discrimination. They are a crucial condition for progress toward gender equality and the development of a more equitable and just society.

Thus, access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights – SRHR is one of our main struggles, whether here in Quebec or internationally. Our activism is reflected in our daily actions and is part of a broader intersectional feminist vision that we uphold.

Internationally

In the Darién: One of the world’s longest and most dangerous migration routes

The Darién is a forest spanning over 100 km, located between Colombia and Panama. Every year, it is crossed by many people, including women, in the hope of a better life in North America.

Present at the Las Tecas camp, the Médecins du Monde medical team works to prevent gender-based violence through various concrete actions.

To learn more about our actions in the Darién, read the article:

Crossing the Darién: What is the reality for migrant women?

In Burkina Faso, Benin, and Haiti: Support for the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents and youth

In Benin, Burkina Faso, and Haiti, at least 30% of the population is aged 10 to 24, while the human development indices of these countries are among the lowest in the world.

In 2021, Médecins du Monde, in partnership with the Government of Canada, launched the RESPECT project. The project aims to promote safe sexual health and reproductive health that is a source of pleasure, by removing legislative, structural, social, cultural, and economic barriers to access.

RESPECT Project

Other examples of Médecins du Monde’s international actions:

The urgency of health care for survivors of sexual violence

Colombia: Let’s act to protect and defend the right to health for all women

Nationally

Quebec: Together for the health of all women

Today, some women living in Quebec do not have access to the essential health services that every woman needs. We see this every day at our clinic for migrants with precarious status.

However, being deprived of essential sexual and reproductive health services has individual and collective consequences. Addressing this issue is therefore a win for women and for Quebec society.

A solution is widely agreed upon among health and social services professionals and opposition parties: guaranteeing all women living in Quebec access to RAMQ health insurance coverage.

Read Caroline’s testimony

Be part of the solution