Sexual rights for marginalized populations.

Abstract

Sexual rights broadly refers to the freedoms, opportunities, and protections for individuals, groups, and communities to engage in sexual self-expression, develop healthy sexualities, and have those diverse sexualities accepted by society (Tolman, 2006). These rights include equal access to sex education, romantic relationships, and the socioecological contexts to achieve them free of violence, discrimination, and harassment. These rights also include having the resources and support to produce empirical knowledge of sexuality, to disseminate sexuality research to publics, and for this knowledge to inform policies and social change in meaningful ways. Relevant topics include institutionalized oppression and persecution, structural inequalities, embodiment of sexualities, sociocultural meanings ascribed to sex and sexualities, creation of language by groups used to name themselves and discuss their sexualities, denial of one's sexuality, and policies like prohibition of sex and sexuality education in schools.Marginalized populations are groups or communities that lack some representation, rights, or resources that typically are afforded other populations. Marginalized populations also tend to lack access to the benefits that technological, sociological, and economic advances offer communities and groups that do not exist on the fringe of society. Marginalized groups or communities usually have inadequate or no political representation, have poor economic infrastructure and support, and have difficulty gaining admission into or successfully navigating public and civic institutions, such as education

Navigating Community Institutions: Black Transgender Women’s Experiences in Schools, the Criminal Justice System, and Churches

“…As a nonviolent act that can be consensual, prostitution should be decriminalized, rather than serve as an axis of arrest disparity and an excuse for investigative inaction of assaults perpetrated against transwomen. If sex work were a regulated industry, it would allow transwomen and others to exercise their practice-and relationship-based sexual rights (Graham and Padilla 2013); organize to protect themselves from violence, sexually transmitted infections, discrimination, arbitrary arrest; and serve as a source of tax revenue.…”

The Impact of COVID-19 on Sexual Health: A Preliminary Framework Based on a Qualitative Study With Clinical Sexologists

“…An intersectional approach to COVID-19's impact reveals disparities in power, exposing decades of health and social inequalities, and revealing that those who belong to poorer and conflict zones may be enable to protect themselves from the virus, and their access to sexual and reproductive health may be unwarranted 21 . The clinical approach in the context of sexual health needs to take intersection into account and acknowledge that different identities (e.g., sexual minorities) may experience different forms of social injustice, namely unbalanced access to sexual health services or lack of attention to sexual rights 22,23 . Indeed, the reorganization of health services to assist COVID-19 may negatively impact the availability of sexual and reproductive health services, including access to safe interruption of unplanned pregnancies, especially in sexual diverse populations 24 .…”

“… 21 The clinical approach in the context of sexual health needs to take intersection into account and acknowledge that different identities (eg, sexual minorities) may experience different forms of social injustice, namely unbalanced access to sexual health services or lack of attention to sexual rights. 22 , 23 Indeed, the reorganization of health services to assist COVID-19 may negatively impact the availability of sexual and reproductive health services, including access to safe interruption of unplanned pregnancies, especially in sexual diverse populations. 24 Sexual health professionals are better positioned than other professionals to make sure sexual rights are respected during pandemic times “as health-care providers are often not encouraged or sufficiently trained to feel comfortable providing services, which place pleasure or rights at the center of their engagement with clients”.…”