Sexual Rights as Human Rights: A Guide for the WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights

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Acknowledgments

Project Coordinators and Task Force Co-Chairs: Eli Coleman and Esther Corona; Co-Editors: Eszter Kismödi, Esther Corona, Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, Eusebio Rubio-Aurioles, and Eli Coleman; Technical Editors: Stephanie Auteri and Neil Gleason; Main writer for the Technical Document: Eszter Kismödi. We would like to thank Ian I. Henry for his legal consultation. This document was produced as a result of a comprehensive consultation process. The writing committee consisted of Eszter Kismödi, JD, LLM, Esther Corona, Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, PhD, Eusebio Rubio-Aurioles, MD, PhD, and Eli Coleman, PhD. Ezster Kismödi was the principle author of this document. WAS is very thankful to those who provided comments during the preparation of this document. The revised WAS Sexual Rights Declaration (2014) takes into consideration and was inspired by already existing documents related to sexuality, sexual health and human rights, such as the WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights developed during the Valencia World WAS Congress in 1997 and approved by the WAS General Assembly in Hong Kong in 1999 (World Association for Sexual Health, 1999), the Yogyakarta Principles (ARC International, 2007), the WAS Millennium Declaration (World Association for Sexual Health, 2008), and the WHO Technical Document on Developing Programs on Sexual Health. Referenced documents also include the WHO working definitions on sexuality, sexual health, and sexual rights (World Health Organization, 2006), the most recent WHO publication on Sexual Health, Human Rights and the Law (2015a) and its research materials, the work of particular organizations related to sexual rights, such as the IPPF Sexual Rights Declaration (International Planned Parenthood Federation, 2008), and published papers of academics and other experts, many of which are cited in this document. Appendix C: Sources of sexual rights was produced based on the earlier work of Alice Miller and her students and Yale University, Law School, Global Health Justice Partnership and Eszter Kismödi at WHO.

Funding

Funding was provided by an anonymous donor to the Program in Human Sexuality (PHS) for this project under the guidance of Eli Coleman, Ph.D, the Director of the PHS. These funds were held and distributed by the University of Minnesota Foundation (approximately $60,000) by the PHS.

Many in-kind resources were provided by the World Association for Sexual Health, the International Planned Parenthood Association, and the thousands of hours the writing committee and consultants provided.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Notes

  The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) is a multidisciplinary, world-wide group of scientific societies, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and professionals in the field of human sexuality, which promotes sexual health throughout the lifespan and through the world by developing, promoting and supporting sexology and sexual rights for all. The WAS accomplishes this by advocacy actions, networking, facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences and advancing scientifically based sexuality research, sexuality education and clinical sexology, with a trans-disciplinary approach. The WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights was originally proclaimed at the 13th World Congress of Sexology in Valencia, Spain in 1997 and then, in 1999, a revision was approved in Hong Kong by the WAS General Assembly and then reaffirmed in the WAS Declaration: Sexual Health for the Millennium (2008). This revised Declaration was approved by the WAS Advisory Council in March 2014, and the WAS General Assembly in 2015. See http://www.worldsexology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/declaration_of_sexual_rights_sep03_2014.pdf