Health and reproductive rights, HIV and the Protocol to the African Charter on the rights of women in Africa

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Date

Authors

Stefiszyn, Karen

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape

Abstract

The overarching goal of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Women’s Protocol or Protocol) is to bring about gender equality in Africa, the converse of which is fuelling the spread of HIV on the continent. The Protocol includes corresponding and comprehensive measures to be taken by states in order to promote, protect, and fulfil women’s human rights in Africa. It addresses many of the root causes of the disproportionate spread of HIV among young women in Africa, such as sexual violence and early marriage, as well as factors that exacerbate the effects of HIV infection on the enjoyment of human rights, such as the denial of inheritance rights (article 21).

Description

This contribution is loosely based on a report by Karen Stefiszyn, Mmatsie Mooki and Yohannes Tesfagabir, entitled ‘Realising the right to health in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after 60 years: addressing the reproductive health rights of women living with HIV in Southern Africa’.

Keywords

Health and reproductive rights, Gender equality

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Stefiszyn, K 2011, 'Health and reproductive rights, HIV and the Protocol to the African Charter on the rights of women in Africa', ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2011, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 3-6.