SEX,GENDER,SEXUALITY and

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
JOSEPHINE O. ZAFICO, M.D.
Objectives :
1. To define sex, gender and sexuality,and
reproductive health

2. To understand the relevance and the impact
of gender on sexual and reproductive health

3. To understand key terms regarding gender
identity and sexual orientation

Objectives:
4. Recognize the unique physical, psychological
and social characteristics of young people

5.Describe the sexual and reproductive health
needs of young people
6. Recognize the ways in which gender norms
affect the sexual and reproductive health
outcomes of the youth
WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
SEX
Classification of
people as male or
female
Assigned at birth
based on a
combination of bodily
characteristics
including
chromosomes,
hormones, internal
reproductive organs
and genitalia

Source: USAID, 2013
GENDER
is a culturally-defined
set of economic,
social, and political
roles, responsibilities,
rights, entitlements
and obligations,
associated with being
female and male, as
well as the power
relations between
and among women
and men, boys and
girls.
Source: USAID, 2013
SEXUAL
ORIENTATION
RACE
CLASS
AGE
definition and
expectations of
Being a girl or boy
vary

Across CULTURE
Across TIME
Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Gender Identity refers to ones internal sense
of being male, female, neither or both.
For example, for transgender people, gender
identity does not match the sex assigned at
birth
Transgender

an umbrella term used to describe people
whose gender identity (sense of themselves as
male or female) or gender expression differs
from socially constructed norms associated with
their birth sex.

This includes androgynous, bi-gendered and
gender queer people, who tend to see
traditional concepts of gender as restrictive.
Gender norms
are the socially defined ideals of
appropriate behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes for
men and women.

Gender norms are key factors that affect sexual and
reproductive health (SRH).

They influence mens and womens reproductive
and sexual well-being and risk, as well as their
access to and use of SRH services and programming
It is important to respect an individual
who does not subscribe to the gender
and sexual norms set by society;
he/she should not be judged as
immoral and abnormal.


Sexual Orientation

.


refers to ones sexual or romantic
attractions, and includes sexual identity,
sexual behaviors and sexual desires

Asexual: not sexually attracted to anyone
and/or no desire to act on attraction to
anyone.
Bisexual: attracted to people of one's own
gender and people of other gender(s).
Homosexuals
Gay: generally refers to a man who is
attracted to men
Lesbian: a woman who is attracted to
women
Pansexual: attracted to people regardless of
gender. Sometimes also or alternately
"omnisexual" or "polysexual.

Gender-based Violence

is violence that is directed at individuals based
on their biological sex, gender identity, or
perceived adherence to culturally-defined
expectations of what it means to be a woman
and man, girl and boy.
Source: Moreno, 2005, and
USAID, 2012.
It includes physical, sexual, and psychological
abuse; threats; coercion; arbitrary deprivation
of liberty; and economic deprivation, whether
occurring in public or private
Source: Moreno, 2005, and
USAID, 2012.
GBV is rooted in economic, social, and political
inequalities between men and women. GBV
can occur throughout the lifecycle, from
infancy through childhood and adolescence,
the reproductive years and into old age
(Moreno 2005), and can affect women and
girls, and men and boys, including transgender
individuals.
Source: Moreno, 2005, and USAID, 2012.



Specific types of GBV include (but are not limited to):

female infanticide
early and forced
marriage
honor killings
female genital
cutting/mutilation
child sexual abuse and
exploitation
trafficking in persons
sexual coercion
harassment and abuse
neglect
domestic violence
economic deprivation
elder abuse
Source: Moreno, 2005, and USAID, 2012.


Cultural Norms and Beliefs
Cultural norms and beliefs influence how men and
women conduct their daily lives.
For example, men and women may:
Have access to different types of knowledge (e.g.,
experiential vs. empirical knowledge)
Have diverse beliefs
Perceive situations differently
Conform to gender-specific norms and behaviors
Beliefs about what women and men are expected to be
and do also impact their behaviors and health.

Gender issues in the spread and impact of
HIV/AIDS

poverty
In rural
communities
MALE
MIGRATION
FEMALE
PROSTITUTION
HIV
EXPOSURE
POVERTY
HIV Infection in Rural
Areas
HIV Increases the number of
dependents to workers
Sabotage of POVERTY
Reduction
Gender issues in the spread and
impact of HIV/AIDS
Cultural practices
and values that
discriminate
against women
or use women
common African
practice of
marrying a
widow to the
deceased
husband's
brother where
husband died
from HIV and
wife is infected
belief in Africa
and Asia that
sleeping with a
virgin will act as
a cure for an
infected man

Spread of HIV
Infection of
young girls
with HIV
IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2001
Sexual initiation
practices with
prostitutes for young
boys still persist in
some Asian countries,
as well as elsewhere
HIV infection of young
boys.

risk of infection is higher among
women
female circumcision,
failure to use barrier
contraceptives and the
presence of lesions
from prior untreated
venereal disease
HIV-AIDS
Infection
Lets HAVE SOME FUN


exercises