The Declaration of Sexual Rights was adopted in the summer 1999 at the 14th World Congress of Sexology. This declaration stated the following about sexuality:
“Sexuality is an integral part of the personality of every human being. Its full development depends upon the satisfaction of basic human needs such as the desire for contact, intimacy, emotional expression, pleasure, tenderness and love. Since health is a fundamental human right, so must sexual health be a basic human right. In order to assure that human beings and societies develop healthy sexuality, the following sexual rights must be recognized, promoted, respected and defended by all societies through all means.”
With this as the basis of its presentation, the participants in the 14th World Congress of Sexuality determined eleven (11) basic Sexual Rights. These eleven fundamental Sexual Rights are listed below. As you read them, I want you to ask yourself, “How can this Right HELP me to improve my sexual health and satisfaction? Write down any ideas or questions that come to mind as you read:
1. The right to sexual freedom. Sexual freedom encompasses …
the possibility for individuals to express their full potential. This excludes all forms of sexual coercion, exploitation and abuse.
2. The right to sexual autonomy, sexual integrity and the safety of the sexual body. This Right includes the ability to make autonomous decisions about one’s sexual life within a context of one’s own personal and social ethics.
3. The right to sexual privacy. This Right stands as long as it does not intrude on the sexual rights of others.
4. The right to sexual equity. This Right includes freedom from all forms of discrimination regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, race, social class, religion or physical and emotional disability.
5. The right to sexual pleasure. This sexual pleasure serves as a source of physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual well being.
6. The right to emotional sexual expression. This Right is more than erotic pleasure of sexual acts. It includes the fact that individuals have a right to express their sexuality through communication, touch, emotional expression and love.
7. The right to sexually associate freely. This means the possibility to marry or not, to divorce and establish other types of responsible sexual associations.
8. The right to make free and responsible reproductive choices. This Right includes whether or not to have children, the number and spacing of children and full access to the means of fertility regulation.
9. The right to sexual information. Such sexual information is intended to be based upon scientific inquiry, generated through unencumbered and yet scientifically ethical inquiry, disseminated appropriately at all societal levels.
10. The right to comprehensive sexuality education. This is a lifelong process from birth throughout the life cycle, including the involvement of all social institutions.
11. The right to sexual healthcare. This Right is to be available for prevention and treatment of all sexual concerns, problems and disorders.
I encourage you to USE these rights over and over as solid expressions of your own healthy sexuality! For examples of ways to utilize Right #9 (the right to sexual information) and Right #10 (the right sexuality education) — Go ahead and learn MORE about sexuality. Investigate this blog more … Check out the categories that interest you! Read the articles that apply to your query(ies).
What questions do you have? If you don’t find it here … ask. I invite you to send me a question about your area-of-interest. I’ll either answer it directly back to you or schedule a Teleseminar for all questions in the near future. I’ll keep you informed about this!