Integration of gender and human rights in HIV and sexual and reproductive health services - Training for health care providers: Facilitators' manual

This tool is intended to enhance the capacity of health workers, in particular in the primary health care setting, to deliver high quality and nondiscriminatory HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to all clients, regardless of sex, gender identity and sexual orientation, through integration of a gender-responsive and human rights–based approach.

HIV services aim to prevent new infections, identify HIV positive persons, and provide treatment and care to enhance the quality of life and prevent premature death. Sexual and reproductive health services are services that promote and facilitate a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, the possibility of having pleasureable and safe sexual experiences, support individuals and couples to make informed decisions on if, when and how often they want to reproduce, and facilitate the widest possible range of safe and effective family planning methods, including barrier methods, as well as prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, including sexually transmitted infections and other essential care such as preventive screening.

While in many countries HIV and SRH services remain vertical, this training resource positions HIV and SRH services as complementary and overlapping services that can best be delivered in an integrated approach, aligned with other services such as maternal and child health, adolescent health and men’s health services. Gender norms, values and power relations help shape the sexual and reproductive health behaviors of individuals and groups. They tend to prescribe what it means to be a man or woman. Gender norms for femininity in many communities value sexual innocence, passivity, virginity, and motherhood. In such societies, women and girls are not supposed to be knowledgeable about sex and may have limited access to relevant information and services. Unequal power relationships may also compromise their ability to negotiate safer sexual behavior and fertility issues with their male partners.