• Sheet of paper Report

My Body My Rights

We all have the right to make decisions about our own health, body, sexuality and reproductive life, without fear, coercion, violence or discrimination. But all over the world, people's freedom to make these decisions is controlled by the state, medical professionals, even their own families. Criminal law and punitive sanctions are frequently used to control such choices. In the end, many people are prevented from making any choice at all.

My Body My Rights is Amnesty International's global campaign to stop the control and criminalization of sexuality and reproduction by governments and others. Over 2014-15, we are working for tangible change in people's lives in Nepal, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, the Maghreb and Ireland, challenging stigma and breaking the silence that can surround these issues. The campaign seizes on a pivotal opportunity to remind world leaders of their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill sexual and reproductive rights as they negotiate a new global agenda to promote human rights, peace and security, and development beyond 2015. The UN Commission on Population and Development session in April 2014 is just one of a number of key milestones in this process.

The campaign seizes on a pivotal opportunity to remind world leaders of their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill sexual and reproductive rights as they negotiate a new global agenda to promote human rights, peace and security, and development beyond 2015. The UN Commission on Population and Development session in April 2014 is just one of a number of key milestones in this process.

What are sexual and reproductive rights? Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights and belong to us all. They entitle us to:

  • Make decisions about our own health, body, sexual life and identity without fear of coercion or criminalization
  • Seek and receive information about sexuality and reproduction and access related health services and contraception
  • Decide whether and when to have children, and how many to have
  • Choose our intimate partner and whether and when to marry
  • Decide what type of family to create
  • Live free from discrimination, coercion and violence, including rape and other sexual violence, female genital mutilation, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, forced sterilization and forced marriage.