While the European Convention on Human Rights obliges Member States to protect rights to sexual health, including access to comprehensive information and appropriate healthcare, the European Union itself does not have authority in this matter. This disparity creates concerning gaps in access to healthcare and sex education between Member States.
Sexual health under threat in Europe
The EU does not have exclusive authority in matters of health, allowing each state to manage this according to its own laws. As a result, sexual health in Europe faces a number of threats. A striking example is that of Poland: while in the 20th century it was a pioneer in liberalising abortion, it is now one of the most restrictive countries in this regard. Under pressure from conservative movements, in January 2021 the Polish constitutional court tightened legislation, limiting abortion to cases of rape, incest or danger to the health of the mother or foetus.
Alongside this, sexual health in Europe is being jeopardised by lack of education. In March 2024 the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported an alarming rise in sexually transmitted infections. Between 2021 and 2022, reported cases of chlamydia rose by 16%, gonorrhoea cases by 48%, and syphilis cases by 34%. These three infections respectively affected 216,000, 70,000 and 35,000 people in Europe in 2022. Though effective treatments are available, these diseases can lead to serious complications if they are not treated in time.
The WHO attributes this rise to declining use of condoms among adolescents. Between 2014 and 2022, condom use fell from 70% to 61% among boys and from 63% to 57% among girls. One third of adolescents admitted to not using protection in their last sexual encounter. The WHO has condemned the lack of sex education and appealed for reform: “Young people need safe spaces to discuss issues like consent, intimate relationships, gender identity and sexual orientation, and we – governments, health and education authorities, and civil society organizations – should help them develop crucial life skills including transparent, non-judgmental communication and decision-making.”
Sex education is still unequal
In many instances in Europe, discussion of sexual health is limited to biology lessons about reproduction. In strongly Catholic countries, like Poland for example, sex education is often a source of debate. There, sex education is taught only from the age of 15 and requires parental permission, with lessons’ content varying depending on the stance of the Church. Contrastingly, in Germany, sex education is mandatory, and courts can go as far as sanctioning parents who seek to prevent their children from attending.
In Belgium and France, these lessons are often led by family planning professionals. In 2012, Belgium proposed expanding these classes to children in primary school, which inspired a proposal to introduce the Evras law (Education à la Vie Relationnelle, Affective et Sexuelle [Education in emotional and sexual relationships]) in France. However, this initiative provoked strong reactions from some conservative and far-right groups, who were alarmed by sex education perceived as “encouragement to change sex” or promotion of “gender theory”. In Hungary, where a law dating from 2021 forbids promotion of homosexuality and gender transition to minors, sex education is focused exclusively on heterosexual relationships.
What can the EU do?
While the EU does not have exclusive authority in regard to health, it can intervene on the basis of prevention. By adopting certain directives, it can give tools to national NGOs to ensure the Member States respect sexual health rights. MEPs have recently petitioned the European Council to add sexual and reproductive health rights, including the right to safe and legal abortion, to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These are just proposals, but the pressure exerted by NGOs like Médecins du Monde, Amnesty International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation is helping to evolve mindsets.
On 8 March 2024, the French constitution was amended to guarantee women the right to a voluntary termination of pregnancy. This development adds to a context in which the majority of European countries legally protect the right to abortion. Indeed, 25 out of 27 Member States have authorised and legally enshrined it. Some Member States have adopted this fairly recently, such as Ireland, one of the most restrictive countries in this regard. It was a question of creating an accord between the foetus’s right to life and women’s right to autonomy over their bodies. Abortion was finally fully legalised there on 1 January 2019. Only Malta and Poland impose severe restrictions, limiting abortion to cases where the pregnancy is endangering the life of the mother or foetus. Malta has actually been the last country to concede this right; the law authorising abortion was approved unanimously on 28 June 2023. Poland and Malta are governed by conservative governments and are strongly Catholic.
Nonetheless, the right to abortion remains fragile. In Spain, the conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy seeks to limit it to cases of rape or of grave danger to the life or physical and mental health of the mother. In Hungary, while abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy has been legal since the 1950s, ultra-conservative leader Viktor Orban’s rise to power in 2010 heralded restrictions to come: since December 2022, a decree has obliged women seeking an abortion to listen to their foetus’s heartbeat before making their decision. In a world where sexual violence remains sadly common - a recent example being the internationally infamous case of Gisèle Pélicot - sexual health education is more important than ever. According to multiple organisations including Santé Publique France and the World Health Organisation, sex education supports understanding of consent and setting and respecting healthy boundaries, and helps to combat sexual violence.
Follow the comments:
|
