Sexual and reproductive health
state of the reproductive system without evidence of disease, disorders, or deficiencies
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Sexual and reproductive health is more commonly defined as sexual and reproductive health and rights, to encompass individual agency to make choices about their sexual and reproductive lives.
The term can also be further defined more broadly within the framework of the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of health―as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"―. WHO has a working definition of sexual health (2006) as '"…a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled." This includes sexual wellbeing, encompassing the ability of an individual to have responsible, satisfying and safe sex and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. UN agencies in particular define sexual and reproductive health as including both physical and psychological well-being vis-à-vis sexuality. Furthermore, the importance of ensuring sexual lives are pleasurable and satisfying, and not only focused on negative consequences of sex has been emphasized by many agencies such as the World Association of Sexual Health as well as considering the positive impacts on health and well-being of safe and satisfying relationships. A further interpretation includes access to sex education, access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of birth control, as well as access to appropriate health care services, as the ability of women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth could provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.
The critical Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and reproductive health and rights states 'Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are essential for sustainable development because of their links to gender equality and women's wellbeing, their impact on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and their roles in shaping future economic development and environmental sustainability.
“Sexual and reproductive health” enters the record as state of the reproductive system without evidence of disease, disorders, or deficiencies. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sexual, reproductive and health can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Sexual and reproductive health” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Sexual, reproductive and health provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3501817. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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- Expand the search: follow Sexual and reproductive health primary sources, Sexual and reproductive health archive and Sexual research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Sexual and reproductive health” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.