‘My body, my own’: UNFPA, POPCOM push for teens’ rights to bodily autonomy

by Alexandria Dennise San Juan, Manila Bulletin, 19 May 2021

Over 20 million young Filipino women struggle to enforce their rights to bodily autonomy as practices of child marriage, instances of gender-based violence, and lack of services for reproductive health persist in the country.

Bodily autonomy, as explained by Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III, refers to the power to make choices over their own bodies and futures, without having to go through violence or coercion.

This notion includes whether to have sex or not, when to have sex, and with whom to have sex with; when to become pregnant, and with whom you want to become pregnant with; and the freedom to go to a doctor whenever you need one.

In the latest State of the World Population (SWOP) report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), it showed that millions of women and young girls are denied their right to say “no” to sex, agree to their choice of partner in marriage, or the right moment to have a child.

This was despite the encouraging numbers regarding Filipino women’s decision-making on healthcare, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

“Adolescents in the Philippines continue to face cultural and systemic barriers in realizing their rights for bodily autonomy. For instance, the alarming statistics of adolescent pregnancy is a result of our young people’s inability to realize their rights to autonomy and self-determination,” Perez said.

The UNFPA report revealed that between 2007 and 2018 the proportion of surveyed Filipinas aged 15 to 49 who make their own decision concerning health care, SRHR—mainly, contraception and sex with their husbands or partners—is at 81 percent.

Those who have the power to turn down sex were 88 percent; those who make decisions on contraception, 94 percent; and those who can decide on health care, 97 percent.

However, the Philippines–compared to other countries–still ranks better in terms of the ability of women to make decisions regarding SRHR.

In the virtual launch Wednesday, May 19 of the SWOP report titled “My Body Is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination”, UNFPA Philippines Country Representative Leila Joudane revealed that there were still areas where the country can do better in ensuring women and young girls’ ability to exercise their bodily autonomy.

“When individuals, women and young people, in particular, have control over their bodies, they ultimately have control over the other aspects of their well-being, lives, and futures. Such individual empowerment likewise empowers families, communities, and the whole country,” she said.

Meanwhile, Perez said high adolescent pregnancy rates have hounded the Philippines even before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as one in five girls already become mothers by the age of 19.

According to Perez, this is often not a result of a deliberate choice but of restrictive policies, sex without consent, harmful social norms, and lack of information.

To address this, the POPCOM chief emphasized the need for the Philippine government to make investments in key programs that will protect the youth’s right to self-determination.

“These will be vital, especially about their bodies, and revise the policies that disadvantage our young people in realizing these related rights,” Perez said.

“I call on every Filipino to champion bodily autonomy as a personal value, and as a policy in interacting and respecting others,” he added.