SALC’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights programme has the following objectives:
- To ensure a human rights approach in management of teenage/adolescent and learner pregnancy
- To challenge the practice of child and forced marriage
- To ensure accountability for health care violations relating to sexual and reproductive health rights
- To promote recognition and respect for sexual and reproductive health rights
- To challenge laws and practices that violate sexual and reproductive health rights
- To ensure accountability for and eradication of gender-based violence.
Current cases:
- Lesotho: Challenging mandatory HIV testing of accused persons and the mandatory death sentence of persons living with HIV (PLWH)
- Zambia: Challenging criminalisation of breastfeeding by a woman living with HIV.
- Eswatini (Swaziland): Challenging laws allowing child marriage
- Malawi: Challenging criminalisation of adolescent sexuality.
Completed cases:
- Botswana: Accountability for violation of rights of women seeking reproductive healthcare in state institutions.
- Malawi: Seeking accountability for unlawful detention of pregnant learners.
- Malawi: Bringing accountability for sexual violence by the police.
- Zimbabwe: Challenging criminalisation of breastfeeding by women living with HIV.
- Tanzania: Challenging laws allowing child marriage.
- Botswana: Challenging prescription in medical negligence claim
- Zimbabwe: Case strengthening women’s access to reproductive health services.
- Namibia: Challenging coerced sterilisation of women living with HIV.
- Malawi: Advancing the best interests of the child in sentencing of caregivers.
- Malawi: Challenge to the arrest and removal from school of pregnant learners
- Malawi: Challenging the criminalisation of breastfeeding by women living with HIV.
- Malawi: Protecting right to freedom of expression for Woman Human Rights Defenders
- Lesotho: Challenge to unfair dismissal as a result of pregnancy in the Lesotho Defence Force.
Publications:
- Key issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression identified by a community consultation in Zambia (2022).
- The Global Gag Rule and access to abortion impact on law reform in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Eswatini and Malawi. (2020).
- Eswatini: Sex Workers & the Law (2019).
- The recognition of customary marriages in Zimbabwe and the proposed marriage bill (2019).
- Eswatini’s Sexual Offences & Domestic Violence Act (2019).
- Prosecuting sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities in Malawi (2017).
- Towards a human rights-based approach to learner pregnancy management in Malawi (2017).
- Access to justice for healthcare violations (2017).
- The fight to end child marriages in Tanzania: The court case of Rebeca Gyumi (2017).
- Accountability and redress for discrimination in healthcare in Botswana, Malawi and Zambia (2016).
- SALC research report: Tackling cervical cancer: Improving access to cervical cancer services in southern Africa (2012).
Submissions
- Submission to CRC on Malawi 2016
- SALC Universal periodic review of Namibia (2015).
- Submission to the Human Rights Committee regarding forced sterilisation of women living with HIV/AIDS in Namibia (2015).
- SALC submission to CEDAW regarding Namibia (2014).
- SALC’s submission to the committee on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women regarding the government of Namibia (2014).
Advocacy:
- Ending impunity for police officers who commit sexual and gender-based violence in Malawi (2021).
- Tragic lack of urgency in dealing with child marriages (2021).
- SALC in the News: Student’s Rape Case Attracts CSOs Attention (2021).
- Zambia: inmates with HIV deserve balanced diet (2013).
- SALC attends the 52nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (2012).