About this Research Topic

Background

Investing in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) has been recognized as one of the prudent strategies to ensure the well-being of girls and women, and also to advance broader social and economic development for the nations and future generations. Moreover, it provides an excellent opportunity for millions of girls and women to make an informed choice about the number, timing, and spacing between births, experience safe motherhood, deliver healthy newborns and have a safe and satisfying sexual life. However, several young girls and women encounter an array of structural barriers, patriarchy, and unfavorable gendered norms/practices including child marriage, son preference, gender-based violence against women, female foeticide, lower access to economic/property rights, restriction of mobility, etc., that hinder their socioeconomic progress and health status. Discourse on leveraging gender equity and reproductive health could be further strengthened with the involvement of young boys and men. Given that restrictive gender norms affect both men's and women’s reproductive health potential, therefore, integrating young boys and men along with young girls and women shall be a comprehensive strategy to ensure equitable, quality, and sustainable reproductive health among people.

Given the direct benefits of investing in the SRH to promote the social and economic wellbeing of both individuals and societies, it is important to gather scientific evidence and inform policies to implement intervention and efficiently allocate resources for garnering maximum benefits to the millions of young girls and women, particularly in the developing countries.

Therefore, the proposed Research Topic seeks to invite emerging evidence related to different measures of gender inequality and sexual and reproductive health among women in the context of global, with a special focus on:

1) Gender inequalities and contraceptive method choice
2) Gender-based violence against women and SRH outcomes including (unmet need for family planning, pregnancy loss, unwanted/mistimed pregnancies)
3) Gender inequalities and utilization of reproductive and child health care services
4) Gender inequalities and fertility behavior
5) Couple’s reproductive choices
6) Adolescent reproductive health behavior and gender inequalities
7) Engaging young boys/men and reproductive health outcomes

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health, child health care services, gender-based violence

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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