Normative content
Article 14 (1) (d) the right to self-protection and the right to be protected from HIV and
sexually transmitted infections
10. Although the Women’s Rights Protocol distinguishes between the right to self-protection and
the right to be protected from HIV in Article 14 (1) (d), this provision is interpreted to refer to States’
overall obligation to create an enabling, supportive, legal and social environment that empowers
women to be in a position to fully and freely realise their right to self-protection and to be protected.
11. The right to self-protection and to be protected includes women’s rights to access information,
education and sexual and reproductive health services. The right to self-protection and the right to
be protected are also intrinsically linked to other women’s rights including the right to equality and
non-discrimination, life, dignity, health, self-determination, privacy and the right to be free from all
forms of violence. The violations of these rights will impact on women’s ability to claim and realise
her right to self-protection.
Article 14 (1) (e): The right to be informed on one’s health status and the health status of one’s
partner
12. Article 14 (1) (e) defines the right to sexual and reproductive health to include the right to be
informed on one’s health status and the health status of one’s partner. Health status refers to the
complete state of a person’s physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity.[4]
13. The right to be informed on one’s health status includes the rights of women to access
adequate, reliable, non-discriminatory and comprehensive information about their health. This also
involves access to procedures, technologies and services for the determination of their health
status. In the context of HIV, this right includes, but is not limited to: access to HIV testing, CD4
count, viral-load, TB and cervical cancer screening.
14. Moreover, the right to be informed on one’s health status must not only encompass knowing
one’s HIV status, but should also include pre-test counselling which enables women to make a
decision based on informed consent before taking the test, as well as post-test counselling
services on preventative measures or available treatment depending on the outcome of the HIV
test.
15. The right to be informed on one’s health status is applicable to all women irrespective of their
marital status, including: young and adolescent women, older women, rural women, women who
engage in sex work, women who use drugs, women living with HIV, migrant and refugee women,
indigenous women, detained women, and women with physical and mental disabilities.
16. The right to be informed on the health status of one’s partner is vital. It enables women to make
informed decisions about their own health, especially where they may be exposed to a substantial
risk of harm. Knowledge of a partner’s health to help avoiding transmission of HIV and other
sexually transmitted infections. Information on a partner’s health status must be obtained with
informed consent in line with international standards, without coercion, and should be primarily
aimed at preventing harm to one’s health.
17. Caution should be exercised in relation to the conditions and environments under which the
right to be informed on the health status of one’s partner may be exercised, in particular, where the
revealing of a partner’s health status may result in negative consequences such as harassment,
abandonment and violence.
18. Information about the health status of one’s partner may be obtained through notification by a
third party (usually a healthcare worker) or disclosure (for instance, by the person themselves).
Disclosure of one’s health status is not always explicit. It may take various forms, including coded