Theme for World Sexual Health Day 2025: Advancing Sexual Justice – Our Collective Responsibility
Sexual justice becomes a reality when individuals, regardless of their background or identity, are fully empowered and equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support necessary to make informed, autonomous choices about their sexual and reproductive lives. It ensures that everyone has fair and equal access to comprehensive sexual health education, medical care, and related services.
Achieving sexual justice means creating inclusive societies where sexual well-being, human rights, and the freedom to experience intimacy and pleasure are respected and protected for all—free from stigma, marginalization, violence, or inequality. It calls on us to dismantle barriers and take action toward a future where sexual health and dignity are universally upheld.
What is Sexual Justice?
Sexual justice exists when all people have the power and resources to make free and healthy
decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and reproduction, and have equal access to sexual health
services, including education and care. Sexual justice means building a world where everyone can
experience sexual health, rights, and pleasure, free from discrimination, violence, or exclusion.
This year, WSHD has four focus areas under the main theme of sexual justice.
- The first is Sexual Rights. The core message for this focus area is that sexual justice is essential for
the achievement of sexual health, rights, and pleasure for all people without discrimination, fear,
shame, and stigma. - The second is Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The core message for this focus area is that sexual justice means protecting and promoting the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive choice for everyone and everywhere.
- The third is LGBTQ+ Adolescents: Transgender, Gender-Diverse, Gay & Lesbian Youth. The core
message for this focus area is that sexual justice means affirming and defending the rights, dignity, needs, and identities of all LGBTQ+ people, especially trans, non-binary, gay, and lesbian adolescents. - The fourth is Access to Information. The core message for this focus area is sexual justice means
ensuring access to accurate, uncensored, evidence-based information about sexuality and health
What is Sexual Justice?
- Sexual justice contributes to a more equal and inclusive world and is essential for the achievement of sexual health and rights for all people without discrimination, fear, shame, and stigma.
- Sexual justice is a central dimension of social justice, as it relates to sexuality and sexual health,
and is essential for the respect, protection, and fulfillment of sexual rights as human rights. - Sexual justice is fundamental for just societies and addresses the social determinants and
structural conditions of inequalities and discrimination that persist globally in relation to sexual
health and rights, that particularly impact oppressed, marginalized, and discriminated populations. - Sexual justice requires a challenge to societal norms, power dynamics and institutions, attitudes, and prejudices that perpetuate discrimination and violence in relation to sexuality and
sexual health, and demands structural changes in societies.
Sexual Justice:
• Is not optional
• Should NOT be political
• Is the foundation of health, dignity, equity, and equality
Sexual Rights
Core message: Sexual justice means the ability to achieve sexual health, pleasure, and rights for all
people without discrimination, fear, shame, and stigma.
Sexual pleasure, freedom from discrimination, access to healthcare, and a stigma-free environment
are some sexual rights that we should all have, regardless of gender, economic status, disability, religion, or where we live.
Recognition of sexual rights is mandatory for the fulfillment of sexual justice.
What can we do?
• Recognize that sexual pleasure is a fundamental sexual right (WAS Declaration on Sexual Pleasure)
• Destigmatize sexual health topics in everyday life and conversation
• Advocate for laws and policies that fight against discrimination
• Challenge institutions and people who perpetuate discrimination and violence related to sexuality and sexual health
• Raise awareness about sexual rights, pleasure, and stigma
Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Core Message: Sexual justice means protecting the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive
choice for everyone, everywhere.
Abortion bans, funding restrictions, and stigma threaten women and girls’ sexual and reproductive
autonomy. Barriers to contraception and care harm the most vulnerable. When people can’t make
decisions about their own bodies, there is no justice.
What can we do?
• Speak up when reproductive rights are under attack, locally and globally
• Support organizations and providers offering safe, legal abortion and contraception
• Push back against policies like the Global Gag Rule that silence care providers
• Educate ourselves and others about the real and devastating impact of restricted access to
health care
• Educate yourself and others — awareness drives action
• Engage in discussions with official institutions and NGOs
• Lobby with politicians
LGBTQ+ Adolescents: Transgender, Gender-Diverse, Gay & Lesbian Youth
Core Message: Sexual justice means affirming and defending the rights, dignity, needs, and identities of all LGBTQ+ people, especially trans, intersex, non-binary, gay, and lesbian adolescents.
In many parts of the world, LGBTQ+ youth are facing increasing threats to their rights, health, safety,
and visibility. Laws are being introduced & enforced that criminalize identity, restrict healthcare, ban
inclusive education, and fuel discrimination. Gender-affirming care is being banned without clinical
or scientific justification. Trans identities are being erased from schools and laws. Youth are left unsupported, unheard, and unsafe.
Justice means being able to live & be seen as who you are.
What can we do?
• Listen to LGBTQ+ youth and center their voices — their lived experience is essential to
shaping just policies and support systems
• Stand against laws that criminalize identity, deny healthcare, or restrict free expression,
whether targeting gender-affirming care, same-sex relationships, or inclusive curricula
• Advocate for safe, affirming environments in schools, clinics, communities, and families where
every young person is respected and celebrated
• Celebrate LGBTQ+ identities, from Pride to policy, and refuse to be silent in the face of hate,
homophobia, or transphobia
• Speak out against hate and silence
Access to Information
Core Message: Sexual justice means ensuring access to accurate, uncensored, evidence-based information about sexuality and health.
Books are being banned. Evidence-based content is being removed from schools and social media.
Without information, people can’t make safe, informed choices. Access to truth is access to justice.
What can we do?
• Share trusted resources, amplify expert voices, and share accurate, inclusive sexual health
information
• Defend the right to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in schools and communities.
• Challenge censorship of books, websites, and social media content about sexual health
• Create space for open, respectful conversations across generations
• Start honest conversations — in homes, classrooms & online
