About 200,000 maternal deaths each year result from the lack or failure of contraceptive services. Compounded by widespread discrimination and violence against women, this situation constitutes a serious violation of women's human rights. At the third International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994, the world's governments first validated sexual and reproductive rights, recognizing the right of women to make their own decisions on issues of sexuality and reproduction, as well as the right to have information about and access to contraceptive services. This year, in the context of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which also forms the basis for the United Nations campaign to eliminate violence against women, these commitments are crucial for understanding the link between gender-based violence and women's human rights. Forms of Coercion Coercion limits women's ability to exercise their right to control their health and sexuality.
Coercion is, above all, a form of violence.
Many pregnancies result from the lack of information about and access to contraceptive methods. Pregnancies resulting from rape are not uncommon and may end in illegal abortion performed in unsanitary conditions which endanger women's lives and health. Women are also exposed to other forms of coercion, such as the practice of unnecessary cesarean deliveries, sterilization without consent and the distribution of contraceptive methods without sufficient information. Sometimes women are poorly treated in the health care services. They may not receive truthful and understandable information in a timely manner.