Sexual rights in southern Africa: a Beijing discourse or a strategic necessity?

This article explores the meaning of sexual rights as interpreted by different stakeholders during the development of the Beijing Programme of Action and within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It illustrates how the lack of sexual rights as understood in the African context results from poverty as well as gender inequality, particularly in sexual relationships. This lack is manifested in the circumstances surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic and violence against women. In the European context, in contrast, sexual rights claims are motivated specifically in relation to sexual orientation. The article explores the extent to which these different discourses are being addressed in practice in SADC member countries and the opportunities that exist for building a concrete practice of sexual rights both in the region and internationally.