Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1385129
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JUNE 2021 OPINION The Matic report: MEPs... who will trust science? A few months ago, when the MEP Roberta Metsola took her COVID vaccine, she posted a statement on her Facebook page urging everyone to "trust sci- ence". In a comment on her post, to which she did not reply, I stated: "I hope you trust science when the time comes to vote for the European Parliament Report on the situation of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in the EU." Well, that day of reckoning is nearly with us. The science on sexual and reproductive health is unequivocal as evidenced by decades of research so it will be interesting to observe who of our MEPs will trust science when it comes to this issue. There is no question whatsoev- er that SRHR are fundamental to people's health, to economic development, to gender equal- ity and to the wellbeing of hu- manity. Unfortunately, in Malta, progress in this area has been consistently stifled due to a persistent and pervasive un- willingness to address SRHR openly and comprehensively. We do not know very much of what is going on because research in this area is scarce, but from the little we know, we can safely conclude that the sit- uation is dire. For example, we have one of the highest rates of teenage births in the EU, and we have the highest number of young people in Europe who do not use contraception. There are no financial schemes to subsidise contra- ception, no community-based family planning services, and our sex education both in schools but even more so with adults, leaves very much to be desired. When it comes to sexual and reproductive violence against women and girls, we have not even scratched the surface to uncover the suffering that many have experienced and continue to experience. And of course, even though women and girls have abortions daily in Malta, we remain the last na- tion in the EU that criminalises women and does not allow the procedure to take place safely and legally, irrespective of the circumstances. So where does the Matic re- port come in? This European Parliament re- port authored by MEP Frederic Matic, is the first report specif- ically dedicated to SRHR in al- most 10 years. As a report it re- affirms SRHR as human rights, an integral part of health, and intrinsically linked to gender equality and combating gen- der-based violence. It tackles the whole range of SRHR including comprehen- sive sexuality education, access to contraception, abortion, fer- tility services, sexual and gen- der-based violence. The report highlights the bar- riers, further exacerbated by the pandemic, that especially women and other vulnerable groups still encounter in ac- cessing sexual and reproduc- tive health services. It makes concrete recom- mendations to the Commis- sion to promote best practices and include SRHR issues in relevant policies and funding instruments; and to Member States to remove all barriers and guarantee access to the full range of services for all. For Malta, it comes at an opportune time considering the minister of health's recent promise to revise the National Sexual Health Strategy. Locally, some have slammed the report since the responsi- bility for defining health pol- icies and systems rests with Member States and lies outside the competence of EU insti- tutions. However, SRHR are intrinsically linked to several policy areas in which the EU is competent including health, gender equality and non-dis- crimination, combating gen- der-based violence, and funda- mental rights. For instance, when it comes to public health, according to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (Articles 6 and 168), the EU should support the Member States' actions and of- fer guidance and best practic- es. Furthermore, The European Pillar of Social Rights confirms the right to timely access to af- fordable, preventive, and cura- tive health care of good quality. The new EU4Health pro- gramme has reaffirmed this commitment with one of its main objectives being the strengthening of disease pre- vention and health promo- tion. Various EU policies such as the EU LGBTI Strategy and the EU Youth Strategy include a focus on sexual and repro- ductive health. Through the Gender Equality Strategy, the European Commission has al- so committed to address gen- der aspects of health, including sexual and reproductive health. There cannot be a commit- ment to the fundamental right to gender equality without a commitment to sexual and re- productive health and rights. The European Gender Equal- ity Institute of the EU will be addressing SRH in its 2021 Gender Equality Index and has tackled SRHR issues when re- viewing the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. One of the main objectives of the Gender Equality Strategy is also to prevent and combat sexual and gender-based vio- lence. Comprehensive sexuality ed- ucation that addresses gender inequality in intimate relation- ships and supports the devel- opment of non-violent rela- tionships from an early age is crucial to fulfil this objective. The denial of access to safe and legal abortion has been rightly recognised as a form of gen- der-based violence by the Eu- ropean Parliament in the 2017 Resolution on the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention further supporting the EU as being competent to address Andrea Dibben