This issue of ARROWs For Change explores the various dimensions (AFC) of the impact of conflict on the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women in the Asia-Pacific region. It draws on diverse experiences of women across the Asia-Pacific and looks at the direct impact of conflict on women’s rights to expression and choice in their reproductive and sexual lives, as well as examines social and political attitudes and perspectives that have an indirect but often critical impact on women’s capacity to enjoy these rights.
The shifts in approaches to women’s health in the second half of the 20th century has led to a more integrated and life-cycle approach to reproductive and sexual health that foregrounds rights of expression and choice for all women. In the process, policymakers have begun to pay more attention to the specificity of experiences of particular groups of women who face discrimination and marginalisation because of their identity or circumstances. Women in conflict situations is one such sector.