What are sexual rights?

: a thematic analysis of portuguese people’s definitions

Abstract

While human rights are agreed upon almost unanimously worldwide, sexual rights
remain a grey area. Sexual rights can be defined as human rights applied or related to sexuality,
but the intricacies of that definition vary from one organization to the other. With our study, we
intended to explore the definitions and perceptions regarding sexual rights in Portuguese adults
through an online qualitative study. Participants (n=148, aged 19-75 years) were asked the
open-ended question “In your opinion, what are sexual rights?”. Data was analyzed through
reflexive thematic analysis, resulting in conceptualizing three themes: “Government and
Society”, “Experience of Self” and “Uncharted Territory”. These themes refer to external and
societal factors such as implementing human rights, as well as the social context surrounding
the individual; internal factors such as identity and the boundaries of the self; and a series of
other factors that may outright endanger sexual rights (such as violence and conservatism) or
make their definition and implementation more difficult through a lack of consensus on what
constitutes those rights. In their replies, participants gave large emphasis to healthcare,
education, legal protection, freedom, autonomy, identity and consent, which largely fall under
the different declarations of sexual rights found in existing literature.
Key words: sexual rights, human rights, sexual health, thematic analysis

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Supervisor	ANA FILIPA GORDINO BEATO (Supervisor) & Patrícia M. Pascoal (Supervisor)