Strengthening Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) as a Core Component of Gender Equality in the EU

The ASTRA Network – a regional network of civil society organizations from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia working to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) – urges the European Commission to ensure that the 2026–2030 Gender Equality Strategy contains a strong and actionable commitment to SRHR as a central element of achieving gender equality across the EU.

1. SRHR in the Context of Gender Equality in the EU

SRHR are foundational to gender equality, bodily autonomy, and democratic participation. However, across the EU—particularly in Central and Eastern Europe—serious regressions are occurring, including:

• Legal and practical barriers to abortion and contraception;
• Regressive campaigns against comprehensive sexuality education;
• Hostile environments for women human rights defenders and civil society organisations;
• Discriminatory and abusive treatment of Roma women and other marginalised groups in reproductive healthcare settings.

The EU must treat these not as isolated incidents but as systemic threats to fundamental rights and shared European values

These challenges also affect neighboring non-EU countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where EU inaction or ambiguous positions on SRHR can embolden regressive actors. Many women and marginalized groups in these countries depend on cross-border access to SRHR services in EU states, making EU leadership essential for the entire region.

2. ASTRA’s Key Recommendations

A. Monitoring and Enforcement

• Systematically monitor SRHR developments in all EU member states through the Rule of Law Mechanism, with specific focus on:
  • Accessible and affordable abortion and contraception,
  • Availability of comprehesive sexuality education,
  • Non-discriminatory treatment of marginalised groups (including Roma, LGBTQ+ people, and migrants),
  • Shrinking space for SRHR advocacy.
• Task the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) with incorporating SRHR indicators into the Gender Equality Index, enabling transparent cross-country comparisons.
• Request the Fundamental Rights Agency to investigate systemic discrimination in SRHR service provision, with an emphasis on intersectionality.
• Develop mechanisms to collect comparable data on cross-border SRHR access, including for women traveling from non-EU countries due to restrictive laws at home.
• Support joint regional research and evidence-building initiatives involving EU and non-EU states to inform policies and funding priorities.

B. Policy Guidance to Member States

• Issue clear policy guidance supporting:
  • Legal access to safe and timely abortion in line with WHO standards, without any barriers;
  • Provision of age-appropriate, evidence-based, and non-discriminatory sexuality education in line with human rights standards;
  • Available and affordable essential sexual and reproductive health medicines such as contraception and abortion medication;
  • Elimination of coercive practices in reproductive healthcare, including within communities, where coercion by family members and others continues to affect marginalized group.
• Promote common minimum standards for maternal and gynecological healthcare that include respectful care, informed consent, and patient-centered approaches and explicitly address prevention and redress of obstetric violence.
• Ensure that this guidance also informs EU accession and neighborhood policy dialogues, aligning SRHR standards with EU fundamental rights expectations for candidate and partner countries.

C. Support for Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders

• Ensure the next Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme continues to prioritise funding for feminist, gender equality and SRHR civil society organisations through simplified, inclusive procedures. Funded activities must not be restricted—advocacy must remain eligible, as they are essential for defending rights. The programme should remain under direct management by the European Commission to prevent national-level restrictions that could undermine access to funding for gender equality and SRHR organisations.
• Include a dedicated strand for SRHR advocacy and service delivery in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
• Explicitly include women human rights defenders and SRHR advocates in any EU protection and support mechanisms for civil society.
• Ensure long-term, flexible EU funding for SRHR organisations and networks operating in candidate and neighboring countries, which often face political attacks, ‘foreign agent’ laws, and funding barriers.
• Establish EU-level emergency response mechanisms for SRHR defenders facing harassment or persecution, both within and outside the EU.

D. EU Legislation and Compliance

• Ensure implementation of EU law on victims’ rights—particularly the Directive on Violence Against Women—guaranteeing free, timely, and confidential access to post-rape care, including emergency contraception and abortion.
• Launch infringement procedures where national laws or practices violate the Race Equality Directive (e.g. discrimination against Roma women in healthcare).
• Include references to SRHR in all future EU equality legislation, and refrain from including carve-outs that weaken reproductive rights in such legislation as well as legislation on medicines and health services.

E. SRHR in EU External Action and Enlargement Policy

• Mainstream SRHR in the EU’s foreign and development policy, including within the Global Gateway, enlargement processes, and the EU’s relations with the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans countries.
• Ensuring continued and increased funding for SRHR through the NDICI – Global Europe instrument, with dedicated support for feminist civil society and SRHR services.
• Promote SRHR and gender equality in all EU-supported international forums and negotiations, including the UN and regional bodies, to counter growing anti-gender and anti-rights movements.
• Support women human rights defenders and SRHR advocates in non-EU countries and candidate states, including through targeted protection mechanisms and diplomatic action where needed.
• Facilitate cross-border access to SRHR services for women and girls from neighboring non-EU countries facing restrictive regimes, ensuring that EU health systems and funding instruments can support those denied care at home

3. Strategic Integration and Transparency

• Maintain intersectionality as a guiding principle in the new Strategy, including explicit reference to the diversity of women’s experiences based on race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, migration status, or socioeconomic background.
• Commit to structured, regular consultation with SRHR-focused civil society in implementation and review of the strategy.
• Ensure gender mainstreaming and SRHR are integrated across all relevant EU strategies, including those on health, education, digital transformation, youth, and equality.
• Such consultations should systematically include SRHR experts and civil society representatives from candidate and neighboring non-EU countries, recognizing that EU policies and funding directly impact their rights and access to services.

Conclusion

ASTRA calls on the European Commission to reaffirm and strengthen its leadership in advancing SRHR and gender equality within the EU and candidate states. The new Gender Equality Strategy must not only preserve progress but address current backsliding head-on — through law, policy, funding, accountability mechanisms, and the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes. Gender equality cannot be achieved without full respect for sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

This leadership must also extend beyond EU borders, ensuring that the EU’s political, legal, and financial influence is used to promote SRHR and gender equality across its neighborhood and accession countries, supporting civil society, cross-border cooperation, and access to essential services for all women and girls in the region.