SIGI 2021 Regional Report for Southeast Asia

The SDG 3 prioritises women’s health and well-being, particularly through its emphasis on access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services and the reduction of maternal mortality. No country in Southeast Asia legally guarantees universal access to contraception. In 2018, 13% of women of reproductive age (15‑49 years) reported having an unmet need for family planning, which was a slight increase compared with 2014 (12%). Meanwhile, important legal limitations and social norms constrain women’s reproductive autonomy, negatively affect their sexual and reproductive health and lead to poor health outcomes. In 2017, one-half of Southeast Asian countries had maternal mortality rates higher than 100 deaths per 100 000 live births. One contributing factor to maternal mortality in the region is the prevalence of adolescent pregnancies. These early pregnancies increase the likelihood of maternal mortality, while also negatively affecting girls’ educational attainment and quality of life. In 2017, Southeast Asia had high rates of adolescent births, with an average rate of 43 births per 1 000 women aged 15 to 19 years. Adolescent pregnancy rates are closely correlated with the prevalence rate of girl child marriage, revealing the fundamental role of social norms in women’s suboptimal health outcomes.

About 25% of women in Southeast Asia have suffered physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime. Violence, and the fear of it, can prevent women from pursuing education, working, earning an income, making decisions about their health or their children’s education, and exercising their political rights and voice. The prevalence of gender-based violence in Southeast Asia is deeply rooted in discriminatory social norms and attitudes that consider violence a private matter. On average, 30% of Southeast Asian women and girls believe that a husband can be justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances, such as if she burns food, argues with him, goes out without telling him, neglects the children, or refuses sex with him. Likewise, female genital mutilation, a particular form of violence against young girls and adolescents, continues to exist in several countries in the region as a result of customary, religious or traditional practices or laws that allow and encourage this harmful practice as well as the absence of legislative frameworks aimed at eliminating and banning female genital mutilation.