Sexual and reproductive health is a security issue for Southeast Asia

Promoting health and well-being among young women and girls is a security issue for Southeast Asia due to the immediate need to bridge health inequalities in the region, especially among populations trapped in cycles of poverty and gender discrimination, and internally displaced populations. The often-deliberate neglect of sexual and reproductive health constitutes significant human rights violations in both crisis situations (disaster and conflict) and the everyday (Tanyag 2018). For young women and girls, sexual and reproductive health is a building block for further developing their human capabilities such as in accessing education and livelihood. By focusing on access to sexual and reproductive health services and information, I highlight the security dimensions to addressing sexual and reproductive health especially among adolescents as both a pre-condition for truly inclusive leadership necessary to address multiple security threats in Southeast Asia, and an outcome of genuine resilience-building with gender equality at its core