Public health of the nation and reproductive violence

Background. The article examines a separate area of ensuring the reproductive health of the nation - protection of society from reproductive violence, which is broadly understood to include not only manifestations of sexual violence, but also aspects related to forced abortion, forced sterilization, legal prohibition of contraception, etc. The legal mechanism for combating reproductive violence, including public health regulations, prohibition of violence and a set of guarantees that form law-respectful behavior in the reproductive sphere, is defined. Objective of the study: comprehensive analysis of the nation’s reproductive health problems by identifying methods and means of combating reproductive violence through legal mechanisms. Materials and methods. The disclosure of the subject of the study requires the use of an intercomplex approach that absorbs knowledge from several areas of scientific knowledge - medicine, jurisprudence, sociology, political science, and ethics. The method of dogmatic analysis was used to study the incidents of legal proceedings related to human rights violations and institutional means of their protection; the comparative method was used to compare the role of individual means of influence on the country’s reproductive and preventive policies. Results. The concept of reproductive violence is defined and distinguished from other related concepts; the state mechanism for combating reproductive violence as devaluing behavior that affects the reproductive health of the nation is formed; certain forms of reproductive violence are considered and the effectiveness of institutional and judicial mechanisms for combating this type of violence is determined. Conclusions. Reproductive violence is broader than sexual violence, as it additionally includes violations of reproductive autonomy or reproductive capacity and is represented by such forms as forced pregnancy, forced sterilization, forced abortion, forced contraception, genital mutilation/circumcision, child marriage, and control over pregnancy outcomes. The analysis of the legislation and practice of a number of countries (the USA, India, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Malta, Portugal, etc.) has made it possible to state that reproductive health issues in the states often remain outside the focus of the lawmaker and the mechanisms for protecting human rights subjects from reproductive violence are insufficient.