00:00Before the change of government, the Ministry of Health finalized a new national policy
00:04of sexuality, sexual rights, and reproductive rights. It was, to a large extent, one of
00:09The latest moves by Gustavo Petro's government on this issue. Politics replaces
00:13The one that was in effect since 2014 and is valid until 2035. But now
00:18The question is, what will Abelardo de la Espriella's government do with it? Because
00:22It's one thing to issue a policy, and quite another to put it into practice. And that's where things get interesting.
00:27There is still considerable uncertainty, partly because the action plan has yet to be defined.
00:31and guarantee the resources to implement it. But let's take it one step at a time. What changes? The new
00:37This policy significantly broadens the understanding of sexual and reproductive rights.
00:41in Colombia. It doesn't just talk about what happens in a doctor's office or whether a person can
00:46access to healthcare. It also says that education, work, culture and
00:51The environment in which we live has a lot to do with the possibility of exercising those rights.
00:55For example, there are plans to strengthen comprehensive sexuality education from preschool through
01:00the university, something that will remain in the hands of the Ministry of Education, now led
01:04By Vivian Morales. According to the policy, this education should not be limited to the
01:08schools. Plans and efforts must be made to bring it to families and communities.
01:13Workplaces and digital environments. And speaking of the internet, there's a new development.
01:17This is significant compared to previous policies. The document acknowledges new forms of violence,
01:22such as sextortion, the distribution of intimate images without consent, cyberbullying,
01:27The so-called doxing, that is, the publication and disclosure of a person's personal data
01:31without their consent, and hate speech. In 2014, none of these issues had such a high profile.
01:36as important as today. Of course, there are also health issues, which are now included.
01:40in a much more explicit way. Politics speaks of menstrual health, climacteric, menopause.
01:45and endometriosis, and proposes, for example, guaranteeing menstrual management products for people
01:50who are in vulnerable situations. The aim is to strengthen prevention and care.
01:54of obstetric violence, working against practices such as female genital mutilation,
01:59Child marriage and early unions, issues that have already seen several advances in the
02:03Congress. As you can see, it's not just about health. And this policy is striving to leave
02:09Of course, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights is not just a task for the Ministry
02:13Health. There are new responsibilities that the ministries will have to carry out.
02:17Ministry of Education, Culture and Labor, and the territorial entities, the EPS and the IPS. The issue
02:23Now we need to see how all this plays out in practice. The resolution allows six months.
02:28to build an action plan, with timelines, indicators, and monitoring mechanisms.
02:33The organizations that participated in building the policy warn that there are still problems.
02:37lack of coordination between institutions and significant differences between territories
02:42in resources and capabilities. So, the policy has already been issued. What is not yet
02:47It's not so clear how much of this will survive the change of government, or how it will be implemented.
02:51And, above all, whether it will have the money it needs to make it to 2035. Will Abelardo's government...
02:57Will de la Espriella and his ministers maintain this policy as it is?
03:01Will these changes give a new direction to the country's sexual and reproductive rights policy?
03:06If you want to read more news like this, we invite you to visit the Health section of
03:10El Espectador and follow us on social media at Saludable.
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