Women making their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care (% of women age 15-49) - Country Ranking

Definition: Proportion of women ages 15-49 years (married or in union) who make their own decision on all three selected areas i.e. can say no to sexual intercourse with their husband or partner if they do not want; decide on use of contraception; and decide on their own health care. Only women who provide a “yes” answer to all three components are considered as women who “make her own decisions regarding sexual and reproductive”.

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys compiled by United Nations Population Fund

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

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Development Relevance: Women‘s participation in decisions being made in their own households, that is households in which they usually live with their spouse and/or children with or without others, is widely accepted as a universal indicator of women‘s empowerment. The ability of women to make decisions that affect their personal circumstances is an essential element of their empowerment and serves as an important contributor to their overall development.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current estimates of the indicator are based on currently married or in union women of reproductive age (15-49 years old) who are using any type of contraception. In the current Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the question on decision-making on use of contraception is only asked to women who are currently using contraception. Because the questions on decision- making on sexual relations and health care are restricted to women (15-49) currently married or in union, the denominator for Indicator 5.6.1 is women 15-49, who are currently married or in union and currently using contraception. However, agreement has been reached with Macro/ICF for upcoming DHS surveys to ask the question on decision on use of contraception to all married/ in union women aged 15-49 years, whether they are currently using any contraception or not. The DHS model questionnaire for Phase 7 already includes the question on decision-making for women who are not currently using any contraception.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Numerator of the indicator is number of married or in union women ages 15-49 who have been interviewed and satisfy all three empowerment criteria: 1)who can say "no" to sex; and 2)for whom the decision on contraception is not mainly made by the husband/partner; and 3) for whom decision on health care for themselves ins not usually made by the husband/partner or someone else. Denominator of the indicator is the total number of women ages 15-49 who are married or in union and who have been interviewed.

Periodicity: Annual