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. 2025 Dec;33(1):2523095.
doi: 10.1080/26410397.2025.2523095. Epub 2025 Aug 18.

No justice in a genocide: sexual and reproductive health and rights in Gaza

Cordelia Freeman  1 , Hala Shoman  2
Affiliations

No justice in a genocide: sexual and reproductive health and rights in Gaza

Cordelia Freeman et al. Sex Reprod Health Matters. 2025 Dec.

Abstract
in English, French, Spanish

Since October 2023, Gaza, Palestine, has been the site of a humanitarian crisis due to violence from Israel, with numerous violations currently undermining sexual and reproductive health and rights. In this commentary, we detail these violations through the activist and theoretical framework of reproductive justice which centres on three tenets: the right to have children, the right not to have children, and the right to parent in safe environments and with dignity. Through examples such as the destruction of healthcare facilities, the lack of access to contraception or abortion and the total inability to parent safely, we document that all three tenets have been decimated through the systematic sexual, reproductive and gender-based violence inflicted on Palestinians by the Israeli security forces. We end the commentary with a discussion of "reproductive genocide" which we believe to be a term that accurately captures the wholesale decimation of life in Gaza.

Depuis octobre 2023, Gaza, en Palestine, est le théâtre d’une crise humanitaire due aux violences israéliennes, de nombreuses violations compromettant actuellement la santé et les droits sexuels et reproductifs. Dans ce commentaire, nous décrivons en détail ces violations à travers le cadre militant et théorique de la justice reproductive qui repose sur trois principes: le droit d’avoir des enfants, le droit de ne pas en avoir et le droit d’élever des enfants dans un environnement sûr et digne. À travers des exemples tels que la destruction des établissements de santé, le manque d’accès à la contraception ou à l’avortement et l’impossibilité totale d’élever des enfants en toute sécurité, nous démontrons que ces trois principes ont été anéantis par les violences sexuelles, reproductives et sexistes systématiquement infligées aux Palestiniens par les forces de sécurité israéliennes. Nous concluons ce commentaire par une discussion sur le « génocide reproductif » terme qui, selon nous, décrit avec justesse la destruction généralisée de la vie à Gaza.

Desde octubre de 2023, Gaza, Palestina, ha sido sede de una crisis humanitaria debido a la violencia de Israel, y numerosas violaciones actualmente socavan la salud y los derechos sexuales y reproductivos. En este comentario, explicamos en detalle estas violaciones por medio del marco activista y teórico de justicia reproductiva, que se centra en tres principios: el derecho a tener hijos, el derecho a no tener hijos y el derecho a criar los hijos en entornos seguros y con dignidad. Mediante ejemplos como la destrucción de establecimientos de salud, la falta de acceso a la anticoncepción o al aborto y la incapacidad total para criar a los hijos de manera segura, documentamos que los tres principios han sido diezmados por la violencia sistemática sexual, reproductiva y de género infligida al pueblo palestino por las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel. Concluimos el comentario con un análisis del “genocidio reproductivo”, el cual consideramos ser un término que captura con precisión el diezmo total de la vida en Gaza.

Keywords: Gaza; Palestine; conflict and crisis settings; humanitarian crisis; reproductive health; reproductive justice; sexual and reproductive health and rights.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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References

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