Advances and challenges in the exercise of the right to sexual and reproductive health in Argentina for the last 40 years. An analysis from information related to “the first time”

Abstract This paper analyzes the extent that Argentina has advanced in the last 40 years towards the full realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health with equal opportunities. For that purpose, information from the National Survey on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2013, related to the first sexual experience is used. In particular, the proportion of people that initiate sexual activity during adolescence is analyzed by sex, quinquennium of birth and conditions in which the experience took place. The results show significant progress regarding safe and consensual sexual initiation. However, there are still some problems related to differences between males and females, lack of information regarding protection mechanisms in certain cases and, sometimes, the impossibility of accessing them. These issues highlight the need to redouble efforts made through intercultural, gender and human rights perspectives.