TY - JOUR T1 - Addressing the second ‘R’ in sexual and reproductive health and rights: why norms and values matter for development cooperation JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-008520 VL - 7 IS - 6 SP - e008520 AU - Jesper Sundewall AU - Karin Båge AU - Anna Mia Ekström AU - Bi Puranen AU - Helena Litorp AU - Olalekan A Uthman AU - Anna Kågesten Y1 - 2022/06/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/7/6/e008520.abstract N2 - Summary boxThe gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures have exposed and deepened existing inequalities related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).This is especially true for adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries who face increased SRHR risks, as a result of interrupted health services, education, financially insecure households and unsupportive social norms and values regarding their rights to bodily autonomy and integrity.To mitigate the backlash in achievements and ensure that no one is left behind, it has never been more crucial to collaborate and invest in SRHR for all—a key target of the 2030 Agenda. Development assistance is one such collaborating actor.To be effective, however, development assistance for SRHR must consider and address discriminatory social norms and values, as part of a human-rights-based, collaborative agenda.Grounded in findings from a recent survey on social norms and values linked to SRHR in low-income countries, as well as data on development assistance for SRHR, we present five recommendations that we argue should guide development cooperation for SRHR going forward.We make the case for a more informed, long-term approach in development cooperation that explicitly considers and addresses social norms and values to achieve SRHR for all.Such an approach must be contextually grounded and developed in close contact with community stakeholders to be effective and to avoid generalising values and norms to specific groups.By now, it has become obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures have (just like the HIV pandemic) exposed and deepened existing inequalities related to both human rights and health.1 Not only have the all-too-familiar inequitable sexual and reproductive health outcomes been exacerbated by the additional strain placed on already underfinanced health systems, but the interruptions in education and concurrent loss of family incomes due to … ER -