Access to sexual health services and information is critical to achieving the highest attainable standard of sexual health, and enabling legal environments are key to advancing progress in this area. In determining overall alignment with human rights standards to respect, protect, and fulfil sexual health-related rights without discrimination, there are many aspects of laws, including their specificity and content, which impact which sexual health services and information are availed, which are restricted, and for whom. To understand the nature of existing legal provisions surrounding access to sexual health services and information, we analysed the content of 40 laws in English, French, and Spanish from 18 countries for the specific sexual health services and information to which access is ensured or prohibited, and the non-discrimination provisions within these laws. Overall, there was wide variation across countries in the types of laws covering these services and the types and number of services and information ensured. Some countries covered different services through multiple laws, and most of the laws dedicated specifically to sexual health addressed only a narrow aspect of sexual health and covered a small range of services. The protected characteristics in non-discrimination provisions and the specificity of these provisions with regard to sexual health services also varied. Findings may inform national legal and policy dialogues around sexual health to identify opportunities for positive change, as well as to guide further investigation to understand the relationship between such legal provisions, the implementation of these laws within countries, and relevant sexual health outcomes. Access to sexual health services and information is important to being able to have good sexual health. Laws are relevant because what they include and how specific they are affects what types of sexual health services people can access, what types of services are illegal, and whether or not all people can access services equally. We reviewed 40 laws in English, French, and Spanish from 18 countries to understand how many and which sexual health services and information countries ensure in their laws, which sexual health services are illegal, and which people are protected from discrimination in accessing these services. We found that countries use many different types of laws to ensure access to sexual health services or information, and most countries do not cover the same types or number of sexual health services. There are also differences in which people are specifically protected from discrimination in the laws we reviewed. These findings are important because they may help countries identify ways that access to sexual health services and information could be improved so as to improve people's sexual health. They may also guide future research. L'acc & egrave;s aux services et & agrave; l'information en mati & egrave;re de sant & eacute; sexuelle est capital pour parvenir au niveau de sant & eacute; sexuelle le plus & eacute;lev & eacute; possible, et des environnements juridiques favorables sont essentiels pour progresser dans ce domaine. Lorsqu'on d & eacute;termine l'alignement global sur les normes des droits de l'homme pour respecter, prot & eacute;ger et r & eacute;aliser les droits relatifs & agrave; la sant & eacute; sexuelle sans discrimination, de nombreux aspects des lois, notamment leur sp & eacute;cificit & eacute; et contenu, influent sur les informations et services de sant & eacute; sexuelle qui sont utilis & eacute;s, lesquels sont restreints et pour qui. Afin de comprendre la nature des dispositions juridiques existantes concernant l'acc & egrave;s & agrave; l'information et aux services de sant & eacute; sexuelle, nous avons analys & eacute; le contenu de 40 lois en anglais, en fran & ccedil;ais et en espagnol dans 18 pays pour l'information et les services de sant & eacute; sexuelle sp & eacute;cifiques auxquels l'acc & egrave;s est garanti ou interdit, et les dispositions de non-discrimination contenues dans ces lois. Dans l'ensemble, il existait de grandes variations entre pays dans les types de lois couvrant ces services ainsi que dans les types et le nombre de services et d'informations propos & eacute;s. Certains pays englobaient diff & eacute;rents services par le biais de plusieurs lois, et la plupart des lois consacr & eacute;es sp & eacute;cifiquement & agrave; la sant & eacute; sexuelle n'abordaient qu'un aspect restreint de la sant & eacute; sexuelle et couvrait une petite gamme de services. Les caract & eacute;ristiques prot & eacute;g & eacute;es dans les dispositions de non-discrimination et la sp & eacute;cificit & eacute; de ces dispositions par rapport aux services des sant & eacute; sexuelle variaient & eacute;galement. Ces observations peuvent & eacute;clairer les dialogues juridiques et politiques nationaux autour de la sant & eacute; sexuelle pour identifier les possibilit & eacute;s de changement positif, ainsi que guider des recherches plus approfondies en vue de comprendre la relation entre ces dispositions juridiques, la mise en oe uvre de ces lois dans les pays et les r & eacute;sultats pertinents en mati & egrave;re de sant & eacute; sexuelle. El acceso a informaci & oacute;n y servicios de salud sexual es fundamental para alcanzar el m & aacute;s alto nivel de salud sexual, y los entornos legislativos favorables son clave para lograr avances en esta & aacute;rea. Para determinar la alineaci & oacute;n general con las normas de derechos humanos de respetar, proteger y cumplir los derechos relacionados con la salud sexual sin discriminaci & oacute;n, hay muchos aspectos de las leyes, tales como su especificidad y contenido, que influyen en qu & eacute; informaci & oacute;n y cu & aacute;les servicios de salud sexual son aprovechados, cu & aacute;les son restringidos y para qui & eacute;n. Para entender la naturaleza de las disposiciones legislativas vigentes relativas al acceso a la informaci & oacute;n y los servicios de salud sexual, analizamos el contenido de 40 leyes en ingl & eacute;s, franc & eacute;s y espa & ntilde;ol de 18 pa & iacute;ses para saber a qu & eacute; informaci & oacute;n y servicios espec & iacute;ficos de salud sexual el acceso es garantizado o prohibido, y las disposiciones de no discriminaci & oacute;n establecidas en estas leyes. En general, hubo gran variaci & oacute;n entre pa & iacute;ses en los tipos de leyes relativas a estos servicios y los tipos y la cantidad de servicios e informaci & oacute;n garantizados. Algunos pa & iacute;ses abarcaban diferentes servicios por medio de varias leyes, y la mayor & iacute;a de las leyes dedicadas espec & iacute;ficamente a la salud sexual abordaban solo un aspecto limitado de la salud sexual y una gama peque & ntilde;a de servicios. Tambi & eacute;n variaron las caracter & iacute;sticas protegidas en las disposiciones de no discriminaci & oacute;n y la especificidad de estas disposiciones con respecto a los servicios de salud. Los hallazgos podr & iacute;an informar los di & aacute;logos nacionales sobre leyes y pol & iacute;ticas relativas a la salud sexual para identificar oportunidades de realizar cambios positivos, as & iacute; como para guiar m & aacute;s investigaciones a fin de entender la relaci & oacute;n entre tales disposiciones legislativas, la aplicaci & oacute;n de estas leyes en los pa & iacute;ses y los resultados de salud sexual relevantes.
