Project overview: Fighting stigmatisation of abortion services in Benin

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Marcelline Sounnoukinny and Elvis Seriki, from the Association Béninoise pour la Planification de la Famille (ABPF) share with us their insights, experiences and reflections of being Youth Champions for the Youth and Abortion Stigma Project.

Project overview: Insights from the StigFAS project

Cyril Alexis Otabil and Wendy Nondia Tipoka, share with us the achievements of the StigFAS project, and their own experiences and learnings from being involved as Youth Champions for the Planned Parenthood Association Ghana (PPAG).

Project overview: Immeasurable experiences from India

Supriya Singh and Rahul Tiwari, Youth Champions of the Youth and Abortion Stigma Project with the Family Planning Association India (FPAI), share with us their experiences, challenges and learnings from this project.

From India: Challenges during the COVID-19 Crisis

By Supriya Singh, Youth Champion, India.

At the beginning of the year 2020, The Abortion Stigma project of Packard Foundation was going well. The peer educators, link workers, Project Coordinator and Youth Champions were working effectively in the community. But the pandemic brought our lives to a standstill and we could barely manage to do any work due to the government imposed lockdown in the months of March to June 2020.

India’s Silent Spiritual Leaders

By Rahul Tiwari, Youth Champion, India

India is a secular country like no other when it comes to the demographic composition. We have multiple religions and languages, but the thing that unites us all is our culture.

Religious leaders do not determine public policy. Neither should they. But they are important and powerful agents of change. They can nudge people to behave in more responsible ways or into following long-standing traditions.

The Youth Grants Summaries are out!

The summaries of our latest Youth Grant projects are hot off the press
Check what young people in Albania, Colombia, Nigeria, Spain and Tanzania have been doing to fight abortion stigma and ensure young people’s SRHR! 
These summaries are available in English, French and Spanish.

Subscribe to sexual rights – in first person

Irene and Rafa, Youtubers for “Subscribe to sexual rights, give a like to decide”.
Federación de Planificación Familiar – España (FPFE), Spain

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Put yourself in this situation: you’ve never been a youtuber, but in reality you love the influencer world and you know a fair bit about it. One day you find out that CJAS (Youth Centre on Contraception and Sexuality) is looking for faces for its new channel. You meet the requirements of the competition, you take part in it convinced that they will never call you, but suddenly you are the winner, you have a super coupon to spend in one of your favourite shops and a very interesting project to carry out. That’s what happened to us.

Subscribe to sexual rights: give a like to decide

Federación de Planificación Familiar – España (FPFE), Youth project team, Spain
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Since 2010, Spain has had an Organic law on sexual and reproductive health that regulates the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. Abortion is legal in our country, and yet there is still enormous misinformation and stigmatization about it.

This lack of accurate information contributes to the existence of a series of myths and fears which, in many cases, affect women’s decision-making process, especially of those more vulnerable such as young women. The experience of our organisation through sexuality education workshops and provision of sexuality services confirms these false beliefs and shows us how abortion continues to be associated with negative concepts that lead to stigma.

Youth initiative towards reducing abortion stigma in rural community of Nepal

By Reshna Shrestha, Youth Champion from Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN), Palpa branch.

I will be sharing with you what I and our Packard Foundation stigma project team think are some key factors and consequences that explain why there are such high levels of stigma regarding abortion in Nepal. This article also includes some of our deeds to challenge this stigma.

The reality of unsafe abortion – the told stories in Sagnarigu, Ghana

By Nondia Wendy Tipoka, Youth Champion, Ghana | Featured image: Peer mentor and Youth Champion during a Girl Boss event in Accra.

Stigma related to abortion has been a very big issue in the Sagnarigu district of Ghana, as it is in many other parts of the country. This forces women to take decisions which are unsafe and dangerous to their health and well-being. In order to address this stigma, the Stigma Free Abortion Services project (StigFAS) is being implemented by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) in Tamale and Accra. In this article I share with you, as a youth champion on the project and in Tamale, my activism and experiences in combating abortion-related stigma and promoting access to safe abortion services through referral and cost waivers.

Working with Pharmacists in Murhu and Lucknow City

By Supriya Singh and Rahul Tiwari, Youth Champions, India.

Abortion Stigma affects women and girls, abortion providers, reproductive rights advocates and communities. Stigmatization is a deeply contextual, dynamic social process; stigma from abortion is the discrediting of individuals as a result of their association with abortion.

We have been active as Champions of the Abortion stigma project since the end of 2018,  in two areas of Lucknow city (Uttar Pradesh): Faizullaganj (peri-urban) and Bakshi ka Talab (rural).

Testimony: Even when I had a choice, I didn’t really feel like I did

Testimony by Ermira from Tirana, Albania

I was a teenager who had unprotected sex with my boyfriend. My family was very supportive but very religious and even when I had a choice I didn’t really feel like I did. So, I got married when I had a child. I also got divorced by the time I was 20 and, as a high school dropout, I was pregnant again because I wasn’t educated on how to protect myself and use contraceptives. I felt stupid and irresponsible but I knew I could not support another child.

“Let’s talk abortion” – Fighting stigma in Nigeria

By Omodele Peace, YAM PPFN* Volunteer, Public health specialist, 22 years old.

Abortion stigmatization is prevalent in Nigeria, which can be largely attributed to inadequate knowledge on the subject matter, restrictive laws, cultural and religious beliefs. Many people in Nigeria still hold misconceptions around abortion and, as a result, shame those who provide abortion information and services and those who chose to have an abortion.

YATAS made me change my beliefs on abortion

By Marjo Rabiaj, Peer Educator,  YATAS* Project, Albania

“I believe that awareness of reproductive and sexual health and rights enables us to have a safe and healthy life. Let’s make our voices heard and ask for information about abortion and services free of stigma and discrimination”

Colombia: Young activists defending the right to chose

By Mariana del Mar Sosa Henao and María José Mejía Gómez.

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We share the experiences of María José and Mariana, two young activists who are part of the Jóvenes VIVE project, a collective of young people for the defence of sexual and reproductive rights. Based in Ríonegro, Antioquia, their work focuses in guaranteeing access to legal and safe abortion in Colombia. We invite you to read their reflections.