By Marcelline Sounnoukinny and Elvis Seriki, Youth Champions, Benin
Version en français ci-dessous
Here is the second report on the 2020 International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma (INROADS) conference, by Youth Champions Marcelline Sounnoukinny and Elvis Seriki, from Benin. This years’ INROADS conference was held in Mombasa, Kenya, between the 10th and 14th February this year. Here’s Marcelline and Elvis report on their experience.
By Wendy Nondia Tipoka and Cyril A. Otabil, Youth Champions, Ghana
This year, the International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma (INROADS) conference was held in Mombasa, Kenya, between the 10th and 14th February this year. Cyril Otabil and Wendy Nondia Tipoka, from Ghana, share their reflections on those four days exchanging thoughts and ideas. Here’s the first of our Youth Champions reports on the 2020 INROADS conference. Continue reading “INROADS 2020: Ghana Youth Champions report!”
By Mwape Kaunda, youth volunteer at Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia
Coming from a family that are strong believers of tradition, for me abortion had always been portrayed as sinful and evil. Myths like; abortion will leave a woman barren and, people who die from abortion turn black from all the bleeding. Hearing all those myths made me detest and fear abortion but upon acquiring knowledge I made it my aim to ensure people change their attitudes towards abortion and the women who practice abortion. It became vital that accurate information should be disseminated. Being an activist and advocate hadn’t been easy because the beliefs are deeply rooted in society. Continue reading “My body, my health rights, my choice”
Aussi en français ci-dessous
By Kader Avonnon, Youth Champion, Association Béninoise pour la Promotion de la Famille (ABPF)
According to the World Health Organisation, 47,000 women die of complications related to unsafe abortion every year. One of the main causes of these deaths is the stigma surrounding access to information and abortion services. I personally think that abortion is a health service like any other; access to it is a fundamental human right that must be ensured for all. Because, safe abortion services save the lives of women and girls.
On 29th and 30th May 2017, I participated in a regional meeting organized by Inroads (International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Stigma and Discrimination) in Lusaka, Zambia. The purpose of the meeting was to provide participants from African countries with a forum for discussing good practices in combating the stigma associated with abortion services. Continue reading “Inroads Africa Regional Meeting: A festival of ideas”
By Dennis Glasgow, youth volunteer and peer educator at the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association
In March I was told that I had won a video contest on ‘Talking About Abortion’ that was facilitated by IPPF and the prize was attending an international conference that deals with issues I am particularly passionate about. Luckily for me, Women Deliver was suggested and after doing some research I decided to take the once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Copenhagen, Denmark.
I was asked to speak at two IPPF events at Women Deliver about my experience in Guyana with Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and it was indeed an honour for me, my organization and my country.
On the first day I gave a presentation at the IPPF Member Association in Denmark called Sex & Samfund (The Danish Family Planning Association) on sexuality education in Guyana where I spoke about what I believe young people need to know about their sexual and reproductive health: ‘’what counts as ‘sex’? , we want to know more about contraceptives, how to use condoms correctly and how to access them, we want to learn about relationships, how our body changes, we want to be told that having sexual urges is normal and tell us ways in which we can deal with it, we want to know more about abortion and finally, I think virginity should be a topic we pay more attention to, especially to the myths around it.” The presentation was well received by participants and we had a very interactive session with the audience afterwards. The Conference officially commenced with an astonishing opening ceremony which saw the participation of thousands of conference delegates who came from all over the world and people who have been working in various areas that promoted Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Maternal Health and my personal favourites, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Abortion Stigma Reduction. My personal favourite was the “Abortion Stigma Reduction” workshop which was facilitated by Inroads.
I also spoke at the launch of IPPF’s report ‘Everyone’s right to know: delivering comprehensive sexuality education for all young people’ and the best part of the entire experience was being able to be a normal peer educator and volunteer and being afforded with the opportunity to sit and speak alongside Tewodros Melesse, Director General of IPPF, Martin Bille Herrman who is the Danish Secretary of State for Development Policy and Joanna Herat of UNESCO. At the end of the presentations the Minister approached me on his way out and congratulated me for all the work I’ve been doing and shook my hand. He also encouraged me to keep doing what I do, and hearing from him was truly one of the best moments for me at Women Deliver. The Guardian had a representative at the launch and she approached me for an interview and I was like “Why not?” and we spoke about the experiences I had with CSE and eventually it was posted on their website as a podcast.
After the week was over I got to share my experiences with my peers back at the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association. I got to meet some inspiring people and share my personal story as a young peer educator at the Member Association. I can personally pledge to always stand up for my fellow young people and I will always be an advocate for Comprehensive Sexuality Education to be accessible to all Guyanese youth.
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