19 Feb Pushing boundaries: Advancing Safe Abortion Advocacy in Restrictive Settings
Monday 20 March
13:00 pm – 15:00 pm
Permanent Mission of the Netherlands
666 3rd Ave, New York
Hosts: Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN and WGNRR
While substantial progress was made towards MDG 5 (reducing maternal mortality and ensuring universal access to reproductive health), limited access to safe and legal abortion services continues to be one of the greatest contributors to maternal mortality, and one of the largest unaddressed barriers to realizing women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
It is often argued that it is difficult to advance the right to access to safe abortion in highly restrictive contexts, due to conservative cultural norms, pervasive abortion-related stigma, discrimination and the criminalization of women and abortion service providers, among other factors. This session will present evidence to the contrary, illustrating not only that it is possible to increase access to services and reduce stigma in restrictive settings, but also the imperative of ensuring that CSOs are capacitated and supported in order to take advantage of advocacy opportunities as they arise.
Moderated by WGNRR’s Executive Director Kathy Mulville
To RSVP please send email to: marevic@wgnrr.org