Safe Abortion Advocacy Initiative
The Census 2011 once again revealed a decline in the child sex ratio across the country. Many state governments have responded by restricting the sale of abortion pills and availability of abortion services in the private sector.
An analysis of media coverage and discussions in the state assemblies and parliament reveals there is a misconception of pre-birth sex selection and access to safe abortion. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that these initiatives do not put the lives of women in danger by restricting their access to safe abortion services. It is estimated that one woman dies every two hours from abortion related causes. Therefore, a need was felt to advocate easier access of safe abortion services.
Population First, with the support of IPAS, launched an advocacy campaign on Safe Abortion in July 2012.
July to December 2012
The Census 2011 once again revealed a decline in the child sex ratio across the country. Many state governments have responded by restricting the sale of abortion pills and availability of abortion services in the private sector.
An analysis of media coverage and discussions in the state assemblies and parliament reveals there is a misconception of pre-birth sex selection and access to safe abortion. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that these initiatives do not put the lives of women in danger by restricting their access to safe abortion services. It is estimated that one woman dies every two hours from abortion related causes. Therefore, a need was felt to advocate easier access of safe abortion services.
Population First, with the support of IPAS, launched an advocacy campaign on Safe Abortion in July 2012.
“Safe Abortion Advocacy Initiative” focuses on;
• Creating awareness through media about consequences of unsafe abortions and availability of safe abortion services
• Partnering with media to protect women’s right to safe abortion
• Making informed decisions on abortion by elected representatives in parliament and state assemblies
• Creating a social environment which safeguards women's’ right to safe abortion services.
Pratigya Campaign
The deep rooted patriarchal values of the Indian society deny many a women her sexual and reproductive rights. Woman's sexual and reproductive behavior is controlled through gender discrimination and violence. The falling sex ratios and the continuing high maternal mortality and morbidity are reflective of the abridgment of the right of women to a life free of denial, discrimination and disease.
The deep rooted patriarchal values of the Indian society deny many a women her sexual and reproductive rights. Woman's sexual and reproductive behavior is controlled through gender discrimination and violence. The falling sex ratios and the continuing high maternal mortality and morbidity are reflective of the abridgment of the right of women to a life free of denial, discrimination and disease.
With the realization that, there is a need to address the programmatic issues as well as the socio- cultural factors that push women to go for gender biased sex selection as well as limit, stigmatize and criminalize their abortion seeking behavior, Pratigya is a campaign for ‘Gender Equality and Safe Abortion’, launched in January 2013 in collaboration with Ipas. The Campaign is committed to promoting women’s rights and access to safe abortion in India.
The campaign advocates for more effective action on both- enabling women’s access to safe abortion as well as in dealing with gender inequities in society that underlie sex selection. The campaign recognizes that the issue of sex selection gets conflated with abortion access but we believe that these are both mutually exclusive concerns that are equally important to address: firstly that access to safe abortion is a right and second that sex selection must be curtailed as it represents a cultural issue emerging from the subordinate status of women in a patriarchal society.
The campaign advocates are individuals and organizations that have been working credibly with government at the national and state level on issues of women’s empowerment and enabling women’s access to healthcare services.
Population First is engaged in the campaign to undertake effective public messaging for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion.
This Campaign envisions creating a platform to promote gender equality, place the issue of sex selection within this paradigm, while at the same time speaking up for women’s right to access safe abortion.
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