The second pillar of eliminating poverty through women’s rights involves advocating for and providing sexual and reproductive health rights. The lack of autonomy over one’s sexual and reproductive health is a significant injustice faced by women and girls. It impacts a wide array of decisions and actions taken by women worldwide, such as when to marry and have children. Globally, women have limited access to sexual health and reproduction resources, causing them unable to make informed decisions about themselves and their bodies. The lack of freedom surrounding women’s sexual and reproductive health has led to severe consequences for many women. Thus, it is essential to make such services readily available and to liberate women’s right to their own bodies and decisions surrounding their own actions.
Did You Know?
830 women die every day because of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth
214 million women globally have an unmet need for contraception.
25 million unsafe abortions took place globally between 2010 and 2014
One of the featured projects Oxfam is working on to reduce these statistics is Her Future, Her Choice to establish advocacy, education, and empowering services in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through this project, Oxfam is hoping to put sexual and reproductive health decision-making back in the hands of young women and adolescent girls by:
Advocating for women’s bodily autonomy and rights
Changing negative attitudes on sexual and reproductive health
Ensuring young women have access to the vital health information and services they deserve
Training public health workers
Check out more information about Her Future, Her Choice and their work on increasing access to sexual and reproductive health and rights at https://www.oxfam.ca/project/hfhc/.
Stay tuned for our next biweekly post on Women’s Economic Justice!