| Campaign |
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT ASAP COORDINATOR:
Suchitra Dalvie - suchidoc@hotmail.com |
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Why this campaign ?
While there are some organizations working worldwide towards improving women’s access to safe abortion services—either through advocacy, capacity building , service delivery , training and other ways, there is a need to link together all of these and synergize the efforts towards ensuring the right to safe abortion. There is also a need to link country level work to the regional and bring together those experiences and learnings to influence global work and policies.
The growing threat to safe abortion rights through religious fundamentalism and political conservatism is a serious concern. As a result of the MDG 5, the increasing influence of the Vatican and the UN SG’s statement about women and children being interpreted to exclude those with unwanted pregnancies, issues around safe abortion are being dropped by programme persons as well as funders since they are seen to be getting controversial and are often faced with hostile positioning. Not only are efforts to improve laws being blocked, but many attempts are being made to make laws more restrictive
An international movement and leadership is needed to challenge this on a credible and visible platform that goes beyond individual organizations and NGOs.
This campaign will be such a movement and it will be larger than the sum of its parts, similar to those which preceded the ICPD and influenced the paradigm changes in the way people and their governments looked at reproductive rights and populations. This campaign will also seek to change the culture surrounding support for women’s rights issues among civil society as well as professional groups. |
How will this campaign work ?
This campaign will bring together all the civil society and other groups working towards improving access to safe and legal abortion and will create a visible and legitimate and active forum for sharing information dissemination and capacity building for advocacy.
This campaign will also actively support national work to create support on the ground. |
Who will manage this campaign ?
Following discussions and meetings in Asia, Latin America and Africa, ICMA has been asked to lead the process and has launched a campaign along with our Regional Networks and other organizations at the global regional and country levels. The process of functioning and managing will evolve through ongoing and inclusive participatory processes being organized with a core group of key people working for safe abortion rights, |
What do we want out of this campaign ?
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Visibility for the issue of safe abortion rights |
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Legitimacy for safe abortion rights discussion at all forums for women’s health and rights, beyond only safe motherhood. |
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Capacity building of campaign partners to advocate for safe abortion rights, especially at the national level. |
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Ensuring the presence of the safe abortion agenda within the upcoming ICPD and MDG reviews. |
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Promoting the sharing and utilization of information relevant to safe abortion rights ( eg the benefits of legalization, Anand Grover’s statement to the UN of de-criminalization etc) |
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Create advocacy materials and tools through facilitation of documentation and creation of modules which can be used by partners ( for training doctors to shift from D&C to MVA, MA, registration of MA pills, facilitating doctors to provide safe abortions to the fullest extent of the law etc) |
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Monitoring and protecting existing rights, whether restrictive or liberal. |
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Dissemination of information to women about safe abortion and medical abortion through all channels—hotlines, social networking platforms etc |
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Create strategic partnerships |
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