The Y-SAV project led by Rutgers WPF, the Dutch IPPF member, is an excellent example of how a strong centre of expertise on sexual and reproductive health and rights can promote change on all levels. From in-depth research to effective policy-making and on-ground activities Y-SAV’s work stands out when it comes to improving the lives of young Europeans who counter sexual violence. As you read this, research and country reports are translated into concrete actions by policy makers, and around Europe, young advocates speak out for gender equality and against sexual violence. Are we failing to address the reality and the real needs of young people? This is the question that alarmed Rutgers WPF, as study after study provided similar results: sexual aggression and victimization is highly prevalent among young Europeans. In a number of EU countries, a third to half of reported sexual assault cases are of young people, primarily young women – meaning that young people's sexual health and sexual rights are strongly endangered. These alarming findings led to the initiation of Y-SAV, a three-year project on Youth Sexual Aggression and Victimization co-funded by the European Union. Since its introduction, Y-SAV has been tackling youth sexual aggression and victimization on several fronts. This starts with making research comparable across countries and bringing scientists, policy makers and health and education experts together. Young advocates are taking the research findings to a concrete level, discussing them with policy makers and their peers and providing peer-to-peer education. The goal is to see a Europe where every level of action aims at the best possible response to sexual aggression experienced by youth. Gosia’s story from Poland: Young activists combat sexual aggression and victimization “During the summer of 2013, Y-SAV supported two youth led activities: YouAct, which is a group of young European sexual rights advocates, and Ponton, our project in Poland. The name Ponton comes from our volunteer peer educator group, Ponton Group of Sex Educators. We wanted to encourage young people to speak out against Youth Sexual Aggression and Victimization (YSAV). We felt frustrated as in Poland, over 70% of teenagers have experienced some kind of victimization, but the government has not taken concrete measures to prevent this phenomenon. The main goal of our project was to engage young people so that action would be taken by young people for young people. We asked an all-girl hip hop group Rymy w Sercu to create a song about sexual violence to spread the message in a way that would get to young people – and they did an amazing job! You can see their video ‘Take a stand’ here. (Remember to turn on ‘captions’ for subtitles!) Our school workshops inspired young people to come together to rally against sexual violence. They created slogans, photos and a website. It was great to see students being so active. Media and culture fuel negative gender stereotypes and influence the way sexuality and intimate relationships are seen. We need comprehensive sexuality education to fight those stereotypes and convey accurate information. As one of the participants said, “This was the first time someone talked with us about sexual violence.” “I think that if in every school every student could participate in such workshops, more people like me would open up to discussions about sexuality - the issue is an essential part of every human being.”

Our member SRH Serbia (the Serbian Association for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) decided to challenge gender stereotypes in Serbian society through the act of theatre-based workshops, in partnership with IPAK Center. In a country where social issues like gender are rarely a serious part of public debate, boys and girls taking part literally walk in one another's shoes to help challenge and dismantle 'gender roles'. As SRH Serbia's Dragana Stojanović says, "gender roles are merely roles that we are playing all our lives, and this is why playing them on the stage makes perfect sense." The project was funded by IPPF's Innovation Fund.

In my capacity as the coordinator for the YSAFE network, I was given the opportunity to participate in a workshop on cyber empowerment organised by the young Socialists and Democrats and the Digital Leadership Institute. The workshop was organised by the CEO of the Digital Leadership Institute, Cheryl Miller. Going into the workshop I expected that, as a minimum, I would gain some new skills on how to promote gender equality through technological and online means. I ended up with a lot more. I left the workshop with a sense of urgency, that was caused by the fact that that I had just been presented with a fundamental obstacle to gender equality – yet for some reason, very few people were doing anything about it. Seventy-three percent of women have experienced abuse online. Online abuse is a form of cyber violence.  The U.N. defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts.” Cyber violence extends that definition to include acts like trolling, hacking, spamming, and harassment online.[1] Internet and social media platforms allow people to hide behind anonymous usernames or twitter handles often causing the abuse to be even crueler than would be the case offline. Women and girls who spend their time online in areas that are very male dominated, such as online gaming platforms, experience this more frequently. Comments such as: “You are a girl gamer, you’re probably fat” are not uncommon in these fora. Cyber violence can take the form of picture sharing online.  It is often naked or intimate pictures, predominantly of women, that are shared without the person’s consent on social media or on “revenge porn” sites. In 2013, the young Danish feminist Emma Holten experienced a particularly cruel form of gender-based cyber violence. Her e-mail was hacked and naked pictures of her were shared on social media. When reporting this to the police, she was told that there was nothing they could do. They simply told her to turn off her computer. Emma has since become famous for being a spokesperson against gender-based cyber violence. We can be thankful to her for the attention that she has brought to the issue, however, there is still a long way to go. For years, organisations working in the area of technology and cyber empowerment and feminist organisations, seemed to have been “missing each other”.  Although working on the same issue, gender equality, they broached it in different ways, with little to no cooperation. Gender-based cyber violence is in part an expression of a culture. The culture exists offline and then manifests online, where it is unfortunately often unchecked and unregulated. Even though this issue is a question of virtual and non-real behaviour, it very much affects real women in a very real way. As frequent users of internet and social media, young women are left especially exposed. As feminists we need to address all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence. This means acknowledging the importance of addressing and ending gender-based cyber violence too. By Anja Pederson, YSAFE Coordinator [1] http://time.com/4049106/un-cyber-violence-physical-violence/

Conflict for too many women is synonymous with rape and violence. It also means sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion, maternal morbidity or death. Sexual and reproductive health is never considered to be as important as food or security, yet for many women and girls, accessing these services can mean the difference between life and death. Many refugee women don’t even report rape; not only is the reporting process lengthy, slowing down their journey, but often the violence is perpetrated by police. An unprecedented number of women and adolescent girls are crossing into the European Union daily, with the numbers only set to rise. As crises intensify the need for SRH services increases exponentially, yet it continues to be neglected by key humanitarian responders. Most countries do not even have an emergency response strategy in place to deal with crises, let alone one that includes SRH. If you don’t have an enabling environment in a peaceful situation, how can you respond to SRH needs in an emergency? Integrated services Effective emergency response strategies require capacity development, multistakeholder coordination, improved availability of resources — including supplies — and most importantly, funding. Budget for SRH services in humanitarian crises falls a long way short of what is needed to save lives, and increased investment, prior to and during an emergency, can effectively mitigate the impact of future crises. A set of essential SRH services should be provided as soon as a humanitarian situation arises, including effective coordination, prevention of sexual violence, reduction of sexually transmitted infections, prevention of maternal and infant mortality, and the integration of comprehensive SRH services into primary health care. The occasional provision of dignity kits with items such as sanitary pads and soap, although welcome, are in no means sufficient to address the needs of refugee women. Condoms or any other form of contraception are not included. Priority on partnerships To tackle these critical issues and assist countries in preparing for a potential crisis, International Planned Parenthood European Network and United Nations Population Fund (Eastern Europe and Central Asia) developed the Minimum Initial Service Package readiness assessment tool. This looks at whether a country is able to effectively respond to SRH in an emergency and what medical structures are already in place. This enables governments, U.N. agencies, and civil society organizations to respond effectively to the needs of refugee women. Continuous migration means that responses must also be quick and adaptive. Although most of the response is implemented by CSOs on the ground, partnerships are crucial, and priority areas should be developed in conjunction with governments. Governments have a duty to respond effectively and must be sensitized to the issues refugee women face. The prolific instances of gender-based violence amongst refugee populations should make SRH a top priority when it comes to emergency response strategies, not an afterthought. For this, the MISP readiness assessment tool guides responders on the following key issues: how to implement and prioritize effective SRH to a population constantly on the move; and how to tackle gender-based violence when women are only there for a maximum of 72 hours. Serving mobile populations IPPF EN member association HERA, the Health Education and Research Association in Macedonia, is currently able to provide immediate gynecological services to refugee women and counseling on gender-based violence. This is only possible because HERA and partners began to prepare for SRH needs in a crisis as part of a country team in 2012, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and other key actors. This has proved to be vital as more than 650,000 refugees have entered Macedonia so far; up to 50 percent of whom are women. Yet the provision of SRH services is still critically low. HERA is the only responder currently providing mobile gynecological services at the transit camps. Many of the SRH services delivered at these mobile clinics are lifesaving, particularly for pregnant women. Undertaking these types of arduous journeys means safe delivery becomes almost impossible due to a lack of obstetric care. Malnutrition and epidemics only serve to increase the risk of pregnancy complications. In addition, the burden of time restrictions makes it incredibly difficult for women to receive the necessary medical treatment as they are only given 72 hours to transit the country, and typically only stay for four to six hours. HERA is also establishing standard operational procedures on how to combat gender-based violence in such a short time frame and provide support for them both medically and psychologically. However, coordinated reporting on gender-based violence at transit camps is extremely challenging as most refugees are unregistered. Scale up efforts Poor response systems and EU member states’ willingness to send refugees back to an environment where they are at increased risk of death and violence are indicative of collective amnesia on pledges to aid refugees in crisis. Only 12 EU member states have ratified the Istanbul Convention guaranteeing the protection of women, regardless of their status. A lack of policy cohesion and compliance with international humanitarian laws has resulted in huge implementation gaps. Member states need to scale up efforts in responding to humanitarian emergencies to prevent gender-based violence, improve the provision of essential SRH services to enable the protection and empowerment of vulnerable women and girls. SRH is a human right and in denying these services, we are denying women and girls of their basic human rights. By Dearbhla Crosse, Communications Advisor, IPPF EN and Nesrine Talbi, Programme Advisor, IPPF EN Click to read the article published in Devex as part of the Beyond Borders Conversation

1 in 3. This is how many women have been subjected to violence in their lifetime. This is shocking, yet when you look at the pervasive sexism in our society, this figure isn’t so surprising. Sexism is the root of violence against women and the force preventing women from choosing, from standing up for themselves, from demanding to be treated equally. If you look at gender-equality indicators, gender-inequality, the pay gap and sexual and gender-based violence is widespread.  Sexism is based on this conviction that a woman must behave in a certain way and must be punished if she doesn’t. Shouldn’t all women have the right to choose their own destinies? Feminism is not one destiny for all. It is about providing the possibility for every single woman to take responsibility for her own life and choices without someone else dictating them. Politics and the Backlash against Women We are seeing an unprecedented attack on women’s rights across Europe and the world. Now, more than ever, there is an attempt to close the political space for women, to starve the women’s movement and take away the rights we have been building up over the last 50 years. The current political climate will prove extremely challenging for women, and there is a grave risk of a lack of safe space for women both in the political arena and in the household. This political backlash risks reinforcing a misogynistic culture that in turn will have a huge impact on women in society. The battle for women's rights is unfinished, yet we are being forced to turn back. The anti-feminist movement is linked to bigger geopolitical changes. Yet how does this translate into the reinforcement of a culture that fuels violence against women? How can a new political social movement in Europe speak to women who vote for anti-progressive parties? How can we understand their concerns before political frustrations bring new forces into power who will seriously threaten women’s health, life and autonomy in Europe and worldwide? The conditions that allow harmful practices like FGM, domestic and sexual abuse, rape, forced marriage, child marriage and forced pregnancy are spun from this. Sexism in politics means dissolving a culture based on human rights. This merely confirms the right to oppress half of the population. Moral leadership is lacking at a time when political fomentation is high. We are facing an unprecedented erosion of rights as a result of frustration in the democratic institutions at national and European levels. Women feel let down by their national governments because their right to be protected against violence has been abused. If we allow women to be degraded and devalued, what future are we building? Complacency and acceptance mean people are in danger of becoming so entrenched in a system, they don’t even realise when they become a part of a system. We need to challenge the status quo. Shifting Values to Eliminate Violence: If we are to foster a culture that goes beyond the political parties and a culture that is humane, where women are respected and valued, we must eliminate sexism. How would you ever recognise that women are valued if you are judging it by what you see every day? Is there any place where violence has been eradicated?  Is there any place where it is isn’t accepted with resignation and indifference instead of challenge? We hear about women tortured and killed everywhere, we see it on the internet, in the family, on the streets, on TV, in political rhetoric but nothing changes. Visibility has increased, reporting has increased, but the root causes have not been tackled and eliminated. So, how do you build a society that’s based on human rights? The right to participate, have a job, education, choose your partner, the right to decide on your life? We all have constraints but we must eliminate structural discrimination. Sexism and inequality are at the core of this lack of value placed on women. We live in a system where women and girls are treated as second class citizens, and in turn that system is not protecting women and children. If you are a woman in a minority group, your suffering will be even greater. What we value is what we protect and if you are not valued, you are clearly not protected. If you are not considered worthy in our society, you are exposed to the worst kinds of abuse and violence. The epidemic of violence, impunity for sexual abuse and inequality in the job market is a direct product of this lack of value. Even the concept of aspiring to achieve gender equality is somehow being questioned by some forces today. When people oppress values, they increase intolerance and impunity for abuse. This rising trend in the populistic ultra-right-wing movement means we are seeing a reversal of rights and this is what is worrying. We are concerned about what this means not only for democracy but for the life of women in Europe and beyond. The Eurobarometer revealed that in countries like Romania, 55% of people believe that intercourse without consent is justifiable under certain conditions. The worrying pretext of violence against women in all forms worldwide is why we are calling on the EU to to fully ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. This would ensure that violence against women continues to be recognised as a human rights violation; a form of discrimination against women; and a cause and a consequence of inequality between women and men.  We Must Take a Stand! This is an appeal to not just progressive thinkers but to everyone, no matter your political convictions. The measure of who you are is how you treat women, the women you agree with, the ones you don’t, the women who are like you and who are not like you. Allowing the space for public debate is crucial, alongside being given the means to participate. Providing the power is key. Society has changed and we cannot hope for change without disruption. Women must be the incarnation of this diversity; younger or older, educated or uneducated, any race, legal status or disability. You can’t have a society that is respectful if the members of this society are not represented. Let’s value women, ALL women. And allow them to have choices whatever they may be and wherever they are. They have the right to not be stigmatised for their choices. A right for their priorities to be addressed. This is the time to ask ourselves as European women, fathers, sons, brothers, friends, to say, if we value women and girls, what do we first have to do to eradicate conditions that push some individuals to kill, torture and oppress other individuals, in particular our sisters, friends, daughters, and our mothers? It’s time to join forces. If we want a future for our children, we need to wake up and take action. By Irene Donadio, Public Affairs Manager and Dearbhla Crosse, Communications Advisor  

Gender equality will only be achieved in Europe and Central Asia when women and girls are able to realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights, the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN)  said to mark International Women's Day on 8 March. It is estimated that two-thirds of the 1.4 billion people currently living in extreme poverty are women and that women make up 60 per cent of the 572 million working poor in the world. “It is time we tackled the harmful discrimination that prevents women and girls from fulfilling their potential,” said Vicky Claeys, IPPF EN Regional Director. Many people believe that European societies are modern and progressive when it comes to women’s rights. But patriarchal, traditional and religious influences still have a strong grip over the everyday lives of women and girls in many European countries. A strong conservative wind is currently blowing through many European and Central Asian countries and even through the EU and European institutions, opposing progress and challenging the imperfect but hard-won battles on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The EU and the Council of Europe must play as strong a role as possible in defending and strengthening the fundamental rights of women and girls.  Respecting sexual and reproductive health and rights is a pre-condition for their freedom and independence. “Supportive national policies and greater investment  in this area are needed not only to support, the health of women and girls, but also to enable them to participate across social, economic and political life.” Gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights must be prioritized in the next set of global development goals, the post-2015 framework, which will be decided in the next few months. Vicky Claeys added: “There are huge challenges to achieving gender equality. Society’s expectations for girls and women can limit their opportunities across social, economic and political life. “This is both a national and global agenda that cannot be ignored. To stamp out gender inequality and make sure that women and girls can realize their sexual and reproductive rights, we need both the political will for change and targeted financial support.” IPPF’s new report , ‘Sexual and reproductive health and rights – the key to gender equality and women’s empowerment’, which will be launched on March 16th at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, sets out specific recommendations to governments and to United Nations agencies to make sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality a reality, including:   Making sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality a reality Sustaining the success of sexual and reproductive health interventions Engaging men and boys as partners in gender transformative change Eliminating sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls Building capacity for women to participate in political and public life   Notes to editors:   Sexual and reproductive health and rights- the key to gender equality and empowerment- new landmark report will be launched at the United Nations at the Commission on the Status of Women 16th March