Responding to the shocking events of early 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, was at the heart of our work throughout the year. We stayed in close contact with our Member Association in Ukraine as they continued to operate in the harshest of contexts, IPPF helping to support the delivery of essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) commodities into the country. We also secured funding to establish a humanitarian network with 17 partner organisations to ensure life-saving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) care for people in need in Ukraine, especially the most marginalised, as well as refugees arriving in neighbouring countries. We were humbled as our national partners, many already facing intolerable pressures from their daily fight against the backlash on SRHR and women’s rights, mobilised to join the humanitarian response. IPPF launched a fund-raising appeal to raise funds for Ukraine, and we moved swiftly to alert European Union (EU) decision-makers and raise awareness via international media, helping ensure SRHR was at the heart of the EU’s crisis response. In June, we were deeply saddened when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, removing 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion in the biggest blow to women’s health and rights in recent US history. We mobilised together with civil society partners and our national networks to ensure widespread European condemnation of the US move and warn of potential spill over effects on women’s rights globally. We were heartened to see decision-makers in some European countries double down on strengthening national protections for abortion rights. Against the backdrop of these external crises, we were excited to kick off the implementation of our first operating grant under the European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme, strengthening our ongoing work to contribute to a more gender equal society. In 2022, we reinforced our support to national social movements countering the backlash against gender equality and human rights. We continued to advance a progressive EU agenda that upholds rights, democracy and the rule of law, and combats gender-based violence (GBV). And we ensured growing numbers of young people are empowered and kept safe from harm by learning crucial skills relating to sexuality and relationships. We also centred a gender transformative lens in all aspects of our own work, from policies to language to programming. In June, we were thrilled to lead the Countdown 2030 Consortium in beginning a new phase of its mission to hold European donors to account for commitments on SRH and family planning, thanks to a new 4-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Meanwhile, on our Federation’s 70th anniversary in November, IPPF Member Associations from around the world unanimously adopted “Come Together”, a new global strategy 2023-28 that will equip us to uphold SRHR for those who are left out, locked out or left behind in a rapidly changing world.

The European Union (EU) is facing many obstacles in upholding its core values. Challenges such as the COVID pandemic, the Russian war against Ukraine, and the climate crisis have created unprece­dented uncertainty around our common future, and have increased existing inequalities, particularly for women and girls in all their diversity. The rise of autho­ritarian regimes and populist movements has led to growing opposition against EU values such as: the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and equality, inclu­ding a backlash against gender equality and women’s rights. Ahead of the pivotal moment that are the European elections, political parties must take a bold stand in the defence of EU values. The EU should actively tackle intersecting systems of oppression such as patriarchy, racism, neo-colonialism, and neo-liberalism. It should strive towards a world where everyone can enjoy the same rights, and lead free and safe private and family lives, free from sexism, coercion, and violence. We call on European political parties to put inclusive feminism at the heart of their electoral programmes, and to commit to further advancing gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in the EU and beyond. Read below our recommendations on how we can create together an inclusive feminist Europe that promotes gender equality, women’s human rights and SRHR in all fields; that puts an end to sexual and gender-based violence; and that counters the threats against its values.

The IPPF Sex Work Policy makes clear the position and commitments of our Federation globally with regards to sex work. This is the first time IPPF has taken a position on sex work, and presents human rights-based values and principles which apply broadly to all contexts, without being prescriptive about approaches or actions. It is rooted in positions taken by sex-worker led organisations and networks across the world, and in existing IPPF documents.  Find out more and download the policy here.  In line with IPPF’s global policy position, IPPF European Network is opposed to any measures in EU policy or legislative instruments that would criminalise any aspect of sex work, including clients and third parties.

Now is when standing by our values matters most. We must treat all people with dignity and humanity, not despite, but because we are faced with multiple crises caused by war, inflation, and a hard post-pandemic recovery. In 2021, European countries struggled to keep their promises to uphold sexual and reproductive freedom for all. They managed to maintain their overall support to sexual and reproductive health & rights worldwide by investing 2.780 billion euros. This includes 1.385 billion euros allocated to sexual health and family planning, which means at least 10.5 million women and couples had access to contraceptive care. But much more is needed. More investment and better policies around sexual and reproductive health will have a profound impact on people’s futures. It will give options to those of us without them. Which in turn will lead more people to thrive, thus creating safer, more just and prosperous communities. We have a shared moral responsibility to respond to global challenges in an equitable manner. In our most recent report, we are looking at 2021 funding data and 2022 political stances adopted by thirteen European governments and the EU institutions with regards to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Watch our video to get an overview of the findings and download the below resources for more information.

For 70 years IPPF has championed and delivered quality services, comprehensive information and advocated for just laws so that more people in more places under more circumstances may realize their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Started with an act of international solidarity between activists from just a handful of countries, IPPF has since grown into a broad and diverse community of services providers and advocates that stretches around the Earth. Our very existence manifests just how the demand for dignity in sexual and reproductive health and rights is universal to people the world over. But that world is changing rapidly. Tough challenges must be confronted – the toxic legacies of longstanding racism, sexism and homophobia, for example; the deepening impacts of the climate crisis, violence, and inequalities; the escalating consequences of new technologies, population displacements, and habitat destruction. Wherever such dynamics impact people’s lives, IPPF knows enjoyment of SRHR is impacted too. Whenever people confront humanitarian crises, we know their SRHR are thrust into crisis too. Whoever is subject to prejudice, bigotry, or exclusion, has their access to SRHR also eroded. We know that the worst consequences of those injustices are borne by young people in the poorest of communities, in the toughest of places, facing the fewest opportunities. To be impactful in a world of change, IPPF must change too. That is what Strategy 2028 is all about: changing IPPF so it is well equipped to uphold SRHR for those who are left out, locked out or left behind. Our Strategy 2028 sets out a familiar path but in a new direction over far tougher terrain to that clear destination. We will walk that path shoulder to shoulder with young people, and with individuals and communities bearing the full brunt of stigma and prejudice. At each step, we will defend, protect, and celebrate safety, pleasure and wellbeing in sex and reproduction. At every turn, we will denounce powers and authorities who, through policy, practice, and law, undermine dignity and human rights in those intimate realms. And, as IPPF, we will be accountable for who we are, what we do and how we do it. That is our Strategy 2028. It is with immense pride that the IPPF Board of Trustees shares this strategic itinerary with you. We very much hope you will travel this road with us – in your own realities, communities, and contexts. Let’s do that together. Let’s come together, for sexual and reproductive dignity for all - for each and every one of us, to the exclusion of none of us, in the interests of all of us. Kate Gilmore, Chair, BoT, IPPF

Over the last few years, the EU has been facing many challenges in the realization of its core values: the rule of law, democracy, human rights, equality, especially gender equality, and women’s rights. The upcoming years are an opportunity for the EU to reflect on the direction it wants to take, the values it should stand for, and what more it can do to uphold and defend them. The EU should strive towards a world where everyone can enjoy the same rights, and lead free and safe private and family lives, free from sexism, coercion, and violence. In this crossroads moment, the upcoming three Council of the EU Presidencies – Sweden, Spain, and Belgium – have a critical role to play to uphold EU values. We call on them to adopt a feminist approach and show stronger leadership to further advance gender equality and women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in the EU and beyond. Read below our recommendations to the next Presidencies to lead the EU on a feminist path.