Resources

Young people are often denied care in societies where sex is taboo and parents can control their children’s access to medical providers. These challenges are amplified in conservative contexts where women and girls are made to feel uncomfortable when talking about contraception. The Tajikistan Family Planning Association (TFPA) has pioneered a phone application - available free of charge - that allows young people to gain crucial knowledge about modern contraception and sexually transmitted infections/HIV and connects them with health care providers. Through its innovative app, TFPA has created a safe space for young people to access stigma-free care, and to explore methods of sexual and reproductive self-care. This app has changed attitudes towards people living with STIs/HIV and inspired young people to have open and honest conversations about sexual and reproductive health care with their peers. "Before using the app, she thought STIs could only be caught by sex workers or people lacking morals, and that something like that could never happen to her or to her close friends. But now she realises that it can happen to anyone, even by accident. Now she tries to understand people who might have an STI." Young person in Tajikistan recounting an interview with a 19-year old woman as part of TFPA’s project

IPPF European Network is breaking down barriers to contraceptive freedom, helping to ensure that all people can lead safe and dignified reproductive lives. Across Europe and Central Asia, women are being denied control over their sexual and reproductive lives as a result of hostile chauvinist policies, gender inequality and social oppression. Many governments are not doing enough to ensure that women and girls have true access to contraceptive care, and it is the poorest and most marginalised who bear the brunt of this neglect. Too often, contraception is the privilege of the few, and women from low-income backgrounds are five times more likely to be forced into pregnancy through denial of care. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the level of modern contraceptive use (meaning all non-emergency, reversible methods) is alarmingly low. And overall in Europe, 43% of pregnancies are unintended (EPF, 2018), a result of denial of contraceptive care and of governments refusing to ensure sex and relationships education for all young people. Young people are also being let down by health care systems in which they face institutionalised stigma and discrimination when seeking contraception.  IPPF EN is working across Europe and Central Asia to break through these barriers. We are fighting to redefine contraceptive care as a policy priority and to offer stigma-free care to all, especially to those who are most in need.

A ‘Barometer’ report launched by IPPF EN in 2015 analyses how easily women in 16 EU countries can access modern contraceptives. It finds that overall, the situation in most countries has stagnated or worsened in recent years. The EU countries covered by the report are: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. Information on participating national partners can be found in the report. The report’s findings are based on information about the national policy landscapes provided by national experts in each of the 16 countries, using a series of policy benchmarks that are key to ensuring access to modern contraceptives. The information was collected, analysed and reviewed between May and November 2014. The report is endorsed by the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESC) and International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH).

We call on national decision-makers to support the implementation of a comprehensive approach to contraceptive choice in the 16 countries within a broader sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda. This is fundamental to ensuring the wellbeing of all women and girls, particularly the most vulnerable and is a crucial precondition to allowing women and couples the freedom to choose parenthood or not. It is a competence of EU Member States to formulate and implement SRHR policies at a national level. Yet when it comes to public health and non-discrimination, the EU can exercise policy-making, foster research and the exchange of best practices, and better support the implementation of SRHR at national level. Therefore, the Barometer partners call for a structured dialogue involving all relevant stakeholders at EU and national levels. Additionally, we urge the EU to make a greater investment in SRHR research and data collection.