Resources

The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences are having a significant impact on people’s lives. The crisis risks exacerbating already existing inequalities for women, girls, underserved and vulnerable groups. It is notably endangering their sexual and reproductive health and safety. The EU and its Member States must tackle these renewed threats to women’s human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality as well as increased risks of domestic and sexual and gender-based violence, in their domestic and global response to the COVID-19 crisis. Read our asks towards the EU and Member States on how to safeguard reproductive freedom in their responses to COVID-19. EU leaders have committed to placing solidarity, resilience and sustainability at the heart of their response to the pandemic. To achieve this, they must protect the health and safety of those at greatest risk. This is our letter to them. 

We can't achieve gender equality without having access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).  SRHR underpin the health and well-being of all Europeans, from access to contraceptives and abortion care, sexual health services, relationships and sexuality education, to being protected from violence and coercion, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. However, access to SRHR varies greatly within and between EU Member States, which is particularly harmful to those in the most vulnerable situations. Furthermore, recent years have seen a rise of coercive movements both within and outside of the EU, with gender equality, women’s rights and reproductive freedom increasingly under attack. This paper lays down the steps to be taken to counter future such attempts that seek to restrict reproductive freedom and gender equality.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) underpin the health and well-being of all Europeans, from access to contraceptive and abortion care, sexual health services, and comprehensive sexuality education, to being protected from violence and coercion, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. When people are denied universal access to SRHR, achieving gender equality is impossible. Unfortunately, in 2019, access to these rights varies greatly within and between EU Member States (MS), which is particularly harmful to those in the most vulnerable situations. SRHR are increasingly under threat, with the rise of illiberal coercive movements against gender equality, women’s and LGBTI rights, and a shrinking civil society space within the EU. This paper lays down what MEPs can do to champion sexual and reproductive health and rights. It is available in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Romanian and Greek.

The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for reproductive health (RH) is a coordinated set of priority activities designed to prevent excess morbidity and mortality, particularly among women and girls at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. This report shows the overall results regarding the MISP for reproductive health preparedness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia as of today compared with 2014. The main results show that there has been a significant improvement in the region from a fair level of preparedness in 2014 to a good level of preparedness in 2017. The most important achievements are linked to the establishment of national SRH working groups, which now exist in 16 countries. This is an extraordinary achievement, as this was one of the weakest areas in 2014. Improved coordination at the national level had an impact on several other areas, and the overall results reflect the importance of having coordination in place so as to be better prepared. For the future, it will be essential to maintain this momentum and continue improving SRH preparedness in the region. The report includes some recommendations in this direction. As the authors point out, we are also living at a unique time, when a light has been shone on sexual harassment and sexual violence against women and girls in developed and developing countries. In addition, refugees and migrants continue to arrive in Europe, fleeing war-ravaged countries. Although they are disappearing from the news, their situation has not improved enough in the region. Ensuring access to priority SRH services in every humanitarian crisis means making sure that everybody can receive life-saving SRH services. This includes preventing sexual violence and taking care of survivors. To ensure comprehensiveness, preparedness activities have to be enhanced to include, in a more systematic manner, adolescent girls and young female adults, unaccompanied children, LGBTI people and women and girls with disabilities or living with HIV, in line with the SDG pledge to “leave no one behind”.  

The European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for its next multiannual budget (or the Multiannual Financial Framework, MFF), which will determine the EU’s annual spending from 2021 to 2027.  Crucially for civil society, this is the first multiannual budget following the adoption of Agenda 2030, the universal global agenda on sustainable development. This global agenda has recognised access to quality education, health services, nutrition and social protection, as central to lifting people out of poverty and reducing inequalities. Thus, to fulfil these commitments the EU must prioritise health, education and social protection in its post-2020 multiannual budget. IPPF EN and partners make recommendations on how to include these priorities in the post-2020 EU budget and ensure that the most marginalised people and children - especially women and girls - are not left behind.  In addition, a balanced MFF is gender-responsive or, put differently, it delivers on gender equality. In a joint paper, IPPF EN and partners make the case for a gender-responsive EU planning and budgeting.