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A selection of resources from across the Federation

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| 15 December 2022
Sexuality education, gender equality and SGBV - a study of knowledge and attitudes in Portugal
Sexuality and relationships education is a vital tool for promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence among young people and within our societies more broadly. School environments are in a privileged position to reach young people and facilitate the development of fundamental life skills, attitudes, knowledge, and values. In particular, during compulsory schooling, there is a window of opportunity for schools to make a strong contribution to building students' skills and awareness of social inequalities and discrimination and empowering them with knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their lives. In 2022, IPPF EN commissioned a baseline study to assess knowledge, attitudes and comfort relating to gender equality and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) among students, parents and teachers in northern Portugal. The findings of the baseline study can be downloaded below, together with a 1-page summary of the project. We will continue to build on this study over the coming 3 years, measuring the impact of our gender transformative sexuality education programme delivered in school settings in Portugal. Going beyond the traditional focus on health outcomes of sexuality education, we aim to study the immediate and long-term effect on young people’s knowledge, attitudes and values regarding gender equality. The evidence we intend to provide is that that gender transformative sex and relationships education is key to the prevention of SGBV.

| 22 November 2022
Gynaecological and Obstetric Violence - a form of gender-based violence
The widespread and systemic mistreatment and violence against women experienced during childbirth and other reproductive health services has gained international visibility in recent years, following pioneering work in several Latin American countries to recognise and criminalise this form of gender-based violence. International institutions have also spoken out on the issue. In 2014, gynaecological and obstetric violence was acknowledged by the World Health Organisation, and in 2019 the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women described it as a “serious violation of women’s human rights occurring across all geographical and income-level settings”. In Europe, the parliaments of the Council of Europe and of the European Union have very recently adopted resolutions drawing attention to this phenomenon and calling for national and European measures to tackle it. But to date, no national government has put in place legislation specifically to criminalise gynaecological and obstetric violence. This means that currently, people living in EU Member States have few legal protections or means of redress. With this in mind, IPPF EN produced this research and policy paper to provide an outline of the systemic and widespread nature of gynaecological and obstetric violence across many countries in Europe, and make recommendations to European and national decision-makers to tackle this form of gender-based violence. On this page you can download our full research and policy paper, as well as a short summary of the report. Check out IPPF EN's Safe From Harm campaign, highlighting the EU action we support to combat gender-based violence. *** This work was funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme. Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of IPPF EN and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union or the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

| 22 September 2022
Combatting harmful gender norms through innovative education
Rigid gender norms or stereotypes limit people’s ability to pursue their professional careers and make choices about their lives. Gender norms not only limit people’s freedom and choices, but they end up condoning gender-based violence and perpetuating inequalities rooted in unbalanced power dynamics. As a result, people are coerced by collective expectations into taking up gender roles that stop them from pursuing the careers and relationships they want, or even being themselves. For example, young men are often expected to suppress their emotions so that they can conform to damaging understandings of strength and masculinity. This leaves men illequipped to express or navigate through their emotions, which can later on cause issues for their mental health. Equally, young women are often expected to be polite and accommodating to others - even in situations where they are made to feel uncomfortable. Conforming to this expectation can make it more difficult for women to assert themselves and can lead to their enduring discrimination or abuse without possessing the skills or confidence to address it. But relationship and sexuality education can play a crucial role in dismantling and challenging harmful gender norms, thus preventing gender-based violence and giving young people the skills needed to lead more equal and safe lives. Furthermore, training of adults and educators is key to raising their awareness around existing gender stereotypes that they may inadvertently perpetuate. Civil society organisations in Serbia, Estonia, Romania and Latvia came together under the Youth SpectActors project to do just that. The main purpose of the project was to educate and empower young people between 12-25 years of age to question gender norms, attitudes and stereotypes that contribute or could lead to gender-based-violence (GBV) through organising theatrical plays that deal with typical situations where gender identity and expression occur. Read about the results of our project on people's lives in the below factsheet.

| 06 July 2022
2021 IPPF EN Annual Performance Report
The pandemic remained an ever-present backdrop to our work in 2021, as online tools brought new opportunities for learning, innovation and expanding our reach, but with valuable face-to-face activities still limited and shifting restrictions forcing us to make constant adjustments. Like our resilient Member Associations (MAs) and partners, we adapted and continued to deliver on our programmes and commitments. By the end of the year, a “new normal” of hybrid working and increased stability began to come into view. Another constant was interference by opposition forces, persistently seeking to reverse progress and undermine rights, freedoms and the rule of law. ENRO continued to push back, through our external engagement and through our support to social movements, MAs and partners building on our experience with winning narratives and blending expertise and skills from across our team to help strengthen, connect and amplify the voice of national activists and boost regional solidarity and political support for their causes. It was an exciting year in terms of securing restricted funding to support our work on our regional priorities. We kicked off in January with a brand new project funded by MSD for Mothers, building on young people’s experiences of the pandemic to ensure youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care in the Balkans. And in November we won a 4-year framework partnership agreement with the European Commission for core support to ENRO’s championing of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender equality. Also in November, the Gates Foundation invited the ENRO-led Countdown 2030 Europe Consortium to submit a new and expanded 4-year proposal to continue holding European decision-makers accountable for their international development commitments. At the global level, as IPPF continued to change and adapt to meet the challenges of our age, ENRO made many active contributions to consolidating a united secretariat, collaborating with colleagues from around the globe in a wide range of areas, both functional and cross-cutting, and helping the sharing of technical knowledge, learning and best practices. We also invested in the development of the new global strategy 2023-28, convening our MAs and young people to input their expertise, facilitating roundtables and providing our own insights at each step.
| 20 June 2022
2021 IPPF Annual Performance Report
IPPF has always done the utmost to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. In 2021, IPPF Member Associations (MAs) continued to demonstrate their resilience and adaptability to carry on serving people in spite of the severe disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 231.4 million services were delivered, a six per cent increase on 2020. Despite comprising fewer MAs, IPPF recovered more than half the decrease caused the previous year by clinic closures and other restrictions. Couple years of protection (CYP) increased by eight percent to reach 29 million – higher than in any year prior to the pandemic.

| 20 June 2022
Bringing people together for reproductive freedom
IPPF members are working hand-in-hand with networks of actors from within and around diverse Roma communities in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. The common goal: to improve access to life-changing sexual and reproductive healthcare for girls, women and young people, and tackle some of the deep rooted obstacles that prevent people - especially women and youth - from living safer and healthier lives. We are proud to share highlights of our work, recommendations to decision-makers and impact story in the below brochure.