Resources

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.

Investing in family planning is the only way women and girls can have the freedom to create their own futures. The Countdown 2030 Europe consortium is calling on governments and decision-makers everywhere to put women and girls at the top of the agenda #BecauseSheCounts! The clock is ticking... www.countdown2030europe.org Read the Countdown 2030 Europe gazette, Her Chronicles, for more stories on family planning, access to contraception and more.  

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat in Europe, in a climate of growing attacks on human rights, democracy and civic space. Ultra-conservative forces are trying to stifle people’s reproductive freedom and impose a coercive worldview about gender roles in family and public lives. Their cruelest tactic is forcing women through pregnancy by promoting refusal of abortion care. IPPF European Network champions reproductive freedom and access to abortion care, adapting our approach to the reality and needs of women from Norway to Tajikistan. Our work ranges from ensuring women have a voice in decision-making spaces to supporting grassroot activists and civil society movements. From providing abortion care services, to supporting health care professionals to provide the safest, highest quality care. Our members and partners are campaigners, care providers and advocates.  Read Keti's story and our latest blog series to find out how women in Georgia are being denied safe and dignified reproductive lives, and how IPPF's Georgian member, HERA XXI, is helping to tackle this.

In the EU all young women are free to decide about their own bodies, lives and futures. Or are they? Being denied sex and relationships literacy, stigma, gender inequalities and high costs stop girls from accessing contraception. IPPF EN cares for all women, men, children and young people across Europe and recognises their right to lead safe and dignified reproductive lives, free from harm and descrimination.  You can see the rest of our videos from this series here.

In many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, young people from marginalised groups most vulnerable to HIV are being harmed by high levels of violence, discrimination and stigma, and it is enormously difficult for them to access the care they need. This is the only region in the world where the HIV epidemic continues to rise rapidly, and yet many governments are failing to take action. IPPF EN champions free, safe and dignified lives for all people, especially those who are neglected by their governments and the societies they live in. Find out more about about how we are empowering and improving care for marginalised young people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  

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”.