Empowering women living with HIV and young people
Capacity-building and advocacy on unwanted pregnancies and
abortion in Malawi and NamibiaMaria de Bruyn
Panel on Unwanted Pregnancy and Abortion: Challenges for Women Living with HIV
XVIII International AIDS ConferenceVienna, Austria
23 July 2010
First, an acknowledgment
Thanks to:
• Marie Khudzani Banda and her colleagues of ICW Malawi
• Jeni Gatsi Mallet and her colleagues of ICW Namibia/Namibian Women’s Health Network
Human rights and abortion Reproductive and
other rights at issue
Treaty Monitoring Committees
UN Special Rapporteurs
UN Commission and General Assembly
International agencies
Everyone has the rights to freedom of thought and conscience, and to self-
determination. Others must not impose their
views or obstruct others’ enjoyment of their rights.
Empowering women in Malawi
December 2007-July 2009 • Workshops for ICW national and local leaders
• Participation of important stakeholders and policy-makers (MOH, Commission on Human Rights, National Nurses Council)
Community sessions• Objectives
– Contribute to de-stigmatization of unwanted pregnancy, HIV and reproductive rights, and abortion
– Gather information on experiences of HIV-positive women with abortion
– Establish links with other organizations and groups
• One community in each of the country’s 3 regions
• Women aged 20-60 years
• Methods: demonstrations, Q&A, role-plays, discussions
• Guest facilitators: MOH, family planning association
Session content topics
• Signs of early and later pregnancy
• Contraceptive methods
• Emergency contraception
• Who owns my body?
• Parent-child communication
• Advantages/disadvantages of choices: keeping a child as part of a couple, keeping a child as single mother, adoption, safe abortion
• Differences between unsafe and safe abortion
• Advocacy on reproductive rights
Community session outcomes
The women:
• learned about emergency contraception
• learned about signs of early pregnancy
• learned the difference between safe and unsafe abortions
• acknowledged a need for parents to talk with young people, especially young women, about sexuality and reproductive health matters.
Quite a few women said that they had changed their attitudes regarding the need to care better for themselves and towards abortion.
“I have noticed that I have to take care of my body.”
“I know that my body belongs to me.”
“Women who were doing abortion we were stigmatizing them. But now we will not do it again.”
Malawi: women’s experiences• Cases of unwanted
pregnancies and abortion brought up at each session.
• 14 stories included in booklet.
Malawi: expanding organizational links
Members invited to international and national meetings:
– Presentation on panel at UN Commission on the Status of Women 2010
– Meeting to establish Southern and Eastern Africa Positive Women Human Rights Network
– Regional Meeting on Cancer of the Cervix and Women Living With HIV
ICW invited to become part of a national reproductive rights coalition
Malawi: women’s recommendations• Hold more community dialogue &
education sessions – also at schools on topics like safer sex, pregnancy, contraception and abortion
• Develop and distribute more materials on contraception
• Educate and sensitize community members about emergency contraception, especially young girls and boys
• Increase the number of women receiving information and education about the differences between unsafe and safe abortion care
• Educate communities on available safe abortion services as allowed by national law and on post–abortion care
• Compile and disseminate data on the magnitude and consequences of unsafe abortion
• Government should take urgent action to harmonize the law on abortion with its international treaty agreements to ensure protection of its vulnerable citizens
• Train service providers in the provision of comprehensive safe abortion care services as allowed by national law
• Ensure that hospital have a client-friendly atmosphere so that girls and women feel comfortable asking for reproductive health services.
• Continue community sensitization through media, TV, Posters
Empowering women and youth in Namibia
Capacity building for women living with HIV & youth leaders
Community & stakeholder education
Advocacy with policy-makers
Namibia: Capacity building for women living with HIV & youth leaders
• Capacity-building for ICW facilitators
• Capacity-building for youth: 14 organizations
• Topics: gender equity, pregnancy, contraception, violence, alcohol, abortion, advocacy
“…the structure in which information was handed out was very open and participatory, which allowed me to share and make use of scenarios from my own community and formulate solutions that would suit problems where I come from.”
Namibia: community education• Radio talk shows • Campaign on “Celebrating
health” at the Polytechnic of Namibia in April 2009
• YAC and PICC dramas on violence, rape, unwanted pregnancy, EC/PEP, abortion in Dordabis
• Health Ethics Committees
During the project• Media coverage: magazine
and newspaper• Recommendations on draft
Consolidated National Reproductive and Child Health Policy
• Advocacy campaign on PEP and EC at community clinics
• MenEngage Africa Alliance meeting
• Youth Economic Empowerment program
Post-project • National Ombudsman speaks
out about safe abortion• National Society of Human
Rights speaks out about safe abortion
• Working group on HIV/AIDS-related discriminatory laws led by Ministry of Justice
• Meeting with representatives of President’s Office
Namibia: advocacy with policy-makers and stakeholders
Sample participant responses
“Thank you Namibia Women’s Health Network for helping me to change my behavior towards women. …I have become a strong supporter on safe abortion especially for young women…They either end up having an unsafe abortion or dump the babies or even die. I wish our government would stop to deny what is clearly happening to young girls with unwanted pregnancies.”
“I want to thank you and appreciate the way you have taken us out of the darkness. I recommend that you carry on with these types of training to youth as it provides us with knowledge of life and gives us life skills.” Namibia
“Though we have negative reactions to some women’s reasons for choosing abortion, we should not judge them because we are not in their circumstances; we may not have all the relevant information and must respect their right to make their own decisions; we cannot impose our beliefs on them and, lastly, it is God’s role to judge and not human beings.” Malawi
“…in the past I thought it was difficult to come out in the open and discuss something that concerns my life.” Malawi
“I have changed my thinking because I have discovered so many things, like we should be close with our children at home.” Malawi
“It has enlightened me and de-stigmatized me in terms of the way that I look at abortion.” Namibia
What did the projects teach us?
The women and youth in both countries looked forward enthusiastically to the sessions – these were topics about which they wanted information and the opportunity to discuss!
In both countries, community members asked for more such projects.
The participants themselves commented on how empowered they felt.
The ICW members and youth gained contacts and respect for their activities and advocacy.
Sensitive topics can – and need to – be addressed.
