The Rollback of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
The "The Rollback of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights" session at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting 207 took place on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 from 2.30-4.00PM. We presented this event in collaboration with the American Public Health Association.
It was wonderful to convene such a diverse and engaged group and to hear from our moderator Dr. Dázon Dixon Diallo (President/CEO, SisterLove, Inc.) and our panelists Ms. Latanya Mapp Frett (Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Global), Dr. Kimberly McBride (Director, Health Disparities Research) shared their knowledge in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, reflections on the Mexico City Policy, and thoughts on the relationship between diversity in leadership and access to SRHR.
KEY MESSAGES:
What do we KNOW?
Sexual and reproductive health and rights are human rights and they are also a civic responsibility and a human responsibility to protect.
SRHR is about access to health services and is access that should not be taken away. The Global Gag rule leads to increased risk for women's health and poor health outcomes, more abortions and sexually transmitted infections, as well as a loss of opportunity for preventive care for cervical cancer screening and other health interventions.
What do we NEED?
We need more real world experiences and stories to convince policy makers to protect SRHR, in addition to the quantitative evidence and metrics that we use to illustrate this need.
We need (intersectional) leadership at all levels. Community Engagement & Empowerment is extremely important for addressing SRHR needs in the current cultural and social context.
We need a movement to provide continued development in this area, and it needs to be framed around forward progress, the protection of hope, and we need to change the narrative
