The first large-scale scientific test of family planning took place in Khanna, India, beginning in the early 1950s. Backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers asked 8,000 villagers how often they had sex, whether they wanted to conceive and the details of the women’s menstrual cycles.

The researchers met the villagers monthly and provided contraceptives, while closely monitoring another group that was given no contraceptives. After five years, the women given contraceptives had a higher birth rate than those who hadn’t received any assistance.

For full article, visit:

http://www.nytimes.com

This resource pack provides relevant knowledge to facilitate mainstreaming gender-responsive approaches into reproductive health programmes, and the inclusion of specific aspects of gender inequality and disadvantage into national policy frameworks.

It focuses primarily on health, particularly reproductive health; on HIV/AIDS; and on violence against women as it relates to health services. The publication was produced under a UNFPA/UNIFEM strategic partnership aimed at developing a coordinated approach for effective technical assistance to gender-responsive budgeting (GRB).

For full article, visit:

http://www.unfpa.org/publications/detail.cfm?ID=328&filterListType

There are over 200 videos available on-line on the following subjects: Reproductive Health, Fistula, Population and Development, Gender Equality, Humanitarian Response, Human Rights, Adolescents & Youth, Safe Motherhood, Culturally Sensitive Approaches, HIV/AIDS, Advocacy, Reproductive Health Commodities, International Conference on Population and Development.

For full article, visit:

http://video.unfpa.org/

From the Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Programme.

Congratulations to Nadine Dostrovsky, Rebecca Cook and Michael Gagnon upon the dissemination of their “Annotated Bibliography on Comparative and International Law relating to Forced Marriage,” recently published online on the Canadian Department of Justice website:

A forced marriage occurs when people are coerced into a marriage against their will and under duress, which can include both physical and emotional pressure. A forced marriage is very different from an arranged marriage in which the free and informed consent of both parties is present. Due to its confusion with the tradition of arranged marriage, forced marriage is often associated in developed states with South Asian immigrants, but it is important to remember that it occurs across many cultures and religions.

For full report, visit:

http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/pad/reports/mar/cover.html

Two of PMC programs were featured in the January/February 2008 edition of Mother Jones magazine, Gugar Goge and Ashreat Al Amal.

Read the article, “As the World Learns.”

Published in 2006 by Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, this 40-page “Youth Activist’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Rights” aims to:

• Provide an overview of the sexual and reproductive rights that are protected by
  international and regional human rights treaties and other agreements;
• Show how these rights apply to adolescents and young people; and
• Discuss ways that young people can advocate for their sexual and reproductive rights within their countries, regions, and globally.

Download A Youth Activist’s Guide to Sexual and Reproductive Rights (PDF, 863 KB).

For more information, the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights Web site contains links to all the international treaties, plans of action, and declarations that are relevant to youth sexual and reproductive rights.

These documents should be considered for development of Moral/Policy Frameworks for PMC projects.

UNFPA Online Video Channel

This United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) video channel contains a collection of video features beginning in 2004. The collection is organized by topic and easily searchable by country or keywords. Topics include reproductive health, fistula, gender equality, culturally sensitive approaches, safe motherhood, among others.

http://video.unfpa.org/

Ode Magazine
Issue 32

By Kim Ridley

Steamy tales of sex, betrayal and suspense can carry important social messages
Young and poor, Fikirte is in many ways Ethiopia’s Everywoman. Her life takes a turn for the worse when she meets Damtew, who is so obsessed with revenge against Fikirte’s innocent grandfather that he kills him and then begins to prey on her. He swindles Fikirte and seduces her half-sister, giving her HIV. He spreads vicious rumors to turn Fikirte’s family against her and to crush her dreams of finishing school. Still not satisfied, Damtew tries to murder Fikirte—twice.
Does Fikirte’s life sound like a soap opera? It is. The saga of Fikirte, Damtew, and the other captivating characters of Yeken Kignit (“Looking Over One’s Daily Life”) kept millions of Ethiopians glued to their radios for two and a half years. It also persuaded some of them to change their lives.
Continue Reading »

By Pamela Polston, Seven Days

Western women of a certain age often talk about their “biological clock” - the physical imperative to bear children before it’s too late. But for Mother Earth, that clock is ticking for quite the opposite reason: She has too many children already, and if this terrible human fecundity is not slowed, it may indeed be too late - to feed the ones who are starving, or to sustain the ones who consume too much.

Continue Reading »

PMC was featured in the Spring 2005 edition of Ms. Magazine.

Read the full article, “Soap Operas are Changing Lives - For the Better!”