Saren Richardson

Women’s caretaking roles of children and elderly family members also greatly limit their mobility and ability to reach health services or even immediate safety during a crisis. As one focus group participant explained, “When the disasters occur due to climate change, the pregnant women, post-partum women and children cannot move to safe places by themselves.”
Many of those interviewed voiced concern about increased sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies post-disaster, and the...

For over 25 years, Ipas Bolivia has been a trailblazer in advancing the rights of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV)—raising awareness and pushing for proactive solutions. Unlike many initiatives focused mainly on responding to violence, Ipas Bolivia goes further by not only ensuring care and justice for survivors but creating comprehensive programs to prevent violence before it happens.
“Preventing sexual violence is just as important as addressing it. That’s why at Ipas Boliv...

Ipas and partners hosted the second Green Wave Gathering last week in Mexico City, uniting 150 activists from across the Americas, including from the United States, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and more. Organized by the Women’s Equality Center, Ipas Latin America and the Caribbean, Ipas United States. and the Guttmacher Institute, the two-day event inspired and fortified movements for reproductive justice and abortion rights throughout the region. 
The second Green Wave Gathering moved beyond the c...

“At the time, VCAT was focused on the providers,” says Dr. Deeb. “As an OB-GYN myself, I attended, and saw firsthand how this could impact stigma reduction in a powerful way.”
As a participant witnessing the discomfort with English among nurses and providers from rural areas, Dr. Deeb stepped in as a co-facilitator from the very beginning, translating complex concepts into Nepali. She’s been leading VCAT workshops ever since.
She remembers a comment from a public health nurse who oversaw certifi...

“We all know that war is unplanned—we don’t know when we are going to get displaced,” says Dr Celestine, sharing the story of a woman she treated at the mobile clinic. “She was in the garden and then suddenly heard bombs. She ran to her home; no one was there. All her family had left, and she had to run alone to Goma. But when she was running alone, she got raped by four men.”
Once at the Kanyaruchinya camp, the woman reunited with her family. However, she began to suffer symptoms of a vaginal i...

Research shows what abortion stigma is costing us
Across the world, abortion stigma works to shame and discredit those seeking or providing abortion—causing needless suffering every day for millions of people who consider or support this personal health-care decision.
In collaboration with partners at Rutgers University and London School of Economics, Ipas conducted a comprehensive review of research from around the world on the impact of stigma on abortion access. Our findings identified global...

When people can safely get an abortion, it not only improves their own quality of life, but that of their families, communities and even countries. In a recent collaboration with partners at Rutgers University and London School of Economics, Ipas conducted a global review of research on the impact of abortion access at the individual, community, and country levels. Findings show that when abortion access is achieved by making it legal, available and affordable, the trickle-down benefits are vast...