The consequences of crises disproportionately affect women. Even though most combatants are male, over two-thirds of civilians killed in conflict are women and children. Women and girls also make up the majority of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. However, male-dominated fighting forces and majority-male policymakers often lead peacebuilding processes. What role do women and young people play in promoting peace, and how does the United Nations Population Fund () empower them to participate?
UNFPA
Sexual health is not just about being free of disease. Positive relationships grounded in mutual respect, empathy and understanding are a keystone of sexual health and well-being. This applies not only to relationships with partners but also to relationships with educators and providers of sexual health services. When these relationships are safe and respectful, people are more able to fulfill their rights and choices. As we celebrate , here’s a look at some of the relationships and initiatives from around the world that contribute to empowering and protecting women and girls.
After months of being repeatedly displaced around Gaza, Malak, 22, faced an uncertain three hour drive to reach the hospital when she went into labor.
Positive relationships grounded in mutual respect, empathy and understanding are a cornerstone of sexual health and well-being. As we celebrate World Sexual Health Day (4 September) this year, positive relationships take the spotlight. Indeed, when partners prioritize each other’s sexual health – and understand that it is a shared responsibility – communication, trust and reproductive health outcomes improve. empowers everyone, especially women and girls, to form good relationships and protect their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
If you ask people how they would define , you’ll probably get a range of responses, possibly peppered with misinformation and confusion. : Comprehensive sexuality education is a process of teaching the , with a goal of helping children stay safe and prepare for the future. It leads to fewer pregnancies, less disease and less abuse. It teaches young people about human development, reproduction and healthy relationships, and about how to recognize abuse, resist peer pressure and understand consent. It saves lives.
Pictured are young people at the Kibirizi youth space in Rwanda’s Rubengera sector.
Malak, 22, was pregnant when the war in Gaza started. Forced to flee the bombs and tanks, she spent months being repeatedly displaced and searching desperately for prenatal care. See the terrible reality for pregnant women like Malak of giving birth in Gaza.
23-year-old volunteer Sarah Al Shamali and her colleagues are providing practical support, from educational programmes to distributing safe water, and cultivating a spirit of solidarity among Gaza's youth.
Esther, whose name has been changed for protection, was raped when she was four months pregnant and sleeping in a public square with her six children, having been forced from home. She received counselling from a UNFPA health centre, but her situation is still dire. You can hear her .
The situation in Haiti is desperate. Gang violence has forced more than half a million people across the country to flee their homes. The capital reverberates with gunshots day and night, and sexual violence is carried out with impunity. Here, in , women and girls share their insight into the stark reality of life today in Port-au-Prince, while and partners work around the clock to prevent and alleviate suffering.
Hear Esther* tell her terrifying story and see how UNFPA—the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency—is supporting the care she's receiving.
Claudelina Ortellado Portillo gave birth for the first time at age 39 in the Katuete Public Health Centre in Paraguay. Ms. Ortellado told , she credits the psychological support she received during the pre and postnatal periods in helping her navigate the emotional tides of pregnancy. Childbirth can take a heavy emotional and physical toll and requires respectful, responsive care – an approach that emphasizes women's dignity, their emotional state, beliefs, consent and autonomy. Respectful maternity care also means discouraging over-medicalization and protecting women from obstetric abuse and violence. Women must be assured the right to their chosen birth plan and able to access all available information in order to participate fully in decision making over their own labour process – including choices, such as the position to give birth in.
Hundreds of women and girls fleeing conflict in the Bandiagara region of Mali have found shelter at this displacement camp in Sokoura.
Every member of the human family, now around the globe, has the right to be counted. Yet for millions – the world’s most vulnerable among them – this right continues to go unrealized. Why? The reasons range from financial constraints to the marginalization of harder-to-reach communities. But no one is unreachable. To mark , here are why it’s more important than ever that data-collection processes are inclusive and that people are counted – in all their diversity.
When Gaby, a 27-year-old indigenous Awajún transgender woman, returned to Mamayaque, she confronted the pervasive violence against women and discrimination faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals.
Aisha*, a 17-year-old from Khartoum, faced unimaginable hardship after losing both her parents last year. Isolated and unable to contact relatives due to the escalating conflict, her neighborhood was overtaken by an armed militia, effectively trapping her in her home. In the beginning, Aisha ventured out only for essential supplies. Although initially left unharmed by the soldiers, her situation deteriorated when two soldiers intruded her home, interrogating and then leaving her in fear. However, they returned, armed and intent on assault. Aisha endured repeated assaults over four days before escaping to a friend’s house in Kassala State. In Kassala, Aisha discovered she was pregnant. Rejected by her friend’s family, she faced isolation and despair. An attempted suicide underscored her desperation until a family directed her to a safe space for women and girls supported by . Here, she received medical attention, counseling, and temporary shelter. Despite finding immediate help, her future remains uncertain as her due date approaches.
's boat clinic brings vital reproductive health services to women in remote villages of Benin, addressing critical gaps in access to care.