Ipas launches new documentary project on International Women's Day

Lisa Russell has focused her lens on women's health issues in countries like Burkina Faso (above), Niger and Congo.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Russell.

On March 8th, International Women’s Day, Ipas began a new partnership with Lisa Russell. Russell is an independent filmmaker whose background in humanitarian and international development work has inspired her to produce films about the health and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our global society. Her work has spotlighted challenging issues such as obstetric and traumatic fistula, and has told stories of refugees and AIDS activists.

Over the next few months, Russell will be training her camera on unsafe abortion in Africa. Around the world an estimated 66,500 women die from unsafe abortions, and an additional five million sustain long-term injuries.

“Despite these harrowing contributions to the high maternal mortality and morbidity rates found predominately in the developing world,” writes Russell, “the controversy surrounding abortion has kept this public-health issue relatively silent, with few effective media tools available for advocates to use to educate and mobilize new audiences towards a global safe abortion agenda.”

The short, currently untitled documentary will show the effects of unsafe abortion at the personal, community and global levels. Russell will weave together intimate stories from women, families and communities affected by unsafe abortion,  as well as interviews with leading officials and policymakers who provide a global context for the problem. The documentary will be filmed in sites around Ethiopia; in 2004, the Ethiopian parliament significantly expanded the legal indications for abortion, passing one of the more liberal laws in Africa. However, significant barriers to safe abortion care continue to endanger the lives of Ethiopian women.

“We are excited about the opportunity to talk in a new, visual way to talk about this neglected issue,” says Anu Kumar, Ipas Executive Vice President. "We hope this film will help bring the issue of unsafe abortion into the public dialogue, and inspire more people to focus on women's health and rights."

Updates about the film and Russell’s experiences in Ethiopia can be found on her blog; they will also be posted on www.ipas.org.

For more information, contact media@ipas.org