Ending gender-based violence around the world

The right to live free from violence and the right to bodily autonomy are both human rights central to Ipas’s mission.

Women and girls who experience gender-based violence are denied these rights and face a higher risk for unwanted pregnancy. Ipas programs around the world work to end gender-based violence and to ensure that survivors have specially tailored reproductive health care that includes access to emergency contraception and abortion.

Here staff from around the globe share what their teams are doing.

16 Days of Activism

Right now, Ipas teams are participating in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence with a variety of events and activities. This annual campaign starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Nov. 25) and ends on International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), symbolically linking freedom from violence to human rights.

Indonesia

“We work to increase community knowledge of gender-based violence and to end the normalization of it,” says Nyur Yawati, communications advisor with Ipas Indonesia. “We also campaign to improve the legal support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care.”

Learn more about how Ipas is working with hospitals and health workers, police and community-based organizations to expand abortion access for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

Kenya

“We support social movements and community dialogues on gender-based violence to empower activists at the grassroots level to be champions against this violence,” says Steve Biko, community advisor with Ipas Africa Alliance.

Learn more about how Ipas helped organize an election caravan in Kenya to raise awareness of sexual and gender-based violence in five counties considered hotspots for this violence.

Bolivia

“Strengthening the ability of women and girls to denounce violence so that they can exercise their rights, sharing reliable information about their rights and supporting their decisions—this is how we are taking steps to eliminate gender-based violence,” says Wara Rojas Aliaga, communications associate with Ipas Bolivia. “The fight belongs to all of us.”

Watch a video about a march Ipas Bolivia participated in as part of a public awareness campaign to confront gender-based violence and harmful stereotypes about masculinity.

Nigeria

“We are raising public knowledge on the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act—a federal act to provide maximum protection for victims and punishment of offenders,” says Patricia Emodi, communications advisor with Ipas Nigeria. “With greater awareness of the VAPP law, I believe gender-based violence will significantly reduce.”

Learn more about the advocacy work of Ipas Nigeria that helped push the VAPP Act forward in Jigawa State.

Bangladesh

“We are working to sensitize men and boys about the mental health consequences of gender-based violence and mobilizing community support services for survivors of gender-based violence,” says Jinea Ferdaus, community associate with Ipas Bangladesh.