GENDER EQUALITY AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN A CHANGING HUMANITARIAN CLIMATE

Do refugees have access to contraceptives for birth control and safe sex? What about the protection of their health during pregnancy and childbirth?

More than 68.5 million people are currently displaced by conflict or crises. Approximately 25 percent of them are women and adolescent girls of reproductive age. Humanitarian crises result in enormous risks to women and girls, including rape, assault, intimate partner violence, early and forced marriage, and trafficking. Access to sexual and reproductive health services is a critical and life-saving component of humanitarian response, yet the full range of these services may be unavailable or severely limited.

In this Kapuscinski Development Lecture, Sarah Costa, a leading women’s advocate, will be discussing emerging aspects of gender equality and reproductive health in migration contexts.

This Kapuscinski Development Lecture will be the launch of UCOS’ new year theme on ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights’ of its project CHanGE. CHanGE (Campaign on sexual Health and Gender Equality) offers young people a platform to campaign on gender equality and SRHR.

Who is Sarah Costa?

Sarah Costa is executive director of the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC). The Women’s Refugee Commission is a research and advocacy organisation working to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children and youth displaced by conflict and crisis. Before joining WRC in 2010, Costa was regional director of the Global Fund for Women and from 1994 to 2006, she worked as a program officer for the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York. During her tenure as professor of women’s health at the National School of Public Health, Brazil, Sarah was active in the national women’s movement, serving as a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Council on Women’s Rights.

What are #KAPTALKS?

Top thinkers lecture on development at prestigious universities, in European Union countries. The series Kapuscinski Development Lectures #KAPTalks was named for Ryszard Kapuscinski, a Polish reporter and writer who covered developing countries. It is organised jointly by the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme, partner universities and development think-tanks. More than 80 lectures in 2009-2016 gathered over 25,000 participants.

If you have any questions about this event please contact bram.cleys@ucos.be.

Due to limited capacity, registration is required.