This week, leaders from all over the world will be gathering in New York at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women, responding to a growing anti-rights movement with a call for equity and justice. The priority theme of CSW70 “ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls” focuses on legal equity, but what does it mean for reproductive justice? And how can self-care help us reach that vision?
Reproductive justice asks us to consider the needs of every woman, in every setting. It asks us to ensure that laws, products and interventions are designed with these needs in mind and that all women have access to the reproductive care they need. Self-care interventions, when thoughtfully designed and supported, help to increase access and agency for women—especially those in marginalized communities.
As a representative of Reproductive Health Network Kenya, and more broadly, the global south SRHR community, here are the commitments and conversations I’d like to see rise to the forefront this week:
- SRHR as a key agenda item: Legal justice for women must include reproductive justice. As we think about the ways inequality before the law impacts women, we must also consider how these same laws and equity gaps impact a woman’s agency over her own body. When women are empowered to take their care into their own hands, it has ripple effects throughout their families and communities
- Commitments to Accountability: Global commitments should inform national level policies and laws that are implemented and reinforced, ensuring that women can access comprehensive sexual reproductive health services without barriers.
- Funding Gender Equality: Civil society organizations are at the forefront of the fight for equity, meeting women where they are at and pushing back against a growing anti-rights movement. We need specific and direct funding commitments to continue supporting civil society organizations in this critical work
- Localization: These global outcomes and policy conversations must also translate into national advocacy plans and be implemented in alignment with county-level gender and health strategies
In the face of growing backlash and instability due to shrinking funding, conversations and spaces for collaboration such as CSW70 are needed more than ever. As we look forward into this week, we must seize on the opportunity to come together and center SRHR as a key measure of justice for women and girls.
By Jane Nyanjom, Associate Director of Advocacy and Partnerships at Reproductive Health Network Kenya
Learn more about self-care as a tool for women’s health and justice here.