News

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action. This occasion is marked with the Nairobi Summit, held in November 2019, a high level conference convened to advance the further implementation of the Programme of Action. Besides the global statement and national commitments made by governments, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) take this opportunity to share their commitments. Find Rutgers' commitments below.

From September 30 to October 2 2019, the first International Conference on Indonesia Family Planning and Reproductive Health took place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This conference was co-hosted by Rutgers WPF Indonesia and was a forum to discuss the current status of SRHR in Indonesia, as well as an opportunity for valuable exchange on this topic. Scroll through the photos below for an impression of this event.

The attacks on sexuality. That is the theme of the Johannes Rutgers Dialogue 2019. Which attacks are they? There are actually many of them, interconnected in unexpected and complex ways.

Rigid gender norms have negative effects on both girls and boys, and inhibit Indonesia from fully benefiting from its economic growth potential, also known as the demographic dividend. These are key results from the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) and the Youth Voices Research conducted in Indonesia as part of the pioneering research and advocacy programme, Explore4Action. The findings were presented today during the first International Conference on Indonesia Family Planning and Reproductive Health (ICIFPRH) being held from 30 September to 2 October in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

We are proud to announce our collaboration with Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK). Through global collaboration in the She Makes Her Safe Choice programme, we aim to realize the goal of having zero unsafe abortions worldwide by making safe abortion widely available, accessible and affordable to all the women and girls who need it.

Every year 25 million women undergo an unsafe abortion and between 22,500 and 44,000 women worldwide die from the complications. She Makes Her Safe Choice works to reduce these devastating numbers by providing women with a safe choice.

Last week’s announcement that Indonesia’s new penal code will include a number of very regressive articles, is extremely worrying and threatens the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all. The draft law includes the criminalisation of unmarried people living together, homosexuality, safe abortion and sharing information on contraception. Rutgers is gravely concerned by this drastic proposal, and stands in support of those opposing its ratification.

Indonesia's parliament raised the minimum age at which a girl can marry from 16 to 19, in a ruling which is expected to curb child marriage in the country.

The Right Here Right Now (RHRN) strategic partnership amplifies the voices of young people advocating for their sexual and reproductive rights – at home, in their regions, and internationally. This June, all partners and platforms came together in Naivasha, Kenya, to discuss how the meaningful inclusion of young people can continue and how the partnership can sustainably build on its outcomes and lessons learned. National Coordinators Rajendra Maharjan (Nepal), Teresa Alarcón Rodríguez (Bolivia), Solange Mbaye (Senegal), Saraban Tahura Zamen (Bangladesh) and Tendaishe Changamire (Zimbabwe) explain why the inclusion of youth is so vital.

The Yes I Do Alliance (YIDA) has again completed a year with good results. The number of child marriages has decreased, alternative ceremonies have been held (instead of female circumcision), trainings have been given and lobbying is progressing. The annual report gives insight into what was achieved last year.