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MAY 2017 iYAN
Advocates’ International Youth Activist Network (iYAN) consists of youth activists and adult allies from low and middle-income countries who are working to influence policies and programs in their countries and internationally to support improved youth reproductive and sexual health. Members of the iYAN connect to share information about their work; are provided information about scholarships and networking opportunities; get up-to-date information on downloadable advocacy materials and tool kits; and receive a monthly newsletter with information on advocacy, youth activism, and mobilization on important issues like sex education, access to contraception, and prevention of adolescent maternal mortality and HIV.
What’s Going on at Advocates for Youth?
Advocates’ Partner Organization in Pakistan Developing Video for Health Providers on Needs of Transgeder, Gay Men and MSM Youth
Advocates for Youth’s partner organization in Pakistan, the Naz Male Health Alliance (NMHA) has been developing a short film to educate health care providers about the needs of the transgender, gay men and MSM youth communities. The video focuses on personal narratives in the form of several interviews, including with members from the community, such as a transgender man who describes the discrimination they have faced. Among the many issues discussed in the video, people from the community talk about how they were denied medical care based on their HIV positive status, laughed at because they are transgender, and harassed because of who they are. The film ends with a strong message about the humanity of the LGBT community. Stay tuned—this video will be a great tool to strengthen providers’ cultural competency and ability to better serve transgender, gay men and MSM youth.
My Voice Counts!
Attention Feminists—There’s Still Time to Apply for the Mama Cash New Funding Opportunity!
Mama Cash is open to receiving new grant requests from feminist groups–this year, Mama Cash hopes to support up to 15 new feminist groups led by women, girls and trans people. The deadline is May 15th 2017, 11:59 pm CEST. For information about criteria and priorities, go here
For information about criteria and priorities, go here.
Information and an online application are available in multiple languages at the links below:
English | Français | Español | Русский (Russian)
For general information, go here.
Take part in a New Global Civil Society Survey on Funding and Child, Early, and Forced Marriage
Participate in an anonymous global civil society survey to map current strategies, funding and resource gaps for child, early and forced marriage (CEFM). All civil society organizations that currently work to address child, early and forced marriage, or would like to work on these issues is welcome to respond.
There is currently no systematic analysis of the amount and type of resources directed to CEFM work and the types of civil society efforts that are supported. This survey – together with a complementary survey for donors – hopes to fill a distinctive knowledge gap. The survey takes about 20 minutes and responses will be used to develop a report on the global funding landscape and work to address CEFM. The deadline to respond to the survey is May 31, 2017.
The survey is coordinated by American Jewish World Service, FemJust (Feminist Solutions towards Global Justice), GreeneWorks, and the International Center for Research on Women, in collaboration with Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage.
For more information and updates, go to this webpage.
Tools You Can Use
UNICEF Innocent Research Briefs – Methods: Conducting Research with Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
By Columbia University and experts from the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
A series of seven new briefs about research methodologies for adolescent wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries. To access the series of briefs, go here.
Monitoring and Evaluating Digital Health Interventions: A Practical Guide to Conducting Research and Assessment
By the World Health Organization
This resource provides step-wise guidance to improve the quality and value of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts in the context of digital health interventions, also commonly referred to as mHealth or eHealth interventions. This guide is intended for implementers and researchers of digital health activities, as well as policy-makers seeking to understand the various stages and opportunities for systematically monitoring implementation fidelity and for evaluating the impact of digital health interventions. To access the guide, go here.
Read All About It!
Battle Over Free Sanitary Pads Lands Ugandan Activist In Jail. Stella Nyanzi, one of Uganda’s most controversial academics and activists, appeared in court Monday, after being arrested and charged Friday with cyber harassment and the misuse of a computer, for “shaming” the government. Nyanzi’s latest run-in with the 31-year-old regime of President Yoweri Museveni began with a fight for free sanitary pads for school-age girls. To read the article, go here.
Kidnapping, forced marriage: Pakistan’s Hindu women hope for protection in new law. Sapna Gobia is busy preparing for her wedding in Pakistan in a few weeks. In many ways, her wedding will follow traditions passed down through generations, with the bride and groom circling a sacred fire lit by their families. But unlike the marriage of her parents, Gobia’s will be formalised by a government certificate under a new Hindu marriage law. To read this article, go here.
Support building for landmark move to overturn El Salvador’s anti-abortion law. El Salvador’s controversial law banning abortion in all circumstances, which has provoked ruthless miscarriages of justice, could be overturned in what has been described as a historic move. Momentum is building around a parliamentary bill proposing to allow abortion in cases of rape or human trafficking; when the foetus in unviable; or to protect the pregnant woman’s health or life. To read this article, go here.
Sustainable Menstruation Kerala promotes awareness and local menstrual hygiene products. The Sustainable Menstruation Kerala Collective (SMKC) says, to go the way of bio-degradable and toxin free environment. Shradha is one of the people heading SMKC, and the Collective brings together various anti-menstrual taboo campaigners from Kerala, like The Red Cycle,#happytobleed and Code Red. To read this article, go here.
One third of Indonesian women suffer abuse prompting UN calls for action. One third of Indonesian women have faced physical or sexual violence, according to new government data, prompting calls by a United Nations agency for urgent action to protect women. The government’s first national survey on violence against women showed 33 percent of women aged between 15 and 64 – around 26 million people – said they have faced abuse in their lives. To read this article, go here.
Guyana’s transgender activists fight archaic law. As a transgender woman living in Guyana, Petronella Trotman has grown accustomed to violence and daily abuse on the streets. But when she was physically attacked in January, while walking in Georgetown, the South American country’s capital, she decided to seek justice. To read this article, go here.
COMING UP!
May 28 is Menstrual Hygiene Day
Menstrual Hygiene Day (MH Day) is a global platform that brings together non-profits, government agencies, the private sector, the media and individuals to promote Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM).
MH Day raises awareness of the challenges women and girls worldwide face due to their menstruation and highlights solutions that address these challenges, including through media work. This year’s theme is: Education about menstruation changes everything
Why does menstruation matter?
Source: Menstrual Hygiene Management Day Website Why It Matters Page
What are this year’s campaign asks?
1. Provide education on menstrual hygiene, so that women and girls feel confident and are empowered to make informed decisions about how they manage their menstruation.
2. Intergrate menstrual hygiene education into national school curricula, policies and programmes for adolescents
3. Promote education for boys, men, mothers, teachers, health workers and other professionals, so they can help break negative social norms and provide accurate information and support
4. Enable girls to stay in school by ensuring access to hygienic menstrual products, adequate toilets, water and disposal options.
– To know more about the Menstrual Hygiene Day, visit the website below:
http://menstrualhygieneday.org
– To know more about this year’s theme, go here.
– To access the campaign materials, which include posters with specific issues and the above-noted advocacy asks, as well as banners, tweet sheets, a one-pager, and more, go to: http://menstrualhygieneday.org/materials/2017-campaign-materials/#
Please spread the word about the iYAN!
Send this link to your friends so they can sign-up too!
https://www.advocatesforyouth.org/iyan
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www.facebook.com/AdvocatesforYouthiYAN
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