Inglés:
Talking about abortion is still a taboo in many of our societies today. Despite the road we have traveled, stigma has persisted in many places. That is why together we can build new ways to talk freely about this right and help people feel at ease in making their decisions and exercising their autonomy. In this space, let’s help us in this process by telling us what has worked for us to talk more easily about abortion or what challenges we have faced that would be helpful for us to have the support of our partners to overcome and live in a world free of stigma.
What is it like to talk about abortion in your country? What ideas have worked to make this topic easier to talk about? Share in this space.
Francés:
Parler de l’avortement reste un tabou dans beaucoup de nos sociétés aujourd’hui. Malgré le chemin que nous avons parcouru, la stigmatisation a persisté dans de nombreux endroits. C’est pourquoi nous pouvons construire ensemble de nouvelles façons de parler librement de ce droit et aider les gens à se sentir à l’aise pour prendre leurs décisions et exercer leur autonomie. Dans cet espace, aidons-nous mutuellement dans ce processus en nous disant ce qui a fonctionné pour nous afin de parler plus facilement de l’avortement ou quels sont les défis auxquels nous avons été confrontés et qu’il nous serait utile d’avoir le soutien de nos partenaires pour les surmonter et vivre dans un monde sans stigmatisation.
Comment parler de l’avortement dans votre pays, et quelles sont les idées qui ont permis d’en parler plus facilement ? Partagez dans cet espace.
Español:
Hablar sobre aborto sigue siendo hoy en día un tabú en muchas de nuestras sociedades. Pese al camino que hemos andado, el estigma ha persistido en muchos lugares. Es por eso que juntos podemos construir nuevas maneras de hablar libremente sobre este derecho y ayudar a las personas a sentirse tranquilas a la hora de tomar sus decisiones y ejercer su autonomía. En este espacio, vamos a ayudarnos a este proceso al contarnos qué nos ha funcionado para hablar más fácilmente sobre aborto o qué retos hemos enfrentado y que nos ayudaría contar con el apoyo de nuestros socios para superarlos y vivir en un mundo libre de estigmas.
¿Cómo es hablar de aborto en tu país? ¿Qué ideas han funcionado para hacer de este tema algo más fácil de conversar? Comparte en este espacio.
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of course talking about abortion is quite hard here in Uganda since most people fear to be caught on the wrong side of the law due to the restrictive environment, coupled with deep rooted religious and cultural beliefs and values.
during our community interactions we try to engage through open discussions relating to teenage and un-planned pregnancy and also unsafe abortion. this has opened the discussions that later lead to abortion self-care discussion. we also conduct VCAT sessions on abortion looking and cases like Mia’s Story, Agnes’ story with which members in the discussion relate to back in the communitites.
Great to read this from you Hadia. Indeed the restricted legal contexts present challenges to be able to speak about abortion. Do you find any possibilities to go to a language that can engage people about the possibilities that open to have safe abortion?
Here in Colombia, despite we have a year of having abortion almost completely legal, we also face several challenges because we also have a very strong religious background and conservative values, and we tend to relate abortion with death and danger. Here the relation between autonomy and abortion has worked interestingly and has opened some windows for new ways of seeing abortion and abortion self care.
Also, here in Colombia we face some challenges with people seeing abortion self care as a safe and desirable option, given the overmedicalization that has a close relationship with abortion. We still need to build a better narrative about this and we are working on it as a team. How is it for you in Uganda? For other countries?
Talking about abortion in Colombia is a very controversial and emotional topic. Abortion is legal in Colombia. However, there are still many barriers and prejudices that hinder access to safe abortion services in the country. Some religious and conservative groups strongly oppose abortion and campaign against its legalization. On the other hand, women’s rights advocates who advocate for abortion rights and fight to remove the barriers that women face in obtaining a safe abortion. In general, talking about abortion in Colombia is a topic that generates a lot of mixed opinions and strong emotions.
There are several tools we can use to make talking about abortion easier in Colombia.
1. Create safe spaces for dialogue: For people to feel comfortable talking about a topic as sensitive as abortion, it is important to create a safe and respectful space for dialogue. This can be achieved through empathy and active listening.
2. Using audiovisual tools: Videos and podcasts are effective tools for promoting abortion education. Audiovisuals use simple language and show concrete cases to raise awareness about the issue, humanizing the situation and allowing the problem to be understood.
3. Organize in-person discussion spaces: Debates and live chats are always effective in promoting dialogue and understanding. Create inclusive spaces, where open expression, respect and tolerance are the rule and, in addition to the intervention of experts, allow the inclusion of opinions of people who have gone through the abortion process.
4. Take advantage of social networks: Social networks, from different points of view, can be very effective tools to talk about abortion. Sharing relevant information on the topic promotes education and community involvement.
It is important to explore a variety of tools, keeping in mind that audiences can be diverse. The most important thing is to have the initiative to promote awareness-raising information to highlight inequality and inequity in abortion access options.
Abortion is a social taboo. Thai media usually show negative, scary images and/or movies about abortion. The pictures of abortion clinics mostly present in the way that unsafe and illegal resulting women imagine that the abortion places would be mysterious, dark, and damp provided services by mean doctors and nurses or even general people. I think we should educate the public, communicate about abortion in a positive way.
As an international organization, Women on Web benefits from the freedom to openly address abortion issues. Our approach, grounded in a human rights framework and unapologetic discourse, may not be universally suitable for all contexts. Recognizing the importance of tailoring our message to specific audiences and values. Also, acknowledging that dismantling stigma is a gradual process, we emphasize the key role that our language on abortion plays in this journey. We extend an invitation to explore the Abortion Narrative Toolkit designed for the consortium, offering valuable guidelines on shaping narratives that resonate with diverse contexts, you can download it in our website:
https://www.womenonweb.org/en/page/21991/abortion-framing-toolkit
We agree also with the tools mentioned above: VCAT sessions, dialogues, in person spaces… We prioritize the inclusion of research findings in our communications, presenting numbers that underscore the efficacy, safety, and unmet needs of abortion services. It is crucial for us to gather and convey this information to key stakeholders in our respective contexts, employing strategic advocacy and communication approaches.