SRHM Podcast Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM)

This episode takes us through an important discussion that took place on April 17, 2024, organised by the University of Southern California's Institute on Inequalities in Global Health in partnership with Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters.

Despite massive regressions in SRHR and anti-rights movements, 30 years later, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda continues to set a standard for people-centred development, acting as a global touchstone for SRHR and rights-based policies and programs. How has the current political climate impacted the fulfilment of this agenda?

Listen to an incredible group of panellists reflect on the history and future of health and development in the current political climate.

Moderators:

Sofia Gruskin: Director, USC Institute on Inequalities
in Global Health and Sapna Desai: SRHM Board of Trustees Co-Chair

Panellists:      
Bouchra Assarag: President of Together for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (Enssemble pour la Santé de la Reproduction et Droits (EDSSR) and Deputy Director of Studies in the National School of Public Health, Morocco.

Gita Sen: Honorary Distinguished Professor of the Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health at the Public Health Foundation of India.

Montasser Kamal: Former Deputy Director for Global Health Policy and Research at Global Affairs Canada, currently at International Development Research Centre.

Uluk Batyrgaliev: Health Officer at Eurasian Coalition for Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity, Kyrgyztan.

In this important one-hour podcast episode, listen to moderator Professor Alice M. Miller, J.D. (co-director of the GHJP of Yale Law and Public Health Schools), and the authors of a recently published SRHM paper (What do oral contraceptives have to do with human rights abuses in sport?), Katrina Karkazis, PhD, MPH (Professor, Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies at Amherst College) and Michele Krech, J.S.D. (Bigelow Fellow and Lecturer in Law at University of Chicago Law School).

They discuss in detail how the Court of Arbitration of Sport and World Athletics rely on mistaken assumptions about oral contraceptives, and misused scientific evidence to uphold a coercive and medically unnecessary use of oral contraceptive pills for testosterone suppression, in female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels, as an eligibility criterion to compete in certain track events. This discussion took place a few days before an important event - the hearing of Olympic runner Caster Semenya's appeal against these regulations, by the European Court of Human Rights on May 15, 2024, on the grounds that these are discriminatory to people with differences in sexual development. Semenya, who is legally female, was coerced to take oral contraceptives to reduce her natural testosterone levels, to be able to compete in track events 400m. and beyond, a medical intervention that negatively impacted her health and career.

We also hear from Dr. Otmar Kloiber, Secretary General of the World Medical Association, who discusses his stance and concerns on these coercive regulations brought about by World Athletics. Moreover, we hear from Dr. Payoshini Mitra, an athlete rights defender who actively campaigns for the abolition of sex testing practices in female sports, talks to Ugandan former running champion Annet Negesa, who was coerced to undergo an invasive procedure mandated by the World Athletics to lower her testosterone levels.

Useful links:


What do oral contraceptives have to do with human rights abuses in sport?

In this episode, we hear from two authors of the paper 'Laws governing access to sexual health services and information: contents, protections, and restrictions', Laura Ferguson and Sarah Emoto.

Laura Ferguson is the Director of Research at the University of Southern California Institute on Inequalities in Global Health and an Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences. She is also an Associate Editor right here at SRHM. Sarah Emoto is a Research Program Specialist at the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. 


Their paper reviewed 40 laws in English, French, and Spanish from 18 countries to understand how many and which sexual health services and information countries ensure in their laws, which sexual health services are illegal, and which people are protected from discrimination in accessing these services.



They found that countries use many different types of laws to ensure access to sexual health services or information, and most countries do not cover the same types or number of sexual health services. There are also differences in which people are specifically protected from discrimination in the laws we reviewed.



These findings are important because they may help countries identify ways that access to sexual health services and information could be improved so as to improve people’s sexual health. They may also guide future research.


Useful links:

Laws governing access to sexual health services and information: contents, protections, and restrictions

SRHM Open Issue 2024

In this episode, SRHM Associate Editor Nina Sun, talks to Executive Editor, Emma Pitchforth and Managing Editor, Pete Chapman, about an exciting new call for papers for the 2024 Open Issue.

SRHM is calling for submissions on all SRHR topics, particularly those which bring a rights focus to neglected and marginalised issues, as well as those whose lead authors are from the Global South. We hope that this year’s Open Issue will bring documentation and analysis of progressive examples of upholding SRHR, as well as addressing critical gaps in the field


Useful links:

Call for Papers 2024 Open Issue

Instructions for authors

⁠More about SRHM⁠

Read papers from the SRHM Journal

In our latest podcast episode, Associated Editor of SRHM, Nina Sun, speaks to two colleagues from the United Nations Population Fund - Petar Mladenov, a Programme Analyst for youth-led advocacy, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), and Ilya Zhukov, a Technical Specialist and global CSE focal point. 

Young people living with HIV, young people selling sex, and young people from marginalised backgrounds are often left behind from CSE interventions and there is a pressing need to tailor CSE programs in order to include them, and improve their sexual wellbeing.


In this episode, listen to the panelists engage in an enlightening discussion on how to improve CSE program integrity, quality, and fidelity for left-behind populations and how their work with local partners and research institutions are helping to address research gaps for the success of these programs in different countries. They also discuss how they measure and evaluate facilitators that enhance inclusive CSE programs, and efforts to improve the facilitators' performance in different contexts.


Useful links from the SRHM journal issue:



SRHM issue - Beyond the classroon: Comprehensive sexuality education for outside of school settings



Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programming adaptations in response to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic



The International Technical and Programmatic Guidance on Out-of-School
Comprehensive Sexuality Education – an evidence-informed approach for
non-formal, out-of-school programmes reaching young people from left-behind populations

This episode was co-organised by SRHM and the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, and moderated by the Institute's director and SRHM Trustee, Sofia Gruskin. With an introduction by Nina Sun, Associated Editor of the SRHM Journal, we hear from key actors, including Anne Philpott - Founder of the Pleasure Project, Eszter Kismödi - Chief Executive of SRHM, Kat Lowe - Content Moderation Lead for Medan, a global not-for-profit organisation, and Leeza Mangaldas - India's foremost pleasure-positive content creator, on how information, misinformation, and disinformation in the current digital age impacts sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a particular focus on sexuality education, contraception, and abortion.

Listen to the panelists engage in a rich discussion on effective strategies to counter the challenges surrounding SRHR in the digital age, to ensure that the transformative potential of technology reaches those who need it most, and support agency, bodily autonomy, and decision making for all individuals.



Useful links:



SRHM journal issue 'Digital technology and sexual and reproductive health and rights'



Watch the video recording of this webinar



USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health