Center Session to be Held at United Nations Generation Equality Forum

7/1/21 Update: Click here to watch the replay of this event, which was held on July 1.

The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners will hold an interactive and intergenerational discussion on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at the Generation Equality Forum, a major global event organized by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France.

The session, titled “My Body is My Own: Young Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Bodily Autonomy and Decision-making,” will take place on July 1 and will be available for viewing via live feed here.

Developed by the Center in partnership with the Youth Coalition, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Plan International, and the Government of Sweden, the session was one of the fewer than 1% of events accepted for the official Forum program.

“For years, the Center has worked around the world to guarantee adolescents the full exercise of their sexual and reproductive health and rights,“ said Enid Muthoni, Vice President of Global Programs at the Center, who’ll be a speaker at the session. “We’re proud to be able to contribute to this critical global dialogue and help advance young people’s rights to make informed decisions about their bodies and access the health services and information they need.”

“My Body is My Own: Young Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Bodily Autonomy and Decision-making” will prioritize intergenerational dialogue among young activists, adolescents and other stakeholders committed to advancing gender equality.  

Highlights include:

• A young woman’s experience facing barriers in accessing reproductive care, followed by answers to the question “What does bodily autonomy mean to you?” submitted by youth and adolescents on social media.
• Ways that stakeholders can better ensure that the rights and needs of adolescents are central in the design and execution of adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and how they can help increase accountability for adolescent rights-fulfillment. 
• How ensuring the full range of SRH services for adolescents is central to realizing global commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Beijing Platform for Action. 

Center Also Chosen as a “Commitment Maker” at the Gender Equality Forum

The Center’s application to become an “Action Coalition Commitment Maker” in support of the Action Coalition on Bodily Autonomy at the Forum was also approved. Commitment makers submit formal commitments to take action to advance gender equality. The Center’s commitments will be featured at the Forum along with those of other Action Coalition leaders and commitment-makers, including governments, women’s and feminist organizations, youth-led organizations, philanthropies, institutional organizations, and private sector companies.

Event Details

Session title: “My Body is My Own: Young Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Bodily Autonomy and Decision-making”

Date/time: Thursday, July 1, 2021 @ 11:10 AM EST/5:10PM CEST (GMT/UTC +2)

View the live stream here.

Speakers:

• Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, UNFPA
• Enid Muthoni, Vice President of Global Programs, Center for Reproductive Rights
• Janine Alm Ericson, State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
• Ixchel Lucas, Training Coordinator, Las Niñas Lideran

Registration Information

To register for the entire three-day Generation Equality Forum, click here. The Forum runs from June 30 – July 2.

Click here to view the live stream of  “My Body is My Own: Young Women’s and Adolescent Girls’ Bodily Autonomy and Decision-making” on Thursday, July 1, 2021 @ 11:10 AM EST/5:10PM CEST (GMT/UTC +2).

Click here to watch the replay of this event.

About the Generation Equality Forum

The Generation Equality Forum is an international event organized by UN Women—the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Forum, scheduled in Paris for June 30 – July 2, 2021, brings together governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, young people and other change makers from around the world to define and announce ambitious investments and policies to advance gender equality.

This year’s event, which kicked off in Mexico City in March 2021 and culminates in Paris, marks 26 years since the international community met to advance gender equality at the landmark Beijing Women’s Conference.  The Forum is expected to be the largest global feminist gathering since that conference. The governments of France and Mexico, under the aegis of UN Women and in partnership with civil society, are co-hosting this year’s Forum. Click here for more information on the Generation Equality Forum.

Read more:

The Center’s Work on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights