SRHM Podcast
By Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters (SRHM)
Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters or SRHM promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights globally. At the heart of SRHM is a multidisciplinary, open-access, peer-reviewed journal. SRHM also creates and participates in spaces that motivate improvements in research, policy, services and practice. It contributes to capacity building in knowledge generation.
Learn more at srhm.org.
Music by Tiber Krisztián and Salamon Botond
Sound editing by We Edit Podcasts
SRHM PodcastApr 29, 2021
Battling Disinformation and Misinformation: Sexual and Reproductive Rights in the Digital Age
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
Editor's Summary: Donor funding for SRHR advocacy
In this episode, Nina Sun, Associated Editor for the SRHM Journal speaks to Sundari Ravindran, Senior Editor of the SRHM Journal, about a recently published issue titled, 'Donor Funding for SRHR Advocacy'.
Sundari speaks to the rationale and gap in knowledge that this issue addressess and why it was important for SRHM to publish on this topic. She also talks about specific findings that stood out to her personally. Lastly she discusses the next steps now that we have gathered this evidence in the SRHM Journal.
Useful links:
SRHM Issue: Donor funding for SRHR advocacy
Perspective: Is there an alternative to grant-funding for sexual and reproductive health advocacy? A survey of the income base of AmplifyChange grantees Alex le May & Lucie Hazelgrove-Planel
Commentary: “Effective social justice advocacy: a theory of change framework for assessing progress” – reflections on the terrain since its publication in 2011 Barbara Klugman
Commentary: Forgotten by donors: a call to action by persons with disabilities to resource disability justice within sexual and reproductive health rights funding Lisa Adams
Commentary: Advocacy for resourcing feminist and women’s rights movements: an interview with the association for women’s rights in development (AWID) Cindy Clark, Kasia Staszewska, Tenzin Dolker & T.K. Sundari Ravindran
Editor's Summary: Highlights from the 2023 Open Issue
In this 10 minute editor's summary episode we hear from Nina Sun, SRHM Associate Editor, and Emma Pitchforth, SRHM Editor-in-Chief. Emma gives an overview of the 2023 Open Issue, the range of topics and gives a summary of three papers that stood out to her personally. Nina and Emma also discuss what themes will be important for the SRHM journal to publish in 2024 and what makes the SRHM Open issue different to other journal publications.
Useful links:
Research article: The difficult process of autonomous choice: using I-poems to understand experiences of abortion-seekers in The Netherlands
Lianne Holten, Rosalie van der Wolf & Marit S. G. van der Pijl
Commentary: Supreme Court of India judgement on abortion as a fundamental right: breaking new ground
Dipika Jain
Kelly Van Treeck, Shatha Elnakib & Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli
The moral determinants of reproductive health—not “our lane”?
In anticipation of the International Conference on Family Planning, this episode focuses on reproductive power and aligning actions with values in global family planning.
The conversation is moderated by Sara Gullo who works as an Independent Consultant. Sara is joined by Christine Galavotti a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Feven Mekuria a Senior Advisor in Community Health systems at CARE.
This conversation is inspired by a recent article on reproductive power and family planning written by Christine and Sara which was published in the SRHM journal. The link to the article is available in the episode description or you can find it at SRHM.org.
Useful links:
Reproductive power matters: aligning actions with values in global family planning written by Christine Galavotti & Sara Gullo: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2022.2082353
Jade Sasser’s book titled On Infertile Ground: https://nyupress.org/9781479899357/on-infertile-ground/
Reproductive Autonomy Scale: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24615573/
Contraceptive Autonomy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24615573/
Op-Ed on contraception as ‘poverty cure’: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/opinion/iud-implants-contraception-poverty.html--
Summary of the project with married girls from Ethiopia: a4_tesfainvestigativeresearchbrief_print.pdf (care.org)
Pleasure Matters – shining a light on pleasure as a core element of SRHR
In this episode, four experts discuss the importance of pleasure for health and wellbeing and how it connects to family planning and contraception. They also discuss the pleasure deficit, why it exists and what we can do about it.
This episode is moderated by Anne Philpott who is the Founder and Co-Director of The Pleasure Project - an international education and advocacy organization working to eroticize safer sex. Anne is speaking with Ana Santos, an award-winning journalist who reports on the intersections of sexuality, sexual health, and female migrant labour. She is also a Pleasure Fellow at The Pleasure Project. Anne is also speaking with Mahmoud Garga, Lead Specialist in Strategic Communication, Media Relations and Digital Campaigning at the IPPF Africa Regional Office. He also leads their Treasure You Pleasure campaign across Sub-Saharan Africa. And lastly, Jessica Sanders is also joining the conversion. Jessica is an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah in the Division of Family Planning and Director of research at the ASCENT Center for reproductive and sexual health. She received her PhD in Public Health from the University of Utah with an emphasis in Women’s Health.
Useful links:
The Pleasure Principles – guide to implementing pleasure based sexual health
The Systematic Review on 'What is the added value of incorporating pleasure in sexual health interventions?'
The World Association of Sexual Health Sexual Pleasure Declaration
The World Association for Sexual Health’s Declaration on Sexual Pleasure: A technical guide
World Sexual Health Day – Let’s talk Pleasure - 2022
Treasure your pleasure campaign
The campaign, in English, French and Portuguese aims to create a safe space for youth in Africa to talk about sex freely, reducing shame through bold communication that resonates with them and grabs their attention while also advocating for safe sex and the importance of pleasure.
Middle Me Podcast with Ana Santos
By Jessica Sanders:
What just happened?: Abortion in the U.S. after Roe
On June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade and thus removed constitutional protection for abortion rights in the country. This decision will hurt millions of people – especially those who already face discriminatory obstacles to health care. In response, we recorded this episode of the SRHM Podcast to better understand the situation in the U.S. right now and the implications of this milestone ruling.
The conversation is moderated by Mindy Jane Roseman, Director of International Law Programs at Yale Law, the Director of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights, and SRHM Associate Editor. Mindy is speaking with Elizabeth Nash, Principal Policy Associate, State Issues with the Guttmacher Institute in Washington, DC, and Rachel Rebouché, Interim Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law and James E. Beasley Professor of Law.
Useful links:
The new abortion battleground by David S. Cohen, Greer Donley and Rachel Rebouché https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4032931
Updated map of abortion laws per state: https://states.guttmacher.org/policies/
New numbers on abortion in the US for 2019 and 2020: https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term-decline-us-abortions-reverses-showing-rising-need-abortion-supreme-court
Take action:
If you can, consider donating to the Center for Reproductive Rights (https://reproductiverights.org/), Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/), or other advocacy groups or abortion clinics in the U.S.
Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice in the war against Ukraine 2022
In this episode, SRHM Chief Executive Eszter Kismodi speaks with five experts on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in relation to the war against Ukraine. Together, they cover issues such as access to SRHR in Ukraine and in neighboring countries, the complexity of delivering humanitarian aid, the nuances of surrogacy during wars, as well as the importance of humanitarian law, human rights law and criminal law.
Speakers:
Galina Maistruk - Obstetrician-Gynecologist in Ukraine
Wanda Nowicka - Member of Parliament in Poland
Alison Motluk - Freelance Journalist specialized in assisted reproduction
Dr. Henia Dakkak - Head of Policy and Liaison Unit, Humanitarian Office, UNFPA in Moldova
Christina Zampas - Associate Director of Global Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights
Resources:
SRHM editorial on SRHR in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Surrogacy Industry Has Put Women in Impossible Positions by Alison Motluk published in The Atlantic
HeyReprotech newsletter by Alison Motluk
Ukraine Surrogacy Dispatch newsletter by Alison Motluk
Poetry for sexual and reproductive justice
Following a call for poetry in September 2021, SRHM published its first poetry anthology on sexual and reproductive justice. To celebrate the release of the collection, we invited five poets and a member of the Selection Committee to read their poems and share what inspired them to write. This episode of the SRHM Podcast is the recording from the launch event.
SRHM's poetry collection is available online at http://www.srhm.org/poetry-for-sexual-and-reproductive-justice/
Poets:
Megan Spencer (poem: on mother’s day, our first together.)
Carmen Barosso (poem: Forgive me, Father)
Haiber Andres Logos Lemus (poem: Libertad + Amor / Freedom + Love)
Elizabeth Wright Veintimilla (poem: For the women who came before us)
Mahamuda Rahman (poem: My body is my soul)
Jane Cottingham (poem: This is where)
Trans reproductive justice
This episode features Avery Everhart, Blas Radi and A.J. Lowik. Together, they discuss the importance of inclusive language and best practices, how social movements for trans rights and reproductive justice are influenced by geographic contexts, and how the criteria for political participation are too often based on cisnormative logic. The episode concludes with several recommendations on how to be more inclusive.
Read Blas Radi’s article published by SRHM: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2020.1824318
The transcript for this episode is available here: http://www.srhm.org/news/trans-reproductive-justice-podcast-transcript/
Other resources:
Florence Ashley: https://www.florenceashley.com/
Pregnancy: Reproductive Futures in Trans of Color Feminism by micha cárdenas: https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article-abstract/3/1-2/48/91814/PregnancyReproductive-Futures-in-Trans-of-Color
Dr. A.J. Lowik’s manual on trans inclusive abortion services: https://www.ajlowik.com/transinclusive-abortion
US foreign policy and abortion
In this episode, Emily Maistrellis, Senior Program Officer at the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is hosting a conversation with three colleagues on the impact of US foreign policy on abortion worldwide. More specifically, they discuss the Global Gag Rule, or the GGR, and how even though the policy was rescinded in January 2021, the effects continue to be seen globally.
Speakers:
Patty Skuster, Beck Chair in Law at Temple Law School and fellow with the Center for Public Health Law Research
Anand Tamang, Founding Director of CREHPA, a research organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal
Evelyne Opondo, Senior Regional Director for Africa at the Center for Reproductive Rights
This episode builds on a special journal issue published by SRHM and Columbia University titled Exporting harm: impact of the expanded Global Gag Rule on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Surrogacy and reproductive justice
In today’s episode, Mindy Jane Roseman, SRHM Associate Editor, Director of International Law Programs at Yale Law and Director of the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights is speaking with Dr. Marcin Smietana, Research Associate in the Reproductive Sociology Research Group at Cambridge University and Sarojini Nadimpally, Founder of Sama Resource Group for Women and Health and the former Co-chair of People's Health Movement Global.
Together, they discuss the evolution and complexities of surrogacy worldwide. They explore how surrogacy is viewed in different areas of the world, how laws vary, and how to frame the issue from a reproductive justice perspective.
This episode builds on an article co-authored by Marcin titled, “Moral frameworks of commercial surrogacy within the US, India and Russia”, which was published in the SRHM Journal last spring.
Texas abortion ban: what it means and what happens next
In September 2021, the state of Texas implemented Senate Bill 8 (SB8) banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, including in cases of rape and incest. This is one of the most restrictive state laws on abortion in the country. To better understand what this means, SRHM gathered expert speakers to discuss how SB8 was implemented, the strategies being pursued to stop its enforcement and the ban’s implications for sexual and reproductive health and rights in the US and beyond.
Speakers:
Dr. Kari White - Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and Faculty Research Associate at the Population Research Center at The University of Texas
Melanie Fontes - Fellow at the Center for Reproductive Rights
Dr. Samuel Dickman - Medical Director for Primary Care at Planned Parenthood South Texas
More resources:
What if Roe fell? by the Center for Reproductive Rights
They Say They Are Attacking Abortion. They Are Really Hurting the Poor, Op-ed by Dr. Dickman in The New York Times
I’m an abortion doctor in Texas. My patients are desperate, Op-ed by Dr. Dickman in The Guardian
Texas Policy Evaluation Project
How Texas Banned Almost All Abortion, The Daily Podcast
Rethinking abortion legal reforms in India and South Korea
in this episode, Rupsa Mallik, Director of Programs and Innovation at CREA, a feminist international human rights organization based in the Global South and led by women from the Global South, is in conversation with Na Young who is the co-founder and representative of the Centre for Sexual Rights and Reproductive Justice or SHARE, in South Korea.
Together, they discuss abortion legal reforms by comparing India and South Korea’s journeys to advance safe and legal abortion.
This episode builds on a commentary published by SRHM titled “The MTP 2020 Amendment Bill: anti-rights subjectivity” which focuses on the Indian context.
The effectiveness of self-managed abortion using misoprostol alone
In this episode, Dr. Ruvani Jayaweera is in conversation with her colleagues Dr. Heidi Moseson, Ijeoma Egwuatu, and Ika Ayu Kristiangrum about recent research from the SAFE study on the effectiveness of self-managed abortion using misoprostol alone. Together, they discuss how these findings can be contextualized within the clinical literature and the implications of these findings for those who need access to abortion and those who support them.
This episode builds on a commentary published in the SRHM journal entitled, “A love letter to misoprostol, the original abortion medication,” by Dr. Ruvani Jayaweera, Dr. Heidi Moseson, and Dr. Caitlin Gerdts.
SAFE pilot paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33444174/
SAFE protocol paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588945/
To learn more about GIWYN: https://giwynn.org/
To learn more about Samsara: https://samsara.or.id/
Watch the 'Misoprostol' song video: http://giwyn.simplesite.com/442733386
Rights-based SRHR research: concepts, principles and methodologies
In this first episode of a series on rights-based research and knowledge creation, SRHM Chief Executive, Eszter Kismodi, speaks with three leading experts in the field and together they discuss the important concept of rights-based research and explore why it matters for sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The speakers in this episode are Sundari Ravindran, Laura Ferguson and Sabina Faiz Rashid.
Menstrual hygiene in Chennai, India during COVID-19 and beyond
In this episode, Dr. Ankitha Manohar, a practicing OBGYN from India, interviews her friend and colleague, Dr. Nuzrath Jahan, a Master of Public Health Research Scholar from India. In their conversation, Drs Ankitha and Nuzrath discuss the ongoing effects of the pandemic on menstrual health as well as the link between access to safe water and menstrual hygiene.
Read Dr Nuzrath Jahan's commentary here: Bleeding during a pandemic, the politics of menstruation
Reflections on research published in 2020 and what's ahead
In this short episode, Nina Sun, SRHM Associate Editor, and Julia Hussein, SRHM Editor-in-Chief, look back at the research published in the SRHM Journal in 2020 and share their thoughts on emerging trends in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights.