IPPF is shifting gear and stepping up to ensure we use all means at our disposal to challenge power in our fight for the human rights of people globally. Our ability to do this has been bolstered by your support and collectively we can ensure further sexual and reproductive rights for all.
Most recently we have been supporting the sex workers movement and our Member Associations (MA)s in the United States and in France to push for reform of unjust laws and leading on challenging the UK Government for the unlawful reduction of ODA from 0.7% to 0.5% .
As requested by the Mouvement Français pour le Planning Familial (MFPF), IPPF sent a letter of intent providing arguments in favour of the sex workers movement and requesting permission from the European Court of Human Rights to submit an intervention in the case of MA and others v France, in which 250 sex workers allege that the current legal framework on sex work in France violates the rights of sex workers to privacy, bodily autonomy, and to be free from violence and discrimination.
In our letter, we explained why this case was relevant to our work, how we were qualified to express an expert opinion, and on what subjects we would like to intervene. (MFPF) runs 40 clinics in France and delivers services to over 350,000 people annually. Half of its clients are under the age of 20. And in the request to submit an intervention we asked for reflection on the following:
- The impact of criminalization, government attempts to control women’s bodies, and stigma on gender equality, social inclusion, safety, health, and the ability to exercise human rights in relation to sexuality and sexual and reproductive health and rights;
- A feminist application of human rights as relates specifically to legal and policy frameworks around sex work and gender equality;
- Field perspectives and testimonies on consequences of criminalization of sex work in various countries in which IPPF works.
Supporting our US MA – Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) internationally, we are pushing for a permanent repeal of the global gag rule. The next step is to debate the bill in the Senate. IPPF is lobbying for like-minded donor countries to write to the White House to express their support for a permanent repeal.
IPPF started the process of issuing a judiciary review (JR)in the UK, challenging the discontinuation of life-saving SRHR funding from the UK FCDO based in an unlawful decision not voted in Parliament. This JR was submitted on Friday 23 July 2021 and IPPF looks forward to a positive outcome.