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Belgium

Articles by Belgium

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IPPF Condemns the Arson Attacks on Schools Delivering Sex Education in Belgium

IPPF condemns the multiple school arsons across the French-speaking Wallonia region in Belgium over the past week, which have been connected to public protests against the compulsory “education in relationships, affective and sexual life” (EVRAS) program. These targeted attacks are evidence of a growing movement opposed to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curricula, and the duty of states to support and protect children in their sexual development. IPPF is deeply concerned that a small cadre of those with extremist views are targeting schools with violence, which serve as vital safe spaces for children and young people to become educated, empowered citizens.  In the face of global misinformation campaigns and attempts to silence the organizations and institutions providing high quality comprehensive sexuality education, IPPF affirms that these programs empower children and young people to protect their health and well-being and support them in developing healthy and positive relationships throughout their lives.  Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, IPPF Director General said:  “The violent attacks on schools in Belgium are proof of how anti-rights campaigners are multiplying around the world and fuelling divisions by spreading false or misleading information about existing education curricula. We know from decades of research and our own programmatic experience in this area that comprehensive sexuality education helps children and young people to understand and enjoy their sexuality, take responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health and rights and respect other people’s. We stand with the educators in Belgium who are delivering on a sex education curriculum that promotes children and young people’s rights.”  Research shows that parents and young people agree that sexuality education should be offered in schools, and that parents are willing to join these programs, particularly as they help their children to navigate relationships and sexuality amid the complex challenges of the digital era. Many governments around the world, including Belgium, are making sexuality education programs a national priority to protect all children and young people from harm.  IPPF stands with the schools and educators delivering this vital education in Belgium and around the world, and we remain committed to providing children and young people with the knowledge to protect and promote their safety, health and wellbeing.  For media inquiries, contact [email protected]   Banner image: Shutterstock

Sensoa

Sensoa serves Belgium’s Flemish community. It is the official government partner in the Flemish region with regard to sexual health and SRH promotion. The organzsation was created in 2003 from the merger of several HIV and AIDS organizations and the region’s family planning association (CGSO).

Its work includes information, education and communication (IEC) activities carried out through the use of social media, websites, manuals, webinars and training packages, press actions, mass media, brochures, exhibitions, teaching material, posters, targeted at professionals working with youth, young adults, adults, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV and AIDS and directly towards these target groups as well. Sensoa also runs a training centre, an online shop and a counselling service for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Additionally, the organization has an international programme which is primarily involved in advocacy for sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV and AIDS in Belgium’s international development cooperation, and on associated capacity building.

Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial

The Fédération Francophone Belge pour le Planning Familial et l'Education Sexuelle serves Belgium's Wallonian community. It runs 42 centres, where it conducts training in family planning for health personnel, and an information and documentation centre. The organisation is prominent in the promotion of women’s sexual and reproductive health rights, and has organized a solidarity campaign for Algerian migrant women.

 

 

 

Girls from Lesotho
02 March 2017

She Decides Conference: Making a stand for women and girls right to decide

Access to education, the right to make choices about your own body – these are things many of us take for granted. But the reality for many women and young girls in developing countries is very different. Denied rights to some very basic choices – such as how many children to have and when, whether to stay in school, and how to participate in their country’s economy. For some, this is about culture, custom, economics or just denial of basic human rights. For others it is as simple, yet life changing, as not having access to modern contraceptive methods. The She Decides Conference in Belgium today sees ministers, young leaders, civil society groups and policymakers – a real mixture of organizations gathered together with one key objective – trying to change the way action is taken on  women and girls human rights. This Conference is a seminal moment – a vital opportunity for Governments and NGOs to work collaboratively to address the challenges we face. "If we want the world to advance, we must ensure women's rights to decide. I want my daughter's to decide." Chad Min. Of Health #SheDecides pic.twitter.com/nN3zJPav7D — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 The She Decides initiative is not about abortion. It’s a fundraising initiative  for human rights. Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and in particular family planning, is the foundation for gender equality, women's empowerment, and economic development for both women and men, wherever and whoever they are. This moment will kick-start the process of securing maximum political and financial support to ensure full access worldwide to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning, so that the most vulnerable women and girls can exercise the right to decide about their own bodies and destiny.   The need has never been greater. Beatrice Akoth had never wanted or planned to have nine children, but she had no choice. Although the idea is incomprehensible for many of us, Beatrice, like millions of other women and girls, had no access to contraception when she desperately needed it. “When I was a young girl, I never thought I would have nine children. After each child, I got pregnant again, nine months later,” she said. This left her struggling to provide for her family, who all share a two-room mud shack on swampy ground on the outskirts of Kisumu, Kenya. No one had ever talked to her in any depth about family planning, and by the time the ninth child was born, 41-year-old Beatrice was unable to cope. “The children were my burden. I did not know who to turn to. But one day, out of the blue, I overheard a group of women animatedly chatting about family planning and where to access it,” she said.   There’s no doubt that if she had been able to get care sooner, her life would have been dramatically different. And Beatrice is far from alone. It doesn’t cost much to provide contraception or to safeguard rights, but we need political will and investment. This is why She Decides in Brussels comes in. We are at a crucial moment. As governments and those on the ground delivering services to protect women’s rights and tackle inequality. We know that sexual and reproductive health and rights are key to individual wellbeing. "When it comes to women's Rights, there's no North or South, it's a GLOBAL movement until #SheDecides" - T. Melesse @ippf pic.twitter.com/h7QMNIy3Lq — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 And in such company, we could convince ourselves that we have won this fight that our unanswerable case has triumphed. Sexual and reproductive health and rights services cover every aspects of people’s lives. We want to make sure there is continued support to avoid  unintended health consequences, especially for women living at the margins of society hardest – the poorest, disabled, the most remote and those under the age of twenty-five. No one should  be denied the lifesaving healthcare they need.  As a social movement working on these issues, we will survive this time. And it is heartening to see that with each setback in the fight for the health of women and girls, the response becomes stronger. That is why we are in Brussels today – because our determination to ensure that she really does decide has never been stronger.   "Providing girls with sexual and reproductive health&services I'm not doing them a favour: it's their right!" A. Dicko @ippf at #SheDecides pic.twitter.com/rUGU6pyk5l — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 WANT TO GET INVOLVED? SUBSCRIBE NOW TO GET UPDATES FROM IPPF SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH A DONATION

belgium-school

IPPF Condemns the Arson Attacks on Schools Delivering Sex Education in Belgium

IPPF condemns the multiple school arsons across the French-speaking Wallonia region in Belgium over the past week, which have been connected to public protests against the compulsory “education in relationships, affective and sexual life” (EVRAS) program. These targeted attacks are evidence of a growing movement opposed to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curricula, and the duty of states to support and protect children in their sexual development. IPPF is deeply concerned that a small cadre of those with extremist views are targeting schools with violence, which serve as vital safe spaces for children and young people to become educated, empowered citizens.  In the face of global misinformation campaigns and attempts to silence the organizations and institutions providing high quality comprehensive sexuality education, IPPF affirms that these programs empower children and young people to protect their health and well-being and support them in developing healthy and positive relationships throughout their lives.  Dr. Alvaro Bermejo, IPPF Director General said:  “The violent attacks on schools in Belgium are proof of how anti-rights campaigners are multiplying around the world and fuelling divisions by spreading false or misleading information about existing education curricula. We know from decades of research and our own programmatic experience in this area that comprehensive sexuality education helps children and young people to understand and enjoy their sexuality, take responsibility for their own sexual and reproductive health and rights and respect other people’s. We stand with the educators in Belgium who are delivering on a sex education curriculum that promotes children and young people’s rights.”  Research shows that parents and young people agree that sexuality education should be offered in schools, and that parents are willing to join these programs, particularly as they help their children to navigate relationships and sexuality amid the complex challenges of the digital era. Many governments around the world, including Belgium, are making sexuality education programs a national priority to protect all children and young people from harm.  IPPF stands with the schools and educators delivering this vital education in Belgium and around the world, and we remain committed to providing children and young people with the knowledge to protect and promote their safety, health and wellbeing.  For media inquiries, contact [email protected]   Banner image: Shutterstock

Sensoa

Sensoa serves Belgium’s Flemish community. It is the official government partner in the Flemish region with regard to sexual health and SRH promotion. The organzsation was created in 2003 from the merger of several HIV and AIDS organizations and the region’s family planning association (CGSO).

Its work includes information, education and communication (IEC) activities carried out through the use of social media, websites, manuals, webinars and training packages, press actions, mass media, brochures, exhibitions, teaching material, posters, targeted at professionals working with youth, young adults, adults, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV and AIDS and directly towards these target groups as well. Sensoa also runs a training centre, an online shop and a counselling service for people living with HIV and AIDS.

Additionally, the organization has an international programme which is primarily involved in advocacy for sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV and AIDS in Belgium’s international development cooperation, and on associated capacity building.

Fédération Laïque de Centres de Planning Familial

The Fédération Francophone Belge pour le Planning Familial et l'Education Sexuelle serves Belgium's Wallonian community. It runs 42 centres, where it conducts training in family planning for health personnel, and an information and documentation centre. The organisation is prominent in the promotion of women’s sexual and reproductive health rights, and has organized a solidarity campaign for Algerian migrant women.

 

 

 

Girls from Lesotho
02 March 2017

She Decides Conference: Making a stand for women and girls right to decide

Access to education, the right to make choices about your own body – these are things many of us take for granted. But the reality for many women and young girls in developing countries is very different. Denied rights to some very basic choices – such as how many children to have and when, whether to stay in school, and how to participate in their country’s economy. For some, this is about culture, custom, economics or just denial of basic human rights. For others it is as simple, yet life changing, as not having access to modern contraceptive methods. The She Decides Conference in Belgium today sees ministers, young leaders, civil society groups and policymakers – a real mixture of organizations gathered together with one key objective – trying to change the way action is taken on  women and girls human rights. This Conference is a seminal moment – a vital opportunity for Governments and NGOs to work collaboratively to address the challenges we face. "If we want the world to advance, we must ensure women's rights to decide. I want my daughter's to decide." Chad Min. Of Health #SheDecides pic.twitter.com/nN3zJPav7D — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 The She Decides initiative is not about abortion. It’s a fundraising initiative  for human rights. Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and in particular family planning, is the foundation for gender equality, women's empowerment, and economic development for both women and men, wherever and whoever they are. This moment will kick-start the process of securing maximum political and financial support to ensure full access worldwide to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning, so that the most vulnerable women and girls can exercise the right to decide about their own bodies and destiny.   The need has never been greater. Beatrice Akoth had never wanted or planned to have nine children, but she had no choice. Although the idea is incomprehensible for many of us, Beatrice, like millions of other women and girls, had no access to contraception when she desperately needed it. “When I was a young girl, I never thought I would have nine children. After each child, I got pregnant again, nine months later,” she said. This left her struggling to provide for her family, who all share a two-room mud shack on swampy ground on the outskirts of Kisumu, Kenya. No one had ever talked to her in any depth about family planning, and by the time the ninth child was born, 41-year-old Beatrice was unable to cope. “The children were my burden. I did not know who to turn to. But one day, out of the blue, I overheard a group of women animatedly chatting about family planning and where to access it,” she said.   There’s no doubt that if she had been able to get care sooner, her life would have been dramatically different. And Beatrice is far from alone. It doesn’t cost much to provide contraception or to safeguard rights, but we need political will and investment. This is why She Decides in Brussels comes in. We are at a crucial moment. As governments and those on the ground delivering services to protect women’s rights and tackle inequality. We know that sexual and reproductive health and rights are key to individual wellbeing. "When it comes to women's Rights, there's no North or South, it's a GLOBAL movement until #SheDecides" - T. Melesse @ippf pic.twitter.com/h7QMNIy3Lq — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 And in such company, we could convince ourselves that we have won this fight that our unanswerable case has triumphed. Sexual and reproductive health and rights services cover every aspects of people’s lives. We want to make sure there is continued support to avoid  unintended health consequences, especially for women living at the margins of society hardest – the poorest, disabled, the most remote and those under the age of twenty-five. No one should  be denied the lifesaving healthcare they need.  As a social movement working on these issues, we will survive this time. And it is heartening to see that with each setback in the fight for the health of women and girls, the response becomes stronger. That is why we are in Brussels today – because our determination to ensure that she really does decide has never been stronger.   "Providing girls with sexual and reproductive health&services I'm not doing them a favour: it's their right!" A. Dicko @ippf at #SheDecides pic.twitter.com/rUGU6pyk5l — IPPF Global (@ippf) March 2, 2017 WANT TO GET INVOLVED? SUBSCRIBE NOW TO GET UPDATES FROM IPPF SUPPORT OUR WORK WITH A DONATION