There have never been more forms of lubricants (also known as lube) widely available, and from so many places including pharmacies, health stores and supermarkets. So it’s a great time to start incorporating it into your sex life! Get ready to rid yourself of any outdated notions you might have about lube by reading on about its many benefits...    1. Lube can be used by anyone, for anything There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ lube user. It can and is used by all, regardless of gender, age and sexuality, and can also be used during masturbation. Simply apply it to any part of the body that feels good, or use with a sex toy. Lube can be water-, oil- or silicone-based, so just make sure that you’re using one that’s suitable for you, your partner and any sex toys you use. 2. It can enhance the pleasure  Lube doesn’t have to be a last resort for when things have gone a bit dry – you can use it at any time during sex, and it also comes in different flavors, and can create different sensations like a warming or cooling effect wherever it’s applied. Some lube can help delay ejaculation too. When additional lube is used with a condom, it can also make sex feel more natural. All in all, lube can seriously enhance the pleasure for everyone involved!  3. But if you are feeling a bit dry down there... Vaginal dryness during sex is common and can happen for many different reasons, including your hormone levels, where you are in your menstrual cycle, how stressed you are and what medication you're on. The natural lubrication levels of the penis can also vary, and dryness in anyone is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about – so lube up and enjoy the ride! If you do have any concerns then visit a medical professional for advice.  4. It’s ideal for anal sex Unlike the vagina or penis, the anus often doesn’t provide adequate natural lubrication during sex. So apply lube liberally during foreplay for a relaxing effect, during anal intercourse itself, or while you’re using anal sex toys for a more pleasurable experience all round.  5. It can make sex safer Lube reduces friction, so lessens your risk of injury during sex. And if you’re using condoms, lube also makes it less likely that it’ll break or fall off, therefore increasing your protection against STIs including HIV. Using the more common latex condoms? Just ensure you’re using a water- or silicone-based lube, as other types may cause the condom to break down. And keep in mind that lube is not a contraceptive, so make sure you’re using the relevant methods of preventing pregnancy. If you’re keen to know more about contraception, find out what some of your options are now. Main photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash

Women and girls in Palestine face a number of difficulties and challenges. The ongoing conflict and lack of sitting government as well as high unemployment, has led to poverty and inequality, while an increasingly conservative society and traditionally patriarchal culture has led to increased gender-inequality and lack of access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. The current abortion law unfairly pushes women to risk their lives and health to attempt to end their unwanted pregnancies in unsafe ways. In this context, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Agency (PFPPA) has been working since 1964, to provide sexual and reproductive healthcare and advocate for women’s rights. Having received two grants from Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) since 2014, they have been working on the lack of access to safe abortion in the country with a focus on increasing their provision of abortion-related services and advocating at community and national level for changes to the abortion law. My name is Fatima, I am a midwife and have worked with PFPPA for 18 years in the Halhul clinic in Palestine.   PFPPA has had a great impact on me personally as well as the community as a whole. I experienced violence in my marriage but when I joined the organization I learned the meaning of violence and I realized that I didn’t have to put up with it and could make decisions for myself. This was a turning point in my life. My life changed 180 degrees, thank God, and my husband stopped being violent.  Society & acceptance Since I have worked here, I have seen changes in society’s acceptance of sexual and reproductive health issues and I feel that more people are supporting us. They can be women, religious personalities or young volunteers. One of the proudest moments of my work has been working with a young man who was training to be a peer educator, he was violent, especially with his sister. From the very start of the training, he was against the issues that we were presenting, however, he started to understand our issues. I also met his mother and she thanked me for the change that happened in his life. She came to say that he is now helping in the house - washing dishes and doing other tasks that he would have thought were just for women before.  The challenges that we face are a misunderstanding of religion, negative traditions and customs, as well as the political situation in Palestine with the occupation, the walls, the checkpoints as well as the economic situation. We work on issues that will take many years to witness any change due to the negative traditions and customs.  Harm reduction & abortion care We have recently started implementing a harm reduction approach to abortion care. I remember one woman who was 44 years old and divorced. She came to the clinic and was seven weeks pregnant. Her face was pale and tired...I felt that all the problems were on her shoulders. She was looking for a saviour. We supported her with harm reduction information and afterwards provided information on post-abortion contraception. After one or two months she sent a message thanking me, saying that we had saved her life, I was really happy about that.  There are also cases of women that come here, maybe they took pills or they did something that made them bleed. They don’t tell you what they did but I can detect if I think an abortion happened. If it is an incomplete abortion, we explain how to take the treatment and we follow up with support.  Unsafe methods  Women in our communities use many unsafe methods to try to end pregnancies. They drink special teas or chlorine. They jump off things or ask their children to jump on them. They sometimes put suppositories made from Arabic medicinal herbs into the cervix. Although it is common, deaths are not registered as linked to unsafe abortion but are probably registered as maternal deaths.  When the society says that abortion is haram (forbidden), they don’t take into consideration the issues and these women in need. Imagine if we had safe abortion services at the hospitals, we would not see these issues at all. There are women who would choose abortion for reasons like their age, their health, social issues and psychological issues. There are women themselves who say “I will die if I complete this pregnancy”. I am passionate about the work that I do. I advocate for these issues everywhere I go, on the bus, during weddings and with friends and family, wherever I go. That is why the Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) funded project is so important. I have learned a lot about advocacy and campaigning, how we manage legal advocacy and how to work with decision-makers. We have run events to mark International Safe Abortion Day with groups of women gathered here in the centre and with decision-makers and volunteers. Read more stories from SAAF in Palestine

Women and girls in Palestine face a number of difficulties and challenges. The ongoing conflict and lack of sitting government as well as high unemployment, has led to poverty and inequality, while an increasingly conservative society and traditionally patriarchal culture has led to increased gender-inequality and lack of access to sexual and reproductive healthcare. The current abortion law unfairly pushes women to risk their lives and health to attempt to end their unwanted pregnancies in unsafe ways. In this context, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Agency (PFPPA) has been working since 1964, to provide sexual and reproductive healthcare and advocate for women’s rights. Having received two grants from Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) since 2014, they have been working on the lack of access to safe abortion in the country with a focus on increasing their provision of abortion-related services and advocating at community and national level for changes to the abortion law.  My name is Amani and I am 24 years old. I live with my parents in Bethlehem in the West Bank and I work as a midwife in a family hospital in Jerusalem as well as a peer education volunteer with the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Agency.  Working in schools Part of my role as a volunteer involves going to schools and doing presentations about early-marriage, family planning and gender-based violence. Even though sex outside of marriage is taboo, it does happen. However, it is very hard for unmarried people to access contraception as the culture is so restrictive, especially here in Hebron. When they need contraception, the man usually goes by himself or they look online.  When we go to schools and talk to students about the subject of sexual health, the students want to know more because at home it is a taboo to talk about such things. We get many questions about issues such as masturbation or what causes pregnancy. They just know that it happens when men and women are together, they do not know how it happens. So people may ask a question like: ‘if I touch somebody, if I stand near someone or kiss them will I get pregnant?’ Abortion is still a taboo The students don’t normally ask about abortion as it is such a taboo. I do know that unsafe abortion happens though, for example my grandmother tried to end her pregnancy once. She was forty-five years old and had six children already. She did not know any way of not getting pregnant or safely ending the pregnancy. She told me that she drank liquids and jumped from the stairs, taking a great risk. She really didn’t want to be pregnant again and tried hard to end it but it did not work.  I am very proud that as a peer educator I have expanded my knowledge on many issues, including how to provide harm reduction information to women so that they can reduce risks of unsafe abortion and not do what my grandmother did in case they don’t want to be pregnant.   Once I met with a woman who already had six children, she was tired of having children but her husband wanted to have more so we visited them at home and through conversation, the husband understood the need, so she was able to access an IUD. Here we work a lot with women, we change them, we speak with them, they change their opinions, they become decision-makers and they leave the clinic as different people.  Read more stories from SAAF in Palestine

Félicité Sonhaye ATBEF Regional Coordinator The Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Être Familial (ATBEF), has led a pioneering programme training community health workers to administer contraception in the rural areas where they live. “The injection is used more than any other method. Around 60% of women use it,” said Félicité Sonhaye, ATBEF Regional Coordinator for Togo’s Plateaux region, which covers Ilama. “Women appreciate the reliability and long-lasting effects of the injection, which allow them to stop worrying about unexpected pregnancies”, Sonhaye added. Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Sossou Sagna Ilama village chief Men like Sossou Sagna, have great influence and respect within Togo’s rural communities. As Ilama’s village chief his approval was required for the ATBEF community project to take root. “I sent my own wife to seek family planning. The lady helped us and it worked really well. I also went with my older brother’s wife and she was very satisfied. Every member of this community is now aware that having a large family drives them towards poverty. Ignorance was the reason why we had so many children per family here before. Now with the family planning advice we have received, spacing births has become a reality and the reduction of the number of children per family.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Abla Abassa Community health worker Abla is a community health worker, and spends her days cycling around Ilama’s dusty streets visiting households that have signed up to an innovative programme providing contraception in hard-to-reach places. “Before, people didn’t have a lot of information about contraception. With the project the community is now able to space their births. I have seen the number of children per family going down. That’s contraception but also the increasing cost of living, and the fact that everyone wants to send their children to school.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Essivi Koutchona Client Facing prohibitive costs of school fees and food prices for six children, Essivi Koutchona, began using the contraceptive injection after deciding with her husband they did not want another child. She has received the injection every three months and has not experienced any side effects. “The community health worker passed by our house one day and explained the method and a bit about the possible side effects. We agreed as a couple that we wanted me to start using the injection.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Edem Badagbo Client 33-year-old Edem is a widowed father of three children. Edem hopes to have a vasectomy within the next month or so. His wife died following the birth of their third child but he is adamant he wants to follow through with a procedure they agreed upon before her death. “My wife agreed with the idea. I was scared when I first heard of it, but that’s because there was so little information available. When I came to the ATBEF clinic I received a lot more detail and that’s when I decided to do it. I have three children. That’s enough.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Yaori Ajossou Vasectomy client Yaori Ajossou, a retired soldier, heard about vasectomy while listening to an ABTEF awareness raising campaign on the radio. It prompted him to take on the responsibility for family planning in his marriage. “Before I had the idea that maybe I'd want to have more children, but after the campaign, and after my wife had talked a little bit about her health problems, I thought, well, maybe it's better to put the brakes on. I was about to retire. Why carry on having children? Six children is already a lot. It's already maybe too many.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Dede Koussawo Client 34-year-old Dede visits the ATBEF clinic in Lomé, Togo with her husband, Edem. “We do this together if his schedule permits it. I asked and he accepted. It's not typical (for men to come). Before the pregnancy, I was taking the pill. Before the first I was taking the pill and I used an IUD after my son's birth and after my daughter's birth as well. We've been really happy with the family planning we've got here so we decided to come here for Prescillia’s birth as well.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Mensah Awity Teacher and ABTEF youth club coordinator in Tohoun Mensah Awity is a teacher at a local school in Tohoun. He also coordinates the ABTEF youth club where they provide information and opportunities for the students to talk about sexual health, pregnancy, contraception. “At the beginning it was difficult for the club. Now teachers have started accepting the ideas and some pupils behave much better so it’s hard for them to keep condemning it. There are three girls who gave birth and who came back to school afterwards. At the beginning it was tough for them but we explained to the students that they shouldn’t be treated differently. The rate of pregnancy has definitely gone down at school.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Emefa Charita Ankouy Youth activist and student “I'm studying for a degree in English and I'm a young activist volunteer with the IPPF youth movement. We promote, we try to help young girls who are in education to have more information about sexual health and reproduction to help them to adopt a method to avoid a pregnancy. They don't have enough information about sexual health and reproduction. I think it's because of that that they've become pregnant. They want to have sex quite early. There is pressure and there's a lack of communication between the students and their parents. Here in Togo sex is taboo for everyone, above all for parents.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Evedoh Worou Community Health Worker, Ilama “The ones who prefer the pill are young students or apprentices. Often, they take it to reduce PMS, and it regulates their period. Sometimes women will forget to take the pill, which means the injection is preferred as it’s just once for three months. The women here have more autonomy and they now have the space to earn money themselves for the household as a result of the programme. At the beginning, there were some reservations among the men in the community but after our awareness campaigns, more and more of them accompany women for family planning.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Photography by Xaume Olleros for IPPF

  Every three months, Mawoula Dahide meets a community health worker in her village in central Togo to receive a single contraceptive injection and then carries on with her busy day. Dahide, 20, has a two-and-a-half year old son and a husband living in the capital and juggles an apprenticeship in tailoring with caring for her child. After recovering from the birth, Dahide tried the injection and immediately felt relief, knowing she would decide when she got pregnant again. “I want to use it for a couple of years and then maybe we will think about having another child,” she said.   Lack of access  Until 2013, Dahide and the other women living in the village of Ilama had no access to regular contraception at all, and its use was sometimes regarded with suspicion, and even fear. In her community, the average age of a mother’s first pregnancy is around 16, and women might bear a total of six or seven children compared to the national average of 4.7, according to local health workers. That trend is changing with a pioneering programme run by the Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Être Familial (ATBEF), which has trained community health workers to administer contraception in the rural areas where they live. ATBEF has focused their distribution of contraceptives within poor and rural communities, and with mobile outreach clinics that go to villages with no trained health workers. The unmet need for contraception in Togo stands at 34% of the population, and in rural communities, this is even higher.  The association contributes a fifth of overall contraception cover to couples in Togo, a West Africa nation of 7.8 million people. There is a clear favourite among the methods offered, which include male and female condoms, the pill, and the contraceptive injection. “The injection is more used than any other method. Around 60% of women use it,” said Félicité Sonhaye, ATBEF Regional Coordinator for Togo’s Plateaux region, which covers Ilama. Women appreciate the reliability and long-lasting effects of the injection, Sonhaye added, which allow them to stop worrying about unexpected pregnancies.   From client to advocate Dahide has become an advocate for the method among her peers within her community. “My friends are getting the injection as well. I was the first to start using it and it was great, so I told them about it,” she said. Another convert to the injection is Ilama’s village chief, Sossou Sagna. The father of seven agreed with his wife they didn’t want anymore children.  “I sent my own wife to seek family planning. The lady helped us and it worked really well. I also went with my older brother’s wife and she was very satisfied,” Sagna noted in the cool of the shade.  “My wife chose the three-month injection,” he added. Sagna had not anticipated some of the wider effects of increasing contraceptive use within the community, which have become prevalent over the last couple of years. “Every member of this community is now aware that having a large family drives them towards poverty,” he said. Families have more money to spend feeding and educating their children in an economy where the cost of living keeps rising. Villagers who see Sagna attending family planning sessions are also convinced that rumours about contraception making them ill are untrue. “Ignorance was the reason why we had so many children per family here before. Now with the family planning advice we have received, spacing births has become a reality and the reduction of the number of children per family,” he added. The gains of the ATBEF rural programme will now go even further with the imminent introduction of Sayana Press, a contraceptive injection that women can self-administer.   Learn more about some of the most popular contraception methods available and if they are right for you    Photography by Xaume Olleros for IPPF

Abla Abassa lives in the village of Ilama, population 2,000, in rural central Togo. After waking up early each morning to prepare for the day ahead, she sits down to map out her route. Abassa is a community health worker, and spends her days cycling around Ilama’s dusty streets to visit households who have signed up to an innovative programme that provides contraception in hard-to-reach places. The village is an hour by bumpy dirt track from the regional capital of Atakpamé, and few residents have the time or money to travel into town on a regular basis to refill prescriptions. For years, that meant the women of the community had just one form of protection against pregnancy: avoiding sex altogether. In 2013, Abassa became one of 279 community health workers in the Plateaux region funded by the Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Être Familial (ATBEF), working in two districts where the unmet need for contraception was greatest. Today, Abassa has three different clients, but can deal with as many as five a day. The health worker meets women on their own or with their husbands, and conversation flows about village life before she administers a contraceptive injection, or leaves behind a small pile of condoms.   Reaching those in need She begins the day a few doors down at the home of Essivi Koutchona, a mother of six who has used the contraceptive injection for the last two-and-a-half years. “The community health worker passed by our house one day and explained the method and a bit about the possible side effects,” Koutchona said. “We agreed as a couple that we wanted me to start using the injection”.   Koutchona’s husband, Konou Aboudou, credits Abassa and the ATBEF with improving his marriage, which he said was strained by the rhythm [calendar] method and supporting many young children at once. “Now we can better understand and support our wives. We avoid adultery and pregnancies are planned,” he explained. “Before, people didn’t have a lot of information about contraception. With the project we have undertaken with ATBEF since 2013, the community is now able to space their births,” Abassa said, adding the couple had told her they wished the programmed has started years ago. Togo currently has a fertility rate of 4.7 children per woman, according to the United Nations Statistics Division, but is trying to bring that number down.    Battling misinformation The government faces entrenched attitudes about the value of a large family, and misinformation spread about contraception. A community health worker has two roles: safely providing contraception, but also reassuring women that many of the rumours they have heard that the injection or pill will make them sick are false. “I tell them that side effects come from the product, so if they have an irregular period it’s not because they are ill,” Abassa said, adding it had taken much persuasion over the last five years to reach the point where she was now trusted. Abassa’s next client preferred to meet at the health worker’s home for some privacy. At 45, Adjo Amagna is still having periods and wants to avoid any chance of another pregnancy. “I think I want to go for the injection. I have never used contraception before so I think I will do it for three months to see how it goes,” she said.  After the death of her fifth child, the only baby she had with her second husband, Amagna wants to focus on caring of the four children she has left. She sat down with the health worker and was passed condoms, femidoms and the pill, while Abassa explained how the injection works. After a half hour chat, Amagna agreed to begin the injection on her next visit.   Changes within the community  On the way to see Mawoula Dahide, a 20-year-old with one child, her last client of the day, Abassa reflected on the changes she has seen in the community since her job began. “I have seen the number of children per family going down,” she said. “That’s contraception but also the increasing cost of living, and the fact that these days everyone wants to send their children to school.” The prevalence of contraceptive use was at 17% before the programme began, but with the focus on rural communities this has risen to 23% nationwide, even though not all areas of Togo are covered by dedicated health workers yet. We met Dahide in a quiet corner as she took a short break from an apprenticeship in tailoring.  “It’s pretty tough balancing my son and my apprenticeship. If I had waited to have a kid before starting it would have been a lot easier,” she admitted. “My husband is studying at the university in Lomé so I only see him during the holidays and maybe a few weekends during term time.” Younger women like Dahide are sometimes harder to reach, said Abassa, and have a greater unmet need for contraception in a community where many have their first child around the age of 16. “Some of the young women can’t educate their own children because they had to drop out of school themselves,” the health worker explained, adding her focus was always on recruiting more teenagers to her cause. As she heads home for the day, Abassa waved to clients and neighbours, while wondering who might be on her doorstep looking for advice when she gets there.   Photography by Xaume Olleros for IPPF

Yaori Ajossou was listening to the radio with his wife in Togo’s capital, Lomé, when the usual chatter turned to a topic he’d never considered: vasectomy. It was 2015 and Ajossou, then 53 years old, was on the point of retiring from his career in the military. He had idly wondered about having another baby – a seventh child – but after the programme, thoughts of his 42-year-old wife’s health problems started churning in his head.   Making the decision “I said to her, why don’t we go and get some information?”, Ajossou recalled. The couple visited the Association Togolaise pour le Bien-Etre Familial (ATBEF) and asked the staff several questions: Would it hurt? Could they still have sex afterwards? Was it 100% effective? Yaori’s wife, Ami, had always taken the lead on contraception, but her fragile state of health was being exacerbated by side effects, and she was not ready to become a mother again. “I was taking the pill but it tired me out and I stopped taking it until I got pregnant again,” she sighed. “Then I took the implant, but it wasn't good for my heart. I had to take it out.” Ajossou opted for a vasectomy procedure soon afterwards. Men & family planning Radio campaigns are the primary way in which men in Togo hear about vasectomy in the local Mina language, and potential candidates have come trickling in following information campaigns by ATBEF – along with some of their wives and girlfriends. Sylvain Bingo M’Bortche, Chief of ATBEF’s Medical Division, said he was surprised by the number of candidates in a country where masculinity is prized, and large families remain a mark of pride and virility. “We thought men would not accept it but we quickly realised that there was an unmet need,” he said. “Men even come here from other countries, such as Benin, to benefit from vasectomies.” M’Bortche says the strategy is now to decentralize care to more rural areas of Togo, where access to healthcare is scarce and the lack family planning much worse. “We've trained service providers to provide this in the interior of the country, in Atakpamé and Kara,” he said. “Men aren’t implicated in family planning in these communities.”   A shift in attitudes Today in Togo, 870 villages have signed up to plans incorporating sexual and reproductive health strategies, with outreach provided via community health workers and mobile clinics.  Sometimes men want to keep having children for cultural reasons related to the higher status of boys, and end up with far more than initially planned. “I wanted three sons. But the first was a girl. The second was a girl. The third was a girl,” said Komlau Anaglavi, a 57-year-old Lomé native who owns a rock crushing company. Five daughters later, Anaglavi said he was ready to give up trying, saddled with the costs of feeding and educating his girls in an economy under pressure. “The cost of living today is really high. And if you want your child to succeed in their studies… you have to have money if you want them to go to good schools,” he said. His wife heard about ABTEF’s vasectomies and collected some information on her own, before asking her husband if he would consider it. After much talking, Anaglavi agreed, and since the procedure three years ago, he has become something of an evangelist. “Now I'm an advocate for it. I tell other people that they should get it done,” he said, adding he told them: “Sometimes you want to have sex and you don't have a condom nearby. The vasectomy is really clear and safe. It's not expensive”. He also stops misinformation spreading by pointing to his own experience, and has informed several men it is untrue that you can no longer have sex after a vasectomy. A generation for change A younger generation of men are now considering vasectomy earlier in life, reflecting trends in the city towards having a smaller number of children. Edem Badagbo’s wife died giving birth to their third child, but Badagbo, 33, said he is going ahead with the procedure to keep a promise they had already made together. “I came by to ask for information and they gave me a lot of it. I had decided to do it but unfortunately during the reflection period my wife then died, just a month ago,” he said. Left alone with three young children, Badagbo is now focused on giving them the best upbringing possible. “Better to have fewer children and be able to properly support them at school,” he added, wiping away tears.   Photography by Xaume Olleros for IPPF

Komi Agnimavo Amazoun becomes visibly angry when he recalls the phone call telling him a 16-year-old girl was to be married off from his village in central Togo. As the highly respected village chief of Detokpo, a community of a few hundred people, Amazoun had the final say on the union, which later turned out to be the result of an attempted cover-up of a rape.   Forced early marriage “I saw that she was being married off too young. The parents came to see me and I said she was not the right age,” the usually softly spoken elder said. “She didn’t yet have an education or a job” and says the girl is now 18 and has started an apprenticeship in tailoring. Such successful interventions by village chiefs in ending forced early marriage reflects the crucial importance of their involvement in sexual health strategies in the country especially in rural areas. Detakpo is one of 870 villages which have signed Village Girl Protection Charters to stop forced transactional sex in rural communities, in an initiative promoted by the Association Togolaise Pour le Bien-Être Familial (ATBEF). The charters outline prevention measures and rules in line with Togolese law to stop the rape and exploitation of underage girls, who are particularly vulnerable outside urban areas where professional advice and protection are more easily reached.   Working with parents Amazoun has also received training from ATBEF on the law, which bans marriage under 18 without parental consent, and on the use of contraception to prevent underage pregnancy. “We have started to raise awareness in the village so that similar cases won’t be repeated,” Amazoun said, sitting on a plastic chair outside his home. “I wanted to work with the parents so we can stop marrying off these girls too young,” he adds. Although the official rate of marriage under 18 in Togo stands at 22%, according to UNICEF, the true rate is likely much higher, as many weddings are village ceremonies that are never registered with the authorities. “This is a very traditional place with entrenched customs. The problem of sexual violence runs very deep, which means that we have cases upon cases to deal with,” explained Dopo Kakadji, the Director for Social Action in Haho Prefecture. Kakadji oversees sexual violence cases and child protection in the area, mediating disputes over marriage and providing a link between communities and the police when necessary.   The future is looking promising In many households, he said, “the woman cannot make decisions for herself. She is an object that can be used as one likes. A father can exchange a daughter to resolve problems or for money”. However, his interventions, and the creation of youth clubs to inform children of their rights, has seen families increasing willing to denounce rapists publicly.  “Today girls go to school. Things have changed in the last five years, because before the priority was to marry off daughters as soon as possible,” Kakadji noted.   Photography by Xaume Olleros for IPPF  

We were thrilled to see IPPF youth campaigner Joshua Isikeli Sefesi presented with a Queen’s Young Leaders Award at Buckingham Palace. The inspiring young Tongan was invited to London to receive his award from the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex watched on, along with sports personality David Beckham, former British prime minister John Major and comedian Lenny Henry.   Joshua received his award for the transformative work he is doing to raise awareness of sexual reproductive health and women’s rights in his community in Tonga. Upon receiving his award, Joshua described the event as: “Mind-blowing, such an incredible opportunity and privilege to represent my country and receive an award from the Queen herself.” Exciting young change-makers Joshua helps to educate young people in his community about prevalent issues faced by women and girls, such as teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence.  He holds sessions with men to educate them on equality and safe sexual practices, informs women about the support available to them, and is a champion for better quality, comprehensive sex education. The Queen’s Young Leaders Awards programme, now in its fourth and final year, celebrates the achievements of some of the most exciting young change-makers from across the Commonwealth.  This year’s cohort from 38 Commonwealth countries are finding solutions to global issues such as climate change, food scarcity, gender-based violence, mental health, and access to education.  “Hope and optimism” As a Queen’s Young Leader, Joshua has gained access to bespoke mentoring and training through the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education.  Joshua says he told the Queen “that with this award I will inspire other people, and she told me to continue to do more.” Asked what he will do in the future, Joshua said “I hope to approach people that are involved in governments and especially in schools as well, so we can negotiate something to include [my work] in the schools, and to reach out for more young people.” The Queen’s Young Leader programme was designed to develop the recipients’ leadership skills further, and ensure they are best placed to lead the way in the future to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues. We look forward to seeing what incredible progress Joshua makes next. The Duke of Sussex put it best when giving a speech about the 240 recipients of the award: “You are the hope and optimism the world needs and we will all do whatever we can to support you in it.” Find out more about the Queen's Young Leaders programme