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Love wins! The fight for marriage equality has seen incredible progress worldwide, with a recent surge in legalizations. Across the world, 36 out of 195 countries have legalized equal marriage: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay. In 2023, three new countries legalized same-sex marriage (Andorra, Estonia and Slovenia), and three more solidified legislative progress towards decriminalizing same-sex unions: a Japanese court ruled it is unconstitutional for the nation not to legally recognize same-sex unions. And the Supreme Courts of Nepal and Namibia recognized marriages of same-sex couples registered abroad. So marriage equality marches on! Already in 2024, two more countries have said "I do" to equal rights.   According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, even more countries could legalize equal marriage in 2024. In particular, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, Nepal and Philippines show signs of growing support for marriage equality. The fight for marriage equality isn't over, but the momentum is undeniable. IPPF stands with those working to make love win everywhere.

Geneviève Head of Youth and Stigma project and fundraising at the Association Beninoise pour la promotion de la famille (ABPF) Since joining ABPF in 1995, Geneviève has worked closely with community leaders to reduce stigma around abortion. Talking about the importance of young women having choice and access to abortion care, Geneviève says, “the law only applies in three circumstances, meanwhile everyday people need to access these services. Reproductive rights do exist, but that is something many people choose to ignore.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Hélène ABPF youth champion with the Young People’s Action Movement  27-year-old Hélène acts as a link between young people’s activities and the ABPF board. She has advocated for abortion rights at conferences locally and internationally.  “In my school there were a fair number of pregnant girls so I was already looking for a way to help. Every week I went to different classes to educate them about abortion and stigma. When my mother found out, she told me this was a movement of depravity! But after a while my mum became a member of the association and came with me, and even my dad. Now they say they are proud of what I’ve achieved.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Simon Gnansounou Community leader In the small town of Cocotomey-La Paix, Simon works closely with ABPF supporting their work to reduce abortion stigma within local communities. “It’s a project for social development, and I am all for that. It’s going to limit harm done to these girls. Parents don’t talk about this with their children. It’s taboo. This project helps us negotiate this difficult parent-child question. There is no development without health, and the politics of health are very complex.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Kader Youth champion 26-year-old Kader says his first youth meeting at ABPF was a positive experience. “They told me that there was a jam session at the event. What I liked is that it was run by young people. Everything that I know about reproductive health I learnt at the centre. A lot of young women I know got pregnant very early. I know people who have died because of unsafe abortion. We can avoid so much of it if people have the right information.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Souliya Mevo Tairou Midwife “Stigmatization complicates our work. Fourteen and 15-year olds come here without their parents and it’s hard to work with them. The girls are so scared that they can’t really explain what’s happening to them. They come here after going to the traditional healers when that hasn’t worked and they are bleeding or have an infection. Here, with the Youth and Abortion Stigma Project, we have awareness sessions. The young people and those supervising give out their numbers and tell them to call if they have a problem.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Amour University student “Her friends told her to take laxatives and other products, to put things in her vagina, to wash with hot water, to move about a lot.” 21-year-old Amour talks about a friend who confided in him when she discovered she was pregnant. “When we talk about abortion in Benin, it’s something people don’t want to hear about. It’s not well seen. Talking about sex is a problem. It’s still taboo. Thanks to the Youth and Abortion Stigma Project, I had benefited from training on how to talk to girls if they came to ask about abortion.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Flore Literature teacher Flore says some of her students go to her for support and advice: “They are quite shy because at home the subject of sex is always taboo. They are reticent; they think it’s a shame. We will only correct this problem over time. There is chatting and whispering in class ‘you know what she did?’ Can’t we support these children instead of stigmatizing them?” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email Ida University student 19-year-old Ida attended a workshop on abortion and stigma for teachers and students at the Fiyegnon collège d’enseignement général. “It really helped. If we take our own decisions we will make it to the end, we will get what is right for us.” Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share via WhatsApp Share via Email

  Few people are at higher risk of HIV infection or STIs than sex workers. Although sex work is illegal in Thailand, like in so many countries many turn a blind eye. JiHye Hong is a volunteer with PPAT, the Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand, and she works with the HIV and STIs prevention team in and around Bangkok. One month into her volunteer project, she has already been out on 17 visits to women who work in high risk entertainment centres. “They can be a target group,” explains JiHye. “Some of them can’t speak Thai, and they don’t have Thai ID cards. They are young.” The HIV and STIs prevention team is part of PPAT’s Sexual and Reproductive Health department in Bangkok. It works with many partners in the city, including secondary schools and MSM (men who have sex with men) groups, as well as the owners of entertainment businesses. They go out to them on door-to-door visits. “We visit them in their real lives, because they may not have time to go to clinics to check their status,” says JiHye. “Usually we spend about an hour for educational sessions, and then we do activities together to check if they’ve understood. It’s the part we can all do together and enjoy.” The team JiHye works with takes a large picture book with them on their visits, one full of descriptions of symptoms and signs of STIs, including graphic images that show real cases of the results of HIV/AIDs and STIs. It’s a very clear way of make sure everyone understands the impact of STIs. Reaction to page titles and pictures which include “Syphilis” “Gonorrhoea” “Genital Herpes” and “Vaginal Candidiasis” are what you might expect. “They are often quite shocked, especially young people. They ask a lot of questions and share concerns,” says JiHye. The books and leaflets used by the PPAT team don’t just shock though. They also explain issues such as sexuality and sexual orientations too, to raise awareness and help those taking part in a session understand about diversity and equality. After the education sessions, tests are offered for HIV and/or Syphilis on the spot to anyone who wants one. For Thai nationals, up to two HIV tests a year are free, funded by the Thai Government. An HIV test after that is 140 Thai Baht or about four US Dollars. A test for Syphilis costs 50 Bhat. “An HIV rapid test takes less than 30 minutes to produce a result which is about 99% accurate,” says JiHye. The nurse will also take blood samples back to the lab for even more accurate testing, which takes two to three days.” At the same time, the groups are also given advice on how it use condoms correctly, with a model penis for demonstration, and small PPAT gift bags are handed out, containing condoms, a card with the phone numbers for PPATs clinics and a small carry case JiHye, who is from South Korea originally, is a graduate in public health at Tulane University, New Orleans. That inspired her to volunteer for work with PPAT. “I’ve really learned that people around the world are the same and equal, and a right to access to health services should be universal for all, regardless of ages, gender, sexual orientations, nationality, religions, and jobs.”