A graphic documentation summarising discussions on the global context of safe abortion, at the SAIGE Convention 2022. Click on image to enlarge
On 11th and 12th November 2022, ARROW and partners organised the first-ever Safe Abortion Advocacy Initiative – Global South Engagement (SAIGE) Convention on the sidelines of the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2022 in Pattaya, Thailand. The event saw 50 advocates from 15 organisations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America coming together to discuss access to safe abortion in different contexts and explore strategic advocacy opportunities.
On the first day, participants explored the global context and laws that regulate access to safe abortion, including existing barriers and challenges. Participants also discussed the role of SAIGE as a network to bring together Global South voices, including that of young women, committed to realising safe abortion as a human right through the sharing of knowledge and expertise and movement building for tangible change.
A Reproductive Justice workshop was held on the second day of the SAIGE convention. The Reproductive Justice framework analyses how the ability of any woman to determine her reproductive destiny is linked directly to the conditions in her community and these conditions are not just a matter of individual choice and access. Reproductive Justice is important as the discourse enables a deeper, and more nuanced, intersectional understanding of what SRHR means for marginalised groups, and what donors, agencies, and stakeholders need to do for the work on abortion to become the holistic development solution that we need in the era of inequalities.
Participants also actively crafted a shared vision for SAIGE and its collaborative agenda in the Global South. We hope to continue to hold this convention on a biennial basis alongside ICFP, as a space for shared learning and movement building on safe abortion advocacy.