UK – Abortion and sexual health are still top ‘taboo’ women’s health issues, study finds

Menstruation, menopause, and mental health are other topics that women consider to be "private matters", the research found.

By MARTIN WINTER
Sun, Oct 8, 2023

Abortion, sexual health, and menstruation are still the top “taboo” subjects surrounding women’s health, according to research. The study of 5,022 women found 29 percent believe there are stigmas around discussing menopause, while a quarter (24 percent) feel the same way about mental health.

This figure rises to 34 percent among 18-34s – but decreases to 13 percent in respondents over 55.

Continued: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1821074/women-health-issues-abortion-menopause-menstruation-taboo

08.10.2023

MADAGASCAR – Decriminalise abortion: four panellists in a public meeting give their points of view

MADAGASCAR – Decriminalise abortion: four panellists in a public meeting give their points of view

July 20, 2018
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion

In Madagascar, abortion is a crime, punishable by the Penal Code, which has been in place since the colonial period, stemming from the Napoleonic Code of 1810. In December 2017, there was an attempt in Parliament, to decriminalise therapeutic abortion. In vain. But as the presidential election approaches, the association which fights for the legalisation of abortion called Nifin’Akanga, named after an abortifacient plant widely used in Madagascar to induce abortion, has revived the debate. The group hopes to encourage the candidates to take a stand on this social issue.

Abortion in Madagascar is a taboo subject, they say. But it’s more than that, it’s a lot of hypocrisy around a major topic of public health, says one of the participants in the debate. A sensitive issue, and difficult to quantify.

Continued: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/madagascar-decriminalise-abortion-four-panellists-in-a-public-meeting-give-their-points-of-view/

Abortion in war time: How women break taboos in Yemen

Abortion in war time: How women break taboos in Yemen
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
May 23, 2017

E ensures that her children prevent anyone from entering the room at her family home. Then, when the door is closed, she begins to speak quietly and nervously about why she had an abortion earlier this year.

At the age of 39, E already has five children, the youngest of whom is 18 months old. Her family, like millions of other Yemenis, have been left destitute by the two-year war…

“My brain told me it was wrong to exhaust myself and make my husband suffer to provide a new baby with its needs,” E says. “We hardly have enough for our current children. If one of them is sick, we try our best to treat their sickness at home, as we cannot pay for hospitals. The economic crisis does not allow us to have more children.”…

Continued at source: International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/abortion-in-war-time-how-women-break-taboos-in-yemen/

23.05.2017