Research project We seek to explore how activist organizations work both within and across countries in Latin America and Europe to promote and secure access to abortion.
Access to abortion constitutes a fundamental aspect of reproductive justice and the exercise of women's autonomy. However, the conditions under which abortion is accessible vary significantly both within and across national contexts. Activist organizations have strategically leveraged these differences to facilitate access to abortion across borders. This research project aims to explore how activist organizations work both within and across countries in Latin America and Europe to promote and secure access to abortion.
Background
Feminist and other activist organizations have been crucial in mobilizing for promoting and securing access to abortion. Divergences in legal frameworks, healthcare systems, and sociocultural norms contribute to the cross-border movement of individuals and medical abortion pills between more and less restrictive settings. Activist organizations have strategically leveraged these differences to facilitate access to abortion across borders. Moreover, transnational collaboration extends beyond direct support, encompassing knowledge exchange, mutual learning, and the adaptation of advocacy strategies. The urgency to strengthen and learn more about how activist organizations work, collaborate, influence and are influenced by national and international networks, and their crucial role in providing access to abortion within and across country borders cannot be overstated.
Purpose
The purpose of this research project is to explore how activist organizations work both within and across countries in Latin America and Europe to promote and secure access to abortion.
Methodology
This will be achieved through the co-creative method of narrative production. Narrative production is not only a research tool but also facilitates knowledge sharing, network building, and stakeholder relevance. Through narrative production we will explore how different organizations work and construct strategies and alliances with other actors. Addressing abortion rights from the perspective of reproductive justice, we will focus on organizations that actively work with equal accessibility to abortion care.
We will work with activists engaged in different abortion activist organizations in Latin America and Europe, two geographical regions where there are differences and similarities regarding the legal status of abortion and accessibility to safe abortion care. In the first phase, we will develop narratives with participants from six to ten abortion activist organizations. In the second phase, we will build on these narratives to engage in a process of knowledge dissemination via: 1) a workshop with representatives of the participating organizations; 2) academic publications, and 3) a webinar with members of the participating organizations and other interested organizations, coalitions and stakeholders.
