Claiming the Right to Safe Abortion: Strategic Partnership in Asia

It is an evidence-based advocacy project that was started in 2018 funded by ARROW. The main focus of the project to ensure the right to safe abortion services by reducing the abortion stigma in different level: Community, Service and Policy. To generate the evidence, a qualitative National baseline research was conducted on “Abortion stigmatisation attitudes and beliefs and its effect in accessing safe abortion service”. The evidence showed that one of the major causes of stigma is the lack of understanding on safe abortion services. At community level, the abortion stigma will be reduced through increased level of awareness on scientific and correct information on safe abortion service and legal status of abortion in a comprehensive manner. At the service level, abortion stigma can be reduced among the abortion service provider by transforming the attitude towards abortion and clarifying their values towards them. Evidence have shown that value clarification and attitudinal transformation (VCAT) training is one of the effective measures to reduce abortion stigma. At the national level, abortion stigma can be reduced through sensitisation of the stakeholders at the national level as well as provincial level.