Agency for All hosts second social and behavior change (SBC) course on integrating agency, norms, gender 



Adapted from the inaugural course co-developed by the African Society for Social and Behavior Change, Makerere University, and the University of the Witwatersrand, and hosted in Kampala earlier this year, this three-day, in-person course brought together members of the South Asia Social Norms and Agency Learning Collaborative in India in July. Participant Farheen Yousuf of Advanced Study Institute of Asia shared: “[In the course] we learned that creating lasting change means not just tweaking behaviors, but shifting power. This means understanding who benefits from the status quo, who's missing from the table, and how to amplify the voices of the communities..."

Agency for All to share new evidence at Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum 2024



From October 22–25 in Cape Town, South Africa at the SVRI Forum, the world’s key research conference on violence against women, violence against children, and other forms of violence driven by gender inequality in low and middle-income countries, Agency for All consortium partners will share insights from new research on several project studies and activities: respectful maternity care in India, infertility-related violence in Kenya and Cameroon, implementing a gender transformative Husband’s School adaptation in Niger, and addressing reproductive coercion across five countries. The Social Norms and Agency Learning Collaboratives will also host a participant-driven event on social norms and intimate partner violence on October 22.  

Agency for All attends UN Political Forum, “Advancing Women's Sexual and Reproductive Agency”

On July 9, GEH’s Dr. Eva Roca participated in a dialogue at the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development about the importance of women's sexual and reproductive agency and how it contributes to the acceleration of other Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), progress achieved thus far, and next steps for positioning the measurement of sexual and reproductive agency as central in the post-SDG era. At “Advancing Women's Sexual and Reproductive Agency: Key to Accelerating SDG Progress, Eradicating Poverty, and Building Resilient, Sustainable Societies,” Agency for All was well-represented by USAID’s Afeefa Abdur-Rahman, who made remarks on the importance of agency (around minute 44 of the recording). The meeting was rich with discussion and connections about norms and agency work.  

Agency for All participates in reproductive coercion co-design workshop in India 

This August, GEH’s Dr. Rebecka Lundgren and Jasmine Uysal, IPPF’s Seri Wendoh, and Sambodhi’s Dr. Vikas Choudhry attended the ARCHES (Addressing Reproductive Coercion in Health Settings) co-design workshop in Gwailor, Madhya Pradesh, India. Led by the Family Planning Association of India (FPA India) and Alt Unfold, the participatory workshop included GEH, IPPF, and Sambodhi, public health providers, medical officers, and leadership from local nongovernmental organizations working to prevent violence and improve sexual and reproductive health and rights for women. After discussing findings from a needs assessment on experiences of reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence, Agency for All and stakeholders adapted the ARCHES package to meet women's needs in community and clinic settings across health systems in Gwalior.