NAIROBI, Kenya, May 26 – The Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH) has collaborated with IBIS to create an initiative to help the vulnerable in rural and urban areas.
TICAH Executive Director Jedidah Maina indicated the initiative aims to create awareness of the sexual and reproductive health experiences of women with disabilities, sex workers, and adolescents.
“Normalising conversations about sex and accessing reproductive health services. Participants in the study shared “parents can be the first teachers” when it comes to topics like safer sex. Stigma leads to dangerous strategies to address health needs as well as girls enduring violence without any support to end it,” she said.
According to TICAH the platform will highlight challenges experienced with these marginalized groups. The project was co-creative, featuring a process that rejects single authorship in favor of group ownership.
“It began with the research phase, with meetings that revised the interview questions to make the language easily accessible. The team also took great care to consider the potential social-emotional support that the interviewees might need given the sensitive nature of the questions,” said Maina.
As they revealed insights about gender-based violence and the barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services, the interviewees also highlighted the importance of organizations and communities that have supported them through difficult experiences and decision making.
Many remarked they are hoping for a world where harm at home is not normalized and stigmas around seeking care are dismantled.
