"Our bodies, our health"

Meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of women, young people, and adolescents is a priority social and public health issue in Senegal, which is reflected in policies, strategies, and laws relating to health, including adolescent and youth health, and women's rights. However, gynecological and obstetric violence (GOV) is a subject that has been the subject of only a few publications and recommendations in our West African contexts. While the global strategy to reduce and then eliminate preventable maternal and neonatal mortality focuses its efforts on access to health services and qualified professionals, community participation, quality of care, and women's rights are also necessary to place users at the heart of decisions about their health.
Furthermore, the issue of VGO remains largely unspoken and is not addressed publicly, either medically or socially.
By combining pilot actions, research, social and political mobilization, and by bringing together actors in public health and women's rights, the project aims to combat VGO by strengthening
the conditions that enable women to exercise their rights over their own bodies, including medically.
It aims to:
Raise awareness of GBV and its structural causes, which are rooted in gender inequality, by combining field testimonies, social media, and research (quantitative survey in four regions and qualitative action research in the Diamniadio health district) and bring the issue of GBV into the public debate (aimed at healthcare workers, journalists, lawyers, and health training managers to disseminate these results and advocate with the Senegalese authorities).
Empower women and adolescent girls so that they can identify GBV, talk about it, and organize to denounce and combat it (single-sex discussion groups, discussion groups with men and boys, rewriting and distribution to women's networks of the book "Notre corps, notre santé" inspired by "Our Bodies, Ourselves").
Mobilize healthcare providers, community organizations, and stakeholders in favor of respectful and compassionate care through multi-stakeholder dialogues (training, analysis of practices, prevention actions identified with providers, women, communities, dissemination of results through a community of practice and a dedicated website).
Strengthen the "Plus jamais ça" (Never Again) collective, which mobilizes healthcare system users against GBV and other Senegalese associations against GBV and specifically GBV, with a view to ensuring its long-term viability.