What is a toolkit? A toolkit is a set of items designed to be used together for a particular purpose. The International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICWEA) developed one such document and officially disseminated it to Civil Society Organizations, networks of people living with HIV, researchers and any other people that might be interested in carrying out research on sensitive issues like Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) violations of women living with HIV with a particular focus on forced and coerced sterilization.
The published toolkit is based on the ICWEA research study titled Violations of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Women Living with HIV in Clinical and Community Settings in Uganda. The research was conducted between 2014 and 2015. It found that women living with HIV faced many SRHR violations especially forced and/or coerced sterilization.
Discussing SRHR violations entails talking about issues that are so sensitive that ICWEA learnt that for some women, it was the first time they were opening up about the violations they had faced. Therefore, in order to ease information flow, ICWEA trained young women living with HIV to serve as research assistants during the research. This made it much easier for women living with HIV to open up because they were speaking to people that could relate to the injustices they face.
It is such techniques and many more that were used during the research that the toolkit highlights.
This toolkit will be useful to individuals or groups who wish to carry out research to facilitate the litigation processes, and conduct related advocacy programming activities.
The toolkit also shares lessons learnt and best practices in researching Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights violations and coerced and forced sterilization of women living with HIV and evidence-informed advocacy all that can be learnt from.
The launch of the dissemination of the toolkit in Uganda was officiated by Bharam Namanya the Executive Director of Community Health Alliance Uganda (CHAU)
It was attended by representatives from many Civil Society Organizations including Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organization, The National Forum of Networks of PLHA Networks in Uganda, Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development, Community Health Alliance Uganda, Mama’s Club, Support on AIDS and Life through Telephone, The National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS among others.
This has all been done with the financial support of STOP AIDS NOW through the Link UP project.
Toolkit: http://www.icwea.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2016/07/ICWEA-Toolkit-SRHR-Violations-2016.pdf
