Love Matters India is a leading bilingual sexual reproductive health (SRH) website that provides open, honest, sex-positive, non-judgemental and science-based information on love, sex and relationships to young people in India.To mark September 28
th this year, which is globally recognized as the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, Love Matters India has launched its campaign #ChoiceOverStigma: Reproductive Rights Matter, Choices Matter, Women Matter, geared towards
recognizing, acknowledging, respecting, and celebrating all the diverse choices that women make pertaining to their bodies, sexuality and reproduction, including the right to access and have a safe and legal abortion.
The campaign is an attempt by Love Matters India to end the shame, silence, stigma, and judgment that women often confront with respect to their reproductive choices, and to enable and encourage young people to have an open, honest and non-judgmental dialogue on abortion within the broader and inclusive framework of reproductive rights, with the objective to advance the sexual and reproductive rights and freedoms of all young people.
As part of the campaign, Love Matters India will be conducting the following activities from September 25-30:
1. #ChoiceOverStigma Blogathon: In order to end the stigma and judgment around abortion, the first step is to enable conversations on abortion that help women talk more openly about it. Using the medium of the blogathon, Love Matters will be sharing a series of personal abortion stories and experiences submitted by women online during the week of September 25th.
This is open to everyone, and the deadline for submission is September 17. Entries can be shared in either English or Hindi, and submissions can by anonymous. Word limit: 500-600
words.
2. Vox Pop: The vox pop is geared towards exploring young people’s understanding and attitudes towards reproductive rights and abortion, particularly around the theme “Should women
feel guilty about their choice to have an abortion?”. The vox pop will survey young people in college campuses in Delhi, which will be presented in a 3-minute-long video online.
3. Interview with a gynaecologist: Love Matters India receives several queries from young people on its online discussion
board, Just Poocho (Let’s Ask), about abortion and accessing safe abortion services. The interview with a credible gynaecologist will entail addressing the common myths and misconceptions around abortion, and providing information around accessing safe and legal abortion services in India.Love Matters India views this video as an important and credible source of information on
abortion that young people will be able to access on Love Matters India’s website and social media channels to enable them to make informed choices around their sexual and reproductive well-being.
4. #ChoiceOverStigma photo series: A photo series will explore the diverse reproductive choices that women make, supported by
an image and short vignette pertaining to each of the reproductive choices. The idea behind the photo series is to unpack the theme for this year’s campaign: #ChoiceOverStigma: Reproductive Rights Matters, Choices Matter, Women Matter
5. #ChoiceOverStigma Open Mic: The open mic is envisioned as a safe space for people of all ages to come together and
celebrate the diverse reproductive choices that women make, including the right to have an abortion, by using performance art, spoken word, story-telling, etc. The event is being conducted in collaboration with MYOLO Headquarters in Delhi on September 29th, from 5-7 pm. For more details, please see the event page on Facebook.
Call to Action: #ChoiceOverStigma Ice-Cream Selfie Challenge!
We would like women to be able to make reproductive choices just as easily and without judgment as they would pick a color to wear, or their favorite ice-cream flavour. Hence, our call to action is calling for women to share a #ChoiceOverStigma ice-cream selfie, and encourage other women in their lives to do the same.
“From ice-cream flavors to reproductive choice, let women have their voice.”
To support our campaign, share a selfie with your favorite ice-cream flavour or just a picture of your favorite ice-cream with us. You can do this in two ways:
 Share it on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and tag us!
 Share it over e-mail at contact@lovematters.in
We will also share a collage of all the pictures on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page!
We look forward to collaborating with you on amplifying our voice to celebrate the diverse range of reproductive choices, including every woman’s right to access safe and legal abortion. Please spread the word about the campaign #ChoiceOverStigma.
After all, Reproductive Rights Matter, Choices Matter, Women Matter!
