Emily Bass

A panel of advocates, service providers and global health practitioners from the US and Africa talked about the specific instances of the pernicious impact of Trump Administration implementation of policies that threaten the lives of women, girls and all citizens.

"The Global Gag Rule has had really pernicious effect on our ability to access resources needed to address gender based violence in South Africa," said Dean Peacock, Executive Director of Sonke Gender Justice in South Africa, noting that since South Africa does not have a national plan to address GBV, "PEPFAR money is not replaceable." "We just stopped everything," said Santos Simione from AMODEFA, an SRHR service organization and partner of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which refused to sign the GGR, described the devastating effects of loss of funding in terms of massive drops in numbers of clients seen for various services and the additional chilling effect which has prevented members of an SRHR-focused coalition in country from feeling free to meet. Preston Mitchum from Advocates for Youth linked the policies to the US domestic context of"white supremacy," violence against Black Americans, and argued against a US-based AIDS2020.

The impact of American policies that curtail sexual and reproductive rights and services include the expanded Mexico City Policy, the shift of funds to abstinence-focused sexual risk avoidance programs and the persistence of the anti-prostitution pledge is measurable, immoral from the standpoint of right to health, free speech and bodily autonomy, and international. The impact is both direct and indirect as chilling effects curtail acts of organizing and service provision that is not actually prohibited. An important session showcasing ongoing work by human rights defenders to document, shine light and push back.