September 26th and 28th celebrations in Romania
Romanian ASTRA Network member Daniela Draghici of the Society for Feminist Analyses (AnA) organized and coordinated events for World Contraception Day, September 26, and International Safe Abortion Day, September 28, under the “SEXed Talk” Campaign, in partnership with the Society for Education in Contraception and Sexuality, Astra Youth, Youth for Youth Foundation, Romanian Anti-AIDS Foundation, Midwives’ Association and Marie Stopes International Foundation Romania.
At the Romanian Parliament on 26 September, Daniela interviewed Deputy Tudor Ciuhodaru, MD, Health Commission member, a promoter and supporter of health education legislation. They discussed the current status of sexuality education in schools (or rather lack thereof), the dramatic #1 position Romania holds in the European Union in number of teen pregnancies, abortions and abandoned babies, the lack of legislation and governmental strategy regarding reproductive health in general, and policymakers’ lack of interest in changing this situation for the better.
On 28 September, International Safe Abortion Day and also International Right to Know Day and International Day for Universal Access to Information, a debate took place on the issue of teen mothers and sexuality education, as part of the “SEXed Talk” campaign, at the Metropolitan Library in Bucharest. Parents, teachers, medical personnel, NGO representatives, policymakers, and media attended. The Youth for Youth volunteer coordinator presented their model of conducting sexuality education classes in high schools. A Midwives’ Association representative made a presentation on “Adolescent Pregnancy and Associated Risks”, and Ms. Clotilde Armand, Association for Democracy, who is running for mayor of Bucharest, advanced potential solutions to involve key medical and non-medical personnel in health education programmes in and out of schools.
On September 30th the young volunteers co-organized an outreach activity in the main park during the Bucharest City Festival and distributed lots of information materials, as well as condoms to young people . As a mother and AnA representative, Daniela gave a talk about parents’ responsibility in talking to their children about sexuality. These events were all recorded for a documentary on the cause and impact of lack of sexuality education and adolescent pregnancies in Romania.
SOURCE: Daniela Draghici, Report and Astra CEE Bulletin, No.10(168), 2017