Long-Acting Contraception Makes Teen Pregnancy Rates Plummet. So Why Are Some Women Still Skeptical?

In Kenya, sex workers face disproportionately high rates of STIs, compounded by widespread antimicrobial resistance and stigma that keeps many from seeking care in public hospitals. In response, the Center for Health Solutions, working alongside the Kisumu County Government and the Kisumu Sex Workers Alliance, launched a community-based program offering free STI screening, lab testing, and peer education to over 50 registered sex workers. The program uses an outreach-first model, finding and linking sex workers to care rather than waiting for them to navigate hostile clinical environments.

Maria Adelaide Rescue Centre shelters girls who are escaping the practice of female genital mutilation and early marriage. The girls, who often have harrowing stories of escape, are provided a safe place to live and go to school. If possible, the Centre will work with village chiefs and family members to ensure the girls are protected and are able to get an education. The Center follows up and monitors girls’ progress and also educates community members on the dangers of FGM and child marriage.

Support and counseling from trusted volunteers empowers young women to stay in school and out of child marriage. In Nepal, the Sisters for Sisters program was the result of a governmental effort to reduce child marriages. Volunteers, many of whom were child brides themselves, help fight stigma and cultural pressures by leading discussions with young women on topics like sexual health and life choices.

In Nepal, a revolutionary volunteer program called the “Female Community Health Volunteers” has led the country to drastically decline the number of women that die giving childbirth. Over 50,000 volunteers look after pregnant women and inform them of how to take care of themselves. “Between 1991 and 2011, it has seen an 80% decline in the number of women dying in pregnancy, during labour and after childbirth.”

The Bayanga Human Rights Center in the Central African Republic has helped restore Indigenous Ba'aka people's access to justice, administrative documents, and political participation. They've done this through a combination of grassroots legal assistance, mediation, awareness campaigns, and grievance mechanisms—resulting in criminal convictions for serious abuses, reduced conservation-related complaints, and Ba'aka members now serving on local councils.

Based on its success in New York, ‘blind removal’ will be implemented in Los Angeles County’s child welfare system. The pilot project eliminates the child’s race from information available to social workers to prevent biases from affecting the decision-making process of removing a child from their home. The pilot was successful in decreasing the number of Black children in foster care.

After the death of a 16-year-old boy who was tackled and restrained by staff at a juvenile justice facility, Michigan children's services officials imposed emergency rules limiting the use of restraints. In the past year, the use of restraints – which include handcuffs, straitjackets, even chemicals and medication – dropped from about 600 cases per month to fewer than half that. The state now is considering permanent rules restricting their use and is requiring more training for staff in preventing physical conflicts. One advocate says Pennsylvania serves as a model for nearly eliminating the problem.

Flip the Script is a course that teaches rape prevention without the usual blame-the-victim undertones. While teaching college-age women to assess and avoid risks, it places the responsibility squarely on the people who rape, not on women's behavior. The approach, also called Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act Sexual Assault Resistance Program (EAAA) is sex-positive, encouraging women to think about their own pleasure as much as guarding against victimization. It has been shown to reduce rape and lower women's feelings of self-blame.

A health clinic in Minneapolis has played a significant role in combating racial gaps in health by prioritizing community-oriented primary care and recruiting staff – including leaders and doctors – from the local community. This model has not just increased trust between patients and the health care system but has also led to a significantly higher rate of vaccination and health screenings.

Racial injustice in America and the resulting wealth gap are a result of entrenched systemic inequities that can only be addressed if a collective acknowledgement of the past is made much like it was in South Africa. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified and cataloged the trauma endured during the apartheid era in order to shed light on the physical, mental, and economic toll of South African apartheid. Publicly and collectively acknowledging the trauma allowed the nation to peacefully transition into post-apartheid. Acknowledgement is the first step to undoing inequity.