Sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHRs) are integral elements of the rights of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, but they are the most underdeveloped and least understood sphere of rights, especially in Africa, including the country of Ethiopia. The implementation of women\'s SRHRs is essential for achieving gender equality and promoting women\'s rights. Husbands\' knowledge and involvement play a significant role in improving women\'s practice of their SRHRs. However, there is limited information/data about the level of husbands\' knowledge and involvement in Northwest Ethiopia, including Bahir Dar City. Therefore, this study aimed to assess husbands\' knowledge, involvement, and factors influencing their involvement in women\'s SRHRs.
Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 20 to April 5, 2023, in Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia, among 391 husbands. Multi-stage sampling and simple random sampling technique were applied to select kebeles and study participants, respectively. Participants were interviewed face-to-face using structured and pretested questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was applied to identify associated factors, and a p-value of <0.05 was a cutoff point to declare statistical significance.
In this study, 50.6% (198/391) of the husbands had good knowledge about their wives\' SRHRs and 44.2% (173/391) (95% CI, 39.3-49.1%) of the husbands were involved when their wives practiced their SRHRs. Access training/education about sexual health [AOR = 5.99; 95% CI (2.7-13.2)], husbands\' advance educational level [AOR = 8.81; 95% CI (2.04-38)], good knowledge about SRHRs [AOR = 7.94; 95% CI (4.3-14.4)], low monthly income (<4,600 birr) [AOR = 9.25; 95% CI (4.2-20.5)], and had open discussion with family members and friends about SRHRs [AOR = 1.92; 95% CI (1.01-3.6)] were found to have significant association with husbands\' involvement.
Husbands\' level of knowledge on SRHRs of women and their involvement remain low. Therefore, responsible concerned bodies need to work on the strategies that help to improve men involvement and knowledge, and tackle the above-mentioned factors influencing their involvement.

BACKGROUND: On June 24th, 2022, the United States (US) Supreme Court\'s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, et al. (hereafter, the Dobbs decision) removed federal-level protections for induced abortion, sparking concerns about reproductive rights and health privacy. Although other pregnancy outcomes (e.g. spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy) are not explicit targets of post-Dobbs abortion bans, study participants may be worried about how their reproductive health data are used by researchers in the post-Dobbs era.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the extent to which the Dobbs decision influenced participant\'s engagement in a preconception cohort study.
METHODS: We leveraged data spanning 20 weeks before and after the Dobbs decision (4 February 2022, to 11 November 2022) from US participants in Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), an internet-based prospective preconception cohort study of couples attempting conception. We categorised participants\' state-level abortion access by residential location: banned or restricted rights; limited access; and protected rights. We evaluated three participant engagement outcomes: follow-up questionnaire completion; report of a pregnancy; and clicking on the invitation link for a fertility-tracking app. We fit separate linear regression models and restricted cubic splines to compare outcome prevalence before and after the Dobbs decision by state-level abortion category.
RESULTS: A total of 585 newly enrolled participants and 1247 already-enrolled participants received 2802 invitations to complete a follow-up questionnaire. In states with limited or protected abortion rights, we observed little change in participant engagement. In states with banned or restricted abortion rights, however, we observed a 27.12 percentage point reduction (95% confidence interval -43.68, -10.51) in the prevalence of clicking on the invitation link for the fertility-tracking app comparing the post- versus pre-Dobbs periods.
CONCLUSIONS: There was some evidence of reduced participant engagement after the Dobbs decision in states with banned or restricted abortion rights, indicating potentially deleterious effects on the conduct of reproductive health studies.

OBJECTIVE: To explore experiences of pain in the context of early medical abortion (EMA) in the UK and to guide best practice around anticipatory guidance on pain.
METHODS: From late 2020 to early 2021, we recruited individuals from across the UK who had undergone abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic to participate in in-depth, semi-structured telephone interviews. A storytelling approach was used and data were analysed thematically using NVivo 12 software.
RESULTS: Focused coding and thematic analysis addressed accounts of pain, which were prominent in many interviews. We constructed the following subthemes: expected pain is manageable for some; the problem with unexpected pain; pain (co)produces fear; and problematising \'period-like pain\'. The key issue which our analysis draws out is that while EMA pain experience might vary, for some it may be much worse than anticipated. Moreover, the common trope of likening it to \'period pain\' can be misleading and a source of additional uncertainty at a potentially already challenging time.
CONCLUSIONS: For some individuals, pain experienced in EMA will be severe and/or worse than expected. Insufficient preparation for pain can result in extremely negative experiences of EMA. Alongside development of improved analgesia, improvements should be made to anticipatory guidance on pain, particularly for those self-manging EMA at home. Framings of \'period-like pain\' do not clarify expectations and should be avoided.

Around 40% of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Sweden are women. However, little is known about their experiences, particularly those related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). This study aims to explore perceptions and experiences of SRHR among women living with HIV (LWH). Twelve interviews were conducted with women LWH from September to October 2019 and analysed using thematic analysis. The central theme describing participants\' experiences of social relationships, intimate encounters and reproductive life, \"Discrimination is harder to live with than the disease itself\", is based on three themes that contain subthemes. Theme 1 describes how participants reconsider and reorient their sexual and reproductive life after diagnosis. Theme 2 highlights how (mis)perceptions of HIV affect sexual and reproductive life and lead to abusive treatment and internalisation. Theme 3 describes a paradoxical shift of responsibilities where participants experience being compelled to take greater responsibility in some situations and stripped of the right to decide in others. This study suggests that despite notable progress in HIV treatment, stigma and discrimination stemming from outdated beliefs and (mis)conceptions, ambiguous policies and guidelines, and unequal access to information affect SRHR experiences of women LWH more than the virus itself. The results emphasise the need to: update knowledge within healthcare settings and among the public; clarify ambiguous legislations and guidelines; ensure equal access to information to enable all women LWH to take informed decisions, make fully informed choices and realise their SRHR; and consider the diversity of women LWH and enable shared decision-making.

Sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHRs) are the rights of all people regardless of their age, sex and other characteristics to make choices about their own reproductive issues. However, evidence showed that adolescents lacked the capacity to exercise due to various factors. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions, knowledge and exercises of SRHR and associated factors among secondary school adolescents in Arsi zone. In this study a sequential mixed-method study design with two phases of data collection was conducted. In Phase I, the quantitative data were collected from adolescents (15-19 years) using self-administered questionnaires. In Phase II, an interview guide was used to collect data from 12 key informant interviews with teachers and health care providers and 4 focus group discussions with adolescents. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS 25 while thematically used in the qualitative phase. Overall, less than half (26.1%) adolescents had the ability to exercise their SRHRs. Age 17-19 years (AOR=3.30, 95% CI: 2.17-5. 23), grades 11-12 (AOR=1.69, 95% CI: 1. 23-2.35) and knowledge (AOR=1.47, 95%CI: 1.05-2.05) were significantly associated with SRHRs exercises. Adolescents had misperceptions and limited knowledge to exercise their reproductive health rights.

BACKGROUND: Short birth intervals and unintended pregnancy are associated with poorer maternal and infant outcomes. There is a risk of pregnancy during the immediate postpartum period unless contraception is initiated. This retrospective cohort study aimed to capture the current patterns of hormonal contraceptive provision within 12 months postpartum in a high-income country.
METHODS: We used a linked administrative dataset comprising all women who gave birth in Queensland, Australia between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2018 (n=339 265 pregnancies). We described our cohort by whether they were provided with government-subsidised hormonal contraception within 12 months postpartum. The associations between hormonal postpartum contraceptive provision and demographic and clinical characteristics were examined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression and presented in terms of crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS: A majority of women (60.2%) were not provided with government-subsidised hormonal postpartum contraception within 12 months postpartum. Women who were younger (<25 years), were overweight or obese, smoked, were born in Australia, were non-Indigenous, gave birth in a public hospital, or were in the lowest socioeconomic status group were more likely to be provided with postpartum contraception after adjusting for other covariates, compared with their counterparts.
CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to increase the provision and uptake of contraception in the immediate postpartum period are needed to prevent short birth intervals and unintended pregnancy and ensure women\'s fertility intentions are enacted. Ongoing research is needed to examine the factors influencing women\'s access to contraceptive services and, further, the types of contraception provided.

Background: Globally, two-thirds of pre-mature deaths and one-third of the total disease burden in adults are associated with problems that began in adolescent and youth. Global and national acting educational and health policies, strategies, and programs designed to promote, implement, and improve adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health services utilization should be responsive, consider the knowledge of reproductive rights and risk factors. This study assessed the level and predictors of knowledge of reproductive rights among Haramaya University students in Ethiopia. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected Haramaya University students from March 1 to 24, 2018. A self-administered pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data from participants. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 24. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with knowledge of reproductive rights. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to report association and significance was declared at P-value < 0.05. Results: Of 822 total students invited to the study, 812 (98.8%) respondents participated in the study. A total of 424 students (52.2%, 95% CI: 48.8, 55.4%) had an above-average level of knowledge on reproductive rights. Participants who were in the fourth and above year of the study [AOR = 2.37 (1.58, 3.54)], whose father\'s had higher education [AOR = 1.89 (1.27, 2.80)], who came from rich families [AOR = 1.54 (1.07, 2.21)], in the health faculty [AOR = 3.37 (2.17, 5.23)], utilized reproductive health services [AOR = 2.81 (2.21, 4.98)] and participated in reproductive health club [AOR = 1.77 (1.27, 2.47)] were significantly associated with knowledge of reproductive rights. Conclusion: Around half of the participants knew reproductive rights. In this study, lack of awareness (information) on reproductive health issues and absence of reproductive health services utilization were strong independent predictors of knowledge of reproductive rights.

This paper presents the findings of a research study in Thane District, Maharashtra, India, on access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls of Nomadic and Denotified Tribes (NT-DNT). NT-DNT communities face stigma and violence due to their historically criminalised status and nomadic lifestyle. Their precarious legal, social, and economic status has a negative impact on women\'s SRHR. Existing literature on this subject is sparse, and studies by researchers from within the community, which could bring about organic and community-led change, are almost non-existent. This study, carried out by a woman from a Nomadic Tribe, presents an insider\'s perspective on the experiences of and factors underlying the violation of the SRHR of girls and women of NT-DNT communities. The study used a human rights-based participatory methodology with qualitative methods including three focus group discussions with 21 women and 10 in-depth interviews with women and key informants from NT-DNT communities. The findings describe the gender, community, and health system barriers which hinder women\'s and girls\' access to SRHR. Issues such as language barriers between the women and medical fraternity, criminalisation by the police, and extreme deprivation - more intense than faced by the general poor - are unique to women of these communities. The NT-DNT communities face extreme deprivation of basic resources such as identity documents, shelter, sanitation, education support, workplace safety, and transportation, which further deny women their sexual and reproductive rights. The paper aims to amplify these women\'s voices to advocate for better SRHR services for women and girls of NT-DNT communities.

In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative study by a non-profit organisation implementing a community-based urban adolescent development programme. The study highlights the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) situation of marginalised young women in a developed state of India. Our findings, based on in-depth interviews with young women and frontline health providers, show that structural factors, such as economic and social stratifiers, gender norms and cultural beliefs, result in further marginalisation of young women. In turn, marginalisation adversely affects the realisation of SRHR through discriminatory practices around menstruation and lack of control in matters related to sexuality, contraception, pregnancy and safe abortion. Rights to the highest standards of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care are compromised. Health system factors like providers\' attitudes and knowledge, commodity supplies, and indifference to ensuring delivery of contraceptives and other services often result in unplanned pregnancies and affect the quality of young women\'s SRH care. Whatever information and support adolescents and young women get is from local community-based organisations. We conclude that structural determinants and violations of fundamental rights to education, equal opportunities and participation constitute a significant barrier to the enjoyment of SRHR by the marginalised young women in the study. Unless these are addressed, government policies and programmes to promote young people\'s SRHR will not benefit young women from disadvantaged communities. Partnership and complementarity between government programmes, adolescents and health rights civil society organisations are recommended to promote rights-based, equitable adolescent and youth-friendly services to this vulnerable population.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of provincially incarcerated mothers in Nova Scotia, Canada; and to make recommendations with respect to improving the experiences of mothers facing criminalization and their children.
METHODS: This qualitative study is rooted in feminist standpoint theory, community-based research methodologies and prison abolition.
METHODS: Mothers who were currently or previously incarcerated were recruited by community partners. Between Fall 2021 and Winter 2022, 14 individual interviews and one focus group were conducted, for a total of 18 study participants. Data were analysed collaboratively using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Three key themes were developed through the data analysis: Maintaining Connection, Broken Bonds and The Damage. Mothers shared experiences of trying to maintain connections with their children through numerous challenges, including emotional distress caused by the separation and significant logistical and financial barriers. Mothers felt their children unfairly bore the burden of their incarceration. They experienced a lack of or outright denial of services while incarcerated, and a lack of transitional support on release, making working towards parenting again difficult and discouraging.
CONCLUSIONS: For participants in our study, separation from their children during incarceration caused severe emotional distress and had serious implications on their right to parent and their relationships with their children. Incarceration for even brief periods has detrimental social impacts, and release planning does not prepare people for the challenges of repairing that damage. Conditions of maternal incarceration are in violation of international human rights laws.
CONCLUSIONS: Although we make some recommendations for reform (e.g. free phone calls), we focus on alternatives to incarceration for mothers experiencing criminalization. Findings will be shared with relevant institutional partners with the goal of impacting sentencing and incarceration practices.