Book 2 - Ebu

Learning Resource Kit: Book 2
Guidelines: Reporting sexual and reproductive health,
including voluntary interruption of pregnancy
1. Contextualize the story to facilitate understanding. On many occasions, regions
or countries that are the source of a news story have special characteristics such
as distinct cultural norms specific to the locality that are not replicated elsewhere.
2. Provide sex-disaggregated official statistics or data from non-governmental
organisations. Seek qualitative and quantitative data, further disaggregated by
economic status and social class.
3. In cases where access to statistics about voluntary interruption of pregnancy
is limited, look for data about other vital statistics, for instance, related
hospitalization and maternal deaths.
4. Instead of providing bare statistics, also tell stories that will raise awareness about
the topic and its effects on women’s lives. Where an individual cannot be named,
use a pseudonym or initials.
5. When describing the woman or girl, be careful in the characterization: avoid
stereotyping or victimizing her. Give due weight to institutional responsibility
and the lack of much needed public policy.
6. Network with female professionals specializing in women’s health at hospitals or
clinics who can be an important source of information and who may be more
sensitive to women’s realities.
7. Seek out and network with women’s and community organizations that work on
issues of women’s access to sexual and reproductive rights in the locality and the
region.
8. Generate good sources of information by working with researchers and
academicians to publish research that is useful as a reference for your articles.
9. Use a diversity of voices from different faith traditions and schools of medical
practice in order to demonstrate the diversity of positions on particularly
contentious topics.
10. Create a folder of files and alerts with key words regarding the topics usually
addressed, in order to have studies or publications readily available for inclusion
in an article.
11. Never present a woman based on her family or civil status since this delegitimizes
her role as a citizen and as an independent participant of her society beyond her
family roles.
12. Incorporate a male view of paternity and responsibility for sexual and
reproductive health as a construction of both sexes and not only of the pregnant
woman or the woman who has contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
13. Study legal frameworks at an international, regional and national level, and their
application in different cases.
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