The Abortion Education Project:
A pilot project (led by Dopo and funded by inroads) developing inclusive lessons and resources to support educators and young people to learn, teach + talk about abortion. Background
Despite multiple international studies supporting the society-wide benefits of comprehensive sex and relationships education for young people, many countries and education authorities still aren’t meeting the comprehensive needs of the young people in their communities.
Since our launch last March, we’ve received multiple requests from teachers asking us to go into their school and debate anti-abortion folks in front of their classes, which we’ve refused to do as this is not an effective way to educate around abortion or challenge stigma. To tackle this, we’ve been awarded a small grant from inroads to develop lessons and educational resources through a Reproductive Justice lens for young people between the ages of 13 to 18 years old.
The learnings, lessons, and resources from this initial pilot project will then be shared with the international Dopo and inroads community to be adapted by educators and young people around the world.
Why is abortion education important?
We often see the phrase ‘Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion’ and this is true for all of us - including young people. Some of them may have had an abortion already, others will in the future. Many will one day have friends, partners, parents, colleagues, or even children who access abortion care.
Through this project, we hope to break the silence and stigma around abortion by supporting conversations around bodily autonomy, Reproductive Justice, accessing healthcare, and also how other forms of care (community, social and self-) intersect with this too. Having access to this information in their formative years can help younger generations better care for themselves and others should the need arise. This in turn helps end stigma, breaks silence, and improves well-being across communities.
How to get involved
As part of the development of the lessons and resources, we’re inviting folks to share their experiences of learning about abortion by filling in our Views + Experiences of Abortion Education Survey. This survey is open to folks of all ages from all countries.
PLUS, once we’ll from August, we’ll be looking for folks to join our focus group to review, critique and trial the lessons and resources that are created.
Project facilitators.
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About Zachi
(She/Her)
Zachi Brewster is a Black, queer abortion doula and accredited sex and relationships educator (amongst other things). For the past five years, she has supported individuals through transitional reproductive experiences and builds communities around our shared stories. Inspired by all of the stories that have been shared with her and the folks she has supported over the past few years, Dopo was created.
All of her work aligns with her personal mission to improve reproductive and sexual health services for all.
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About Emily
(She/Her)
Emily Snape is a mixed heritage full-spectrum doula and secondary school English teacher based in England. She trained as an abortion doula with Dopo and as a full-spectrum Doula with Abuela Doulas. She is committed to combining her skills as an educator and doula to improve reproductive health experiences and education AND also ensure that education is accessible to all regardless of their ability. She is also about to start an MA with Exeter University focused on improving reproductive health outcomes for people in the UK medical system.
Thank you to inroads who supported this project through the inroads Partnership Fund seed grant program.