Rights-Based Family Planning Frameworks and Guidance

Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: Conceptual Framework User’s Guide (Beta Version) (Futures Group/EngenderHealth, April 2014) (PDF, 8.31MB) The Conceptual Framework Users’ Guide was prepared to orient stakeholders on the voluntary, rights-based family planning (VRBFP) conceptual framework and assist them with (1) applying it during assessments and action planning related to strengthening human rights in family planning (FP) programs and (2) using it to monitor, evaluate, and hold programs accountable. The User’s Guide is intended for a range of stakeholders interested in promoting and providing VRBFP, including policymakers, program managers, providers, rights advocates, civil society organizations, donors, implementing organizations, and researchers. Facilitators can use the guide to conduct an orientation on the framework and lead an assessment and planning process.

Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: A Conceptual Framework (Futures Group/EngenderHealth, July 2013) (PDF, 2.3MB) (Now available in French, Hindi, and Spanish) and Summary Brief (PDF, 1.19MB) Scaling up access to family planning (FP) services over the next decade to reach national and global goals will take the combined efforts of governments; donors; and family planning, human rights, and women’s health advocates. This paper presents a practical approach for realizing human rights as part of voluntary, high-quality FP programming. The framework provides a pathway for voluntary FP programs to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights as they set out to improve health and achieve ambitious family planning goals. This comprehensive framework brings together human rights laws and principles with FP quality of care frameworks to assist policymakers, program managers, donors, and civil society with program design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. This is the first framework to operationalize rights principles and approaches within FP programming, strongly linking issues of quality of care with human rights.

Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: A Systematic Review of Tools (Futures Group/EngenderHealth, September 2013) (PDF, 4.05MB) As a supporting document to the Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: A Conceptual Framework, this publication compiles and synthesizes training and assessment tools, frameworks, methodologies, implementation guides, and job aids that support and promote the fulfillment of rights at the policy, service, community, and/or individual levels. Prior to this work, no systematic review of tools related to human rights and FP existed. Of the 150 documents reviewed, 29 percent focus explicitly on human rights or reproductive rights, though reference to rights were often implicit in many of the tools reviewed. Although more than three-quarters of the tools reviewed had an FP program focus and were not explicitly designed to protect and fulfill rights, they contained elements that support rights at all levels of action described in the conceptual framework. The review showed that

  • More evaluation is needed to determine a tool’s potential or comparative effectiveness as a tool for operationalizing FP programs that respect, protect, and fulfill rights;
  • There is a shortage of tools and indicators to monitor and ensure accountability; and
  • Most tools focus more broadly on quality of care and not specifically on empowerment or client rights.

Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: A Systematic Review of Evidence (Futures Group/EngenderHealth, September 2013) (PDF, 47.17MB) As a supporting document to the Voluntary Family Planning Programs that Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights: A Conceptual Framework, this publication focuses on relevant interventions, evaluations, and case studies to engender a better understanding of what elements are needed for a successful voluntary, rights-based FP program. Prior to this work, no systematic review of rights-based FP existed. This report synthesizes the findings from a literature review encompassing more than 290 documents to help identify key actions or factors for FP programs to consider. It not only provides a review of the current evidence available related to rights-based approaches in FP, but also highlights the research gaps surrounding rights-based outcomes.

Ensuring Human Rights in the provision of contraceptive information and services: Guidance and recommendations (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014) (PDF, 1.22MB) These WHO guidelines provide recommendations for programs as to how they can ensure that human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled, while services are scaled up to reduce unmet need for contraception. Both health data and international human rights laws and treaties were incorporated into the guidance. This guidance is complementary to existing WHO recommendations for sexual and reproductive health programs , including guidance on family planning, maternal and newborn health, safe abortion, and core competencies for primary health care.

Use of human rights to meet the unmet need for family planning (The Lancet, July 2012) This Lancet report describes how human rights can help to shape laws, policies, programmes, and projects in relation to contraceptive information and services. Applying a human rights perspective and recognising the ICPD and MDG commitments to universal access to reproductive health including family planning (FP), the authors support measurement of unmet need for FP that encompasses more groups than has been the case until recently. The article outlines how human rights can be used to identify, reduce, and eliminate barriers to accessing FP; ways that human rights can enhance laws and policies; governments’ legal obligations in relation to FP; and priorities for making FP available that are mandated by human rights.

State of World Population 2012 – By Choice, Not By Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development (UNFPA, November 2012) (PDF, 5MB). This flagship report analyzes data and trends to understand who is denied access and why. It examines challenges in expanding access to family planning (FP) and considers the social and economic impact of FP as well as the costs and savings of making it available to everyone who needs it.The report asserts that governments, civil society, health providers and communities have the responsibility to protect the right to FP for women across the spectrum, including those who are young or unmarried.

Using human rights for sexual and reproductive health: improving legal and regulatory frameworks (June 2010)

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