PROJECT

STRENGTHENING REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE IN MARÉ

The Green Wave Rise project, from the Women’s House of Maré, has as its main objective the strengthening of conditions of access and effectiveness to reproductive rights and to abortion in cases provided by law, from the perspectives of residents of favelas and peripheries.

Our work follows three guidelines: expanding network articulation for the defense of sexual and reproductive rights in Maré; strengthening the public debate on sexual and reproductive rights in the favela; and increasing influence over decision-makers on the agenda of sexual and reproductive rights.

To achieve these objectives, the project carries out activities of knowledge production (research), territorial mobilization and political advocacy. These are direct actions with the women of Maré to collect and disseminate information and build strategies that qualify public policies and local health services, from the experiences of the residents.

The actions include activities such as film-debates, game sessions and conversation circles with the women served by the various projects of the Women’s House and other projects of Redes da Maré, as well as residents in general in the campaigns and research. Starting from their experiences and specific demands, the agendas and priorities of the project are guided.

We also engage with health and education professionals who work in Maré to identify the institutional and infrastructure gaps they face in addressing sexual and reproductive health demands.

In Maré schools, we offer to high-school students workshops using playful methodologies—with images, videos, games and conversations aimed at stimulating reflection, bringing quality information and clarifying doubts about sexual and reproductive rights.

What is the “Green Wave” movement?

The Green Wave represents the fight for the legalization of abortion in Latin America. In Argentina, after 15 years of campaigning, abortion was legalized in 2020, amid thousands of women occupying the streets with a green scarf on their bodies, which became a symbol of resistance and struggle for the right to abortion. Since then, the movement inspires other countries in the region.

Reproductive Health Maré Research 2024

In 2023, to understand more deeply and in detail the scene in which we were inserted and the demands of the territory, Redes da Maré began to produce a research, published in 2024, on reproductive justice in a favela territory - Maré, the largest cluster of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, where about 140,000 people live. The research, unprecedented in favela territories, had a qualitative phase, which used the community mobilization methodology of Redes da Maré, and a quantitative phase, which replicated the methodology of the National Abortion Survey, in partnership with Anis Bioethics Institute.

The research “Sexual and reproductive health: what do the women of Maré say” is a milestone to demystify the prejudiced view about women of the favela, which makes one assume they are careless or lack clarity in relation, for example, to contraceptive use. In reality, favela women, vulnerable by their racial and peripheral condition, are harmed by serious neglect in the field of integral health, from the first years of their sexual lives.

To map the conditions of sexual and reproductive health of the women, we elaborated the study in two fronts. The first, quantitative about the phenomenon of abortion, was carried out with 504 women aged 18 to 39 years. The second front, qualitative, delineated focus groups and 34 interviews with women older than 18 years, all residents of Maré.

In the interviews, women cis and trans persons were heard. The results evidence a series of structural and systemic barriers to access rights — either due to deficits and gaps in public health policies, or due to cultural, socio-economic, normative and patriarchal determinants — which create reproductive injustice for the women of Maré. The data systematized in this research represent, therefore, an advance to support public health actions for women residents of favela territories.

SEE THE RESEARCH (PDF)

49% of the girls and women of Maré had their first child between 13 and 17 years-old
The average age at first child in Maré is 18 years, whereas the national average is 27.7 years
Women of Maré have on average 2 children, a number near the national average
1 in every 6 women under 40 years had an abortion in Maré
39% of those who aborted were hospitalized to complete an abortion
79% of those who have already had an abortion in Maré have children
53% of those who aborted in Maré used medication

Read the Green Wave Project brochures

DOWNLOAD (PDF)

Photos 01 and 02: Conversation circle on menstrual poverty, carried out by the Sexual and Reproductive Rights Front of the Women’s House (“MARÉAS”) with high-school preparatory students, at Redes headquarters.

WORK FRONTS

TERRITORIAL MOBILISATION

The Women’s House of Maré mobilizes and articulates with Maré leaders, schools and health units of the territory to advance the debate on reproductive justice. This front involves:

• Articulation with other organizations for sharing methodologies, practices, strategies and narratives of action in sexual and reproductive rights; Participation in external events on the theme.

• Partnership with Nosso Instituto and Clínica da Família Jeremias, in Nova Holanda, executing consultations and delivering menstrual collectors

• Construction of spaces for institutional exchanges to establish effective and sustainable workflows between local services;

• Creation of a local campaign of awareness and sensitization of the population about reproductive rights and abortion provided by law;

• Mobilization of the population for engagement in the debate on reproductive justice and the right to abortion through conversation circles;

• Strengthening of welcoming spaces at the Women’s House of Maré and mobilization of health and education professionals who operate in Maré through conversation circles.

STRENGTHENING THE PUBLIC DEBATE AND KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION

• Carrying out unprecedented research in favela territories on sexual and reproductive health in Maré;

• Communication campaign “Creating futures: Maré, territory of care”;

• Conducting conversation circles on sexual and reproductive rights with residents of different profiles and with health professionals who operate in local services;

• Sexual education workshops for high-school students and training with the teams of Redes da Maré.

POLITICAL ADVOCACY

• Creation of the Reproductive Justice Forum of Maré, with different organizations and institutions to identify challenges, demands and opportunities and map resources, strategies in the areas of health, assistance, education, security, legislation and knowledge production;

• Preparation of recommendations for local public policies;

• Participation in strategic litigation actions with the Judiciary to bring the experiences of women of Maré to the national abortion debate forums, with support from key partners such as the project ‘Dialogues on Reproductive Justice: Legal Norms, Public Policies and Litigation Practices (Dijure/UNIRIO)’ and Anis Bioethics Institute;

• Hearings in legislative houses for monitoring sexual and reproductive rights policies;

• Participation of CODIM – Municipal Council for Women’s Rights of Rio de Janeiro and of Frente Rio for the Decriminalization of Women and Legalization of Abortion;

• Participation in international political spaces of debate on the theme, such as ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) and CSW (UN Commission on the Status of Women);

• Popular communication to disseminate reliable information about the rights of women and people who can gestate, regarding prevention and/or interruption of gestation;

• Collection of demands specific to Maré for the organization of agendas, strategies and goals of advocacy;

• Articulation in national and international feminist networks to build advocacy actions facing municipal, state and federal public power aiming to ensure compliance with the law and policies for women in Maré.

HIGHLIGHTS

Workshops on gender and sexuality in schools

We conduct workshops on gender and sexuality in schools with high-school students in partnership with the School of Social Service of UFRJ, aiming to expand access to quality information and create continuous spaces for conversation, listening and welcoming within schools. In these meetings, themes such as health, care, pleasure and dignity are discussed. The approach is playful and participative, addressing topics such as stereotypes and gender identity, sexual diversity, relationships, violence, affections and sexual and reproductive health, always considering issues of gender, race, age and territory.

Action and local knowledge

From knowledge production about the territory, community mobilization, ongoing training and dialogue with institutions, we seek to give visibility to the experiences and demands of women of Maré and broaden the public conversation about reproductive justice.

We believe that effective and inclusive policies must arise from local realities and be built together with the people who live these issues. Therefore, it is fundamental to strengthen connections between civil society organizations, universities, public bodies and residents, transforming data and experiences into actions that guarantee care, autonomy and reproductive dignity for favelas.

TEAM

Project coordination: Myllenne Fortunato

Research, education and articulation:Carla de Castro Gomes

Research, education and articulation:Brenda Vitória

Project articulation: Andreza Dionisio

Political advocacy: Milena Afonso

Political advocacy: Moniza Rizzini

Communication: Andrea Blum

Institutional supervision:Maïra Gabriel Anhorn

Financial management:Ivanise Barbosa

SPONSOR

Fós Feminista

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS

Anis – Reproductive Justice, Citizenship, Human Rights and Equality

Cepia – Citizenship, Research, Study, Information and Action

Dijure – Dialogues on Reproductive Justice, developed by the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) in partnership with the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro – Three Rivers Institute/UFRRJ/ITR and the Fluminense Federal University/UFF)

School of Social Service of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (ESS-UFRJ)

Nem presa nem morta

Rede de Assistentes Sociais Pelo Direito de Decidir (RASPDD)