Justyna Wlodarczyk, Poland

Photo by Maihyet Burton

"I was drawn to work on reproductive rights because I saw them as central to feminism and to women's rights in general—we cannot talk about women's rights without talking about reproductive rights. It was this realization that inspired me to collaborate with the Federation for Women and Family Planning, the primary group promoting women's reproductive and sexual rights in Poland. The Federation was created in response to a national ban on abortion, introduced in 1993. It was originally conceived as an organization serving women, but over the years, it has focused more and more on youth—mostly because the issues it addresses are increasingly relevant to young people. Ever since the ban on abortion, teen pregnancy rates in Poland have been on the rise, and today, 7 percent of births are to girls between the ages of 15 and 19. The Federation is working to address this situation in a number of ways—for example, raising awareness about emergency contraception and lobbying for comprehensive sexuality education in Polish schools. We are also encouraging young people's participation in the pro-choice movement, because it turns out that there are a lot of young people out there who want to get involved."

About Justyna

An activist and academic living in Warsaw, Poland, Justyna holds a BA in American Literature and is currently completing her PhD dissertation on feminist literary theory at Warsaw University. She has been collaborating for several years with the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning and is now a member of the Federation's Group of Youth Advisors (PONTON), a body that lobbies for the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education programs in Poland's public schools, conducts peer education, and advises the Federation on their youth-related advocacy and publications. Justyna is also a member of the STER Committee, an informal group of activists who helped organize the visit of the Women on Waves ship to Poland in 2003, a project for which she served as translator and site coordinator. Based in the Netherlands, Women on Waves catalyzes support for the liberalization of abortion laws by providing safe abortion services in international waters to women living in countries where the procedure is highly restricted. As a member of March 8th Women's Alliance, Justyna has been an active participant in demonstrations, marches, pickets, and guerilla theater events emphasizing women's rights in general and reproductive rights in particular. She is currently working on a book about the history of abortion in the United States, with hopes of publishing it in Poland. In February 2004 Justyna participated in "A Dialogue with Young Leaders: Building Capacity and Fostering Participation," a meeting of 15 young advocates for sexual and reproductive rights from around the world, organized by IWHC in partnership with the Youth Coalition. In June 2004 she co-facilitated a meeting of young people from 13 different countries across Europe, resulting in the creation of ASTRAyouth, a youth wing of the ASTRA Central and Eastern European network on sexual and reproductive rights.

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