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Research
The Maze Women Face
Three studies shed light on women’s and girls’ lived experiences of safe and unsafe abortion in West and Central Africa.
The Maze Women Face: Stuck Between Rights and Reality
Across West and Central Africa, our research shows a persistent gap between legal rights and real access to safe abortion care. Even where the law permits it, women and girls continue to face barriers that put their health and lives at risk.
From regional evidence to country reality, the research moves from identifying shared patterns to showing how these barriers play out in real systems, communities, and lived experiences.
The regional study, The Maze Women Face: Stuck Between Rights and Reality, reveals a maze of obstacles including stigma, delayed procedures, unclear legal guidance, and retraumatising requirements that often push women toward unsafe care.
Country studies deepen this picture.
The country study from Benin, Out of the Maze: Expanding Access to Safe Abortion in Benin, in collaboration with APHRC shows that while the 2021 law reform improved access to safe abortion care, many adolescent girls and women still face complex system, social, and administrative barriers. The result is uneven access to care, despite legal progress.
The country study from Togo, Inside the maze women face: the reality of unsafe abortions in Togo, with ATBEF, Population Council and African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), highlights how stigma, fear, legal restrictions, and health inequalities shape the experiences of women and girls facing unplanned pregnancies—often with severe consequences for their health and wellbeing.
Together, these studies show how regional barriers translate into country realities and why closing the gap between rights and access remains urgent.
“Every nine seconds, an unsafe abortion puts a woman's life at risk in West and Central Africa ”
Executive Summary – The Maze Women Face: Stuck Between Rights and Reality
Read moreRésumé exécutif – Prises Entre Leurs Droits Et La Réalité: Le Labyrinthe Auquel les Femmes Sont Confrontées:
Read moreSamenvatting – Het oneindige doolhof voor vrouwen: gevangen tussen rechten en realiteit
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Executive summary – Out of the maze: expanding access to safe abortion in Benin
Read moreRésumé exécutif – Une sortie du labyrinthe : vers un meilleur accès à l’avortement sécurisé pour les adolescentes et les femmes au Bénin
Read moreExecutive summary – The reality of unsafe abortion in Togo
Read moreLa réalité des avortements non sécurisés au togo
Read moreRésumé exécutif – La réalité des avortements non sécurisés au togo
Read moreSave lives. support safe abortion care.
Every day, women and girls in West and Central Africa face life-threatening risks from unsafe abortion. Your gift helps change laws, train health workers, provide critical information and fight the stigma that puts lives at risk. Donate now to help women access the care they deserve.