Advocacy
Advocacy is an essential part of Rutgers’ work, especially at a time when sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender justice are under pressure around the world.
Advocacy is a key activity for Rutgers, together with research and capacity building. Practicing advocacy means we plead with national and international policy makers and influentials to enable people to achieve and fulfil their sexual and reproductive health and rights. At Rutgers, we use the results of our research and programme experience to strengthen the evidence base of our advocacy.
Campaigning for change
Alongside young people and our partners, and in cooperation with other civil society organisations and alliances, Rutgers advocates for change based on real life experiences, using results and evidence from our programmes and research.
“We hold governments and policymakers to account for their sexual reproductive health and rights commitments and human rights obligations”
Rutgers seeks to influence human rights and development mechanisms, resolutions, declarations and guidelines to strengthen support for sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We cooperate with UN agencies and provide them with technical support.
Increasing involvement and influence
We support civil society organisations and alliances to advocate for sexual reproductive health and rights and to create greater space for grassroots involvement and influence.
We advocate for meaningful, inclusive youth participation in global processes and decision-making. We build the capacity of young people to advocate for their own needs.
Besides policy advocacy, Rutgers also lobbies for sufficient funding within the Netherlands, European institutions and at international level.
Rutgers’ key advocacy issues
With partners we advocate for comprehensive sexuality education, for progressive language and norm-setting on sexuality education in various international resolutions. We advocate at a global level from a rights-based approach for safe and legal abortion.
Rutgers seeks to maintain and strengthen gender-transformative language in addressing the root causes of sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV): including the importance of engaging men, addressing unequal care relations and intimate partner violence. We work to hold governments accountable for preventing SGBV.