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Groundbreaking research across West and Central Africa finds women’s lives are being endangered needlessly because of the gap between rights on paper and reality.
Rutgers new regional study “The Maze Women Face: Stuck Between Rights and Reality” was launched today at the International Conference of Family Planning (ICFP) in Bogotá. It reveals a failure to protect women and girls from lethal consequences of unsafe abortion – even when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest when safe abortion is legally permitted.
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Behind the statistics: the lived realities of women denied safe care.
The report, led by Rutgers and CERRHUD in Benin, is the first to link sexual violence and unsafe abortion across West and Central Africa, uncovering how survivors face a “maze” of barriers blocking them from lawful, safe care. Proof requirements that retraumatise, health workers unsure of the law, procedural delays, and deep-rooted stigma drive women to unsafe methods.
Mena Agbodjavou, lead researcher CERRHUD in Benin, said: “We have collected testimonies from women and girls who, after being raped, tried to end their pregnancies on their own.
Without access to safe abortion methods, they ended up using unsafe methods, such as pills or herbs bought at local markets and ended up being hospitalised.
These situations are frequent in our subregion and have serious consequences.”
“Every nine seconds, an unsafe abortion puts a woman's life at risk in West and Central Africa”
When rights exist only on paper, women pay the price
Lead researcher on the project Jonna Both said: “Behind every unsafe abortion we recorded was a story of fear, pressure or silence — never one of free choice. The law alone is not protection – that’s really clear in West and Central Africa and across the globe.” “Unless access is real in practice, girls and women are forced into risky last-resort methods with lifelong or lethal consequences.”
In response to these findings, Rutgers has launched a campaign calling for urgent government action to turn legal rights into real access. The initiative urges the removal of unnecessary barriers, increased resourcing of safe abortion care, ending stigma in healthcare systems, and ensuring women’s rights to safe medical care are fully respected.
The study’s release coincides with the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s reelection – a political moment that re-shaped global health funding. Policies and budget cuts introduced under Trump, including the Global Gag Rule, slashed support for sexual and reproductive health services worldwide, cutting off millions from contraception, care and safe options.
“Unless access is real in practice, girls and women are forced into risky last-resort methods with lifelong or lethal consequences”
Save 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.