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Rwanda was the proud host of the second international MenCare+ partnermeeting in May 2014.

From 7 to 11 April, the 47th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is held in New York. This is a yearly conference that monitors, reviews and assesses the implementation of the agreements made at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt. These agreements are set out in the Programme of Action (PoA), which is a rights-based development framework.

I really need to write down my thoughts and reflections, cause I’m afraid I will lose it if I don’t start to download and share it soon. To free some space on my hard drive and to inform you on what’s going on inside of me.

Providing girls and women universal access to affordable female condoms will not only prevent them from contracting STI’s and unintended pregnancies, but also improve their position by giving them control over their own body.

Last week in Nairobi, Kenya, a young lady wanted to get inside a matatu – a minibus commonly used for public transport in East Africa. Before she knew what was happening to her, she was stripped naked by a group of men. Tossed around, hands tearing her clothes and grabbing and touching skin and intimate body parts. Her miniskirt and top were shredded until nothing was left but her underwear. It was all filmed and shared across Kenya and the world.

Imagine you could only have safe sex nine times a year. At other times you would have to control yourself, or just accept the risks. This is the reality in sub-Sahara Africa where only nine condoms a year are available for each sexually active man or woman, not to mention that only one female condom per year is available for every eight women!

These weeks gender equality activists and advocates from all over the globe are coming together in New York city where from 9 to 20 March the 59th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is gathering. As Rutgers has ECOSOC status, we are allowed to speak in the plenary meeting.

A letter to the editor signed by Rutgers, together with 85 other organisations, was published in the Economist on 11 April. The letter is a response to three articles on the Sustainable Development Goals which were published in the international business weekly on 28 March.

UNESCO has marked a milestone in its efforts to equip young people in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) with the knowledge needed to change the discourse of the HIV epidemic forever.

There is not a day that goes by that we don't hear about the high rate of HIV/AIDS or teen pregnancies amongst young people in the news in Nigeria. Now several countries and programs have shown that improving young people's access to sexual and reproductive health information and services can help to change the situation. But, as also the United Nations Commission on Life Saving Commodities reports states, 'too often, affordable, effective medicines and simple health supplies don’t reach the women who need them.'

Now is the time to imagine futures free from oppressions, injustice, war and violence and to develop concrete strategies for people and planet based on our shared humanity. The 2016 Forum is a process and space for re-imagining and co-creating these futures. “There is no such a thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” -Audre Lorde

The family should be the ideal environment for children to grow into confident adults, ready to have healthy relationships and families of their own. But it doesn’t always work like this. Rutgers helps boys and men in their roles as sons and brothers, husbands and fathers.

On this blog, Kelvin Mokaya reflects on the journey his advocacy work had taken him: from his hometown in Kenya to the UN High-level Political Forum 2016 in New York. Kelvin is currently at New York advocating for meaningful youth participation to make sure that young people reap the full benefits of the SDGs.

The chances of knowing someone who had experienced sexual violence are high if you live in a small country such as Honduras. Few laws protect our girls and women, and current events show increased levels of impunity that are likely to undermine our rights.

The chances of knowing someone who had experienced sexual violence are high if you live in a small country such as Honduras. Few laws protect our girls and women, and current events show increased levels of impunity that are likely to undermine our rights.

In the Netherlands young people these days start to have sex later, according to the research ‘Sex under 25’ carried out last year. Recent qualitative research by Rutgers among young people showed that social media in many ways plays an important role. The fact that the legal drinking age was raised in the Netherlands is also of influence. It appears that young people also attach great importance to the experience of first-time sex, and would rather experience this within a relationship.

“Dialogue is not possible when we criminalise human rights.” This was the message of Victor Madrigal, the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) and main speaker at Right Here Right Now’s High Level Event on human rights of LGBTI people. The event, organised by Hivos in collaboration with all Right Here Right Now partners and the Costa Rican Ministry of Health, was aimed at finding best ways to benefit from a recent Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory opinion.

Patriarchal norms are deep-rooted and pervasive throughout Pakistani society and demand interventions at all levels. The ground-breaking International Men and Gender Equality Survey – Pakistan (Pak-IMAGES) study, presented by Rutgers Pakistan today, confirms this and provides insights in the norms and values. The new research is one of the most comprehensive household studies on men’s attitudes and practices on a wide variety of topics related to gender norms and equality in Pakistan to date.