Women and girls around the world are facing particular hardship from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. RNW Media’s Love Matters platforms are partnering in a new programme designed to safeguard the SRHR of young people, especially young women.

Gender-based violence is a daily reality in Nigeria and has been worsened by the Corona virus related lockdown. Love Matters Naija is participating in a concerted push by civil society organisations to advocate for concrete and lasting measures to end the crisis.

The Love Matters Naija team met with the UN Special Rapporteur for Housing when she visited Nigeria to handover a report they helped prepare about the discrimination Nigeria’s LGBT community faces when it comes to access to housing.

Love Matters and Citizens’ Voice platforms in 10 countries took part in the recent 16 Days campaign against GBV with online and offline activities ranging from videos, cartoons and blogs to debates, flash mobs and theatre.

Ideas about what constitutes physical beauty in China are as restrictive as anywhere else and ‘body-shaming ’is endemic. Love Matters China wanted to encourage their young audience to feel more confident about their bodies.

Love Matters Arabic has a pleasure-positive approach to SRHR and stepped up to the challenge of starting a conversation with their online community on a topic that’s taboo in Egypt – sexual pleasure.

When looking to expand our Love Matters programme, research and local experience showed that a pleasure-positive approach was not the best way to achieve our SRHR goals in Yemen.

Advocacy for young people’s SRHR is too often at a remove from the real needs and desires of young people themselves. Love Matters is working to change that and the Data Matatu is a tool to help drive the process.