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Using a reproductive justice framework: organisational and political challenges

Explore the organizational and political challenges faced by the Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances (FQPN) in applying a reproductive justice framework. Learn about their efforts to promote reproductive autonomy, social justice, and inclusivity within the feminist network. Discover the positive outcomes, difficulties, and future directions in this demanding yet fascinating process.

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Using a reproductive justice framework: organisational and political challenges

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  1. Using a reproductive justice framework: organisational and political challenges MagalyPirotte / FQPN/ RÉQEF

  2. Created in 1972, the Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances (FQPN) is a feminist network specialized in advocacy and popular education on issues linked to sexual and reproductive health. Counting local, regional and national groups as well as individual members, its mandate is to raise awareness, inform and foster critical thoughts on sexual and reproductive health as well as to promote freedom of choice with a social justice perspective.

  3. 2008-2010, strategic planning process - Gap between the FQPN’s expressed desire to defend the sexual and reproductive rights of all and the relative homogeneity of its staff and members relative to ethnicity, capacity, gender expression, economic background, age etc.

  4. Reproductive justice is both an analytical and a practical approach as well as a movement that began to appear in the United States in the 1990s. The phrase was developed by African-American women during the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994. It is the result from a fusion between “social justice” and “reproductive rights”. Reproductive justice places the fulfillment of complete sexual and reproductive autonomy for women and girls within the larger sphere of social justice.

  5. This movement emerged from the initiative of Indigenous women and women of colour and they continue to advance the initiative.

  6. Learning from a movement • Reading • Translation • Accessibility • Going to conferences • Putting together a committee • Research with university • From the ground in our province • Sharing practices and tools • Reflexive spaces as a team/board/organization

  7. Taking time to avoid at all cost • Appropriation /white washing • Tokenising issues or people • All of that while… • Not being grassrootbut a federation • Having very small resources and power • Havinga huge mission • Having to answer to members needs: juggling between who we are/who we want to become/ which objective we want to attain

  8. Hands on: • Not using the term • Normalizing the treatment of subjects that were considered « niche » • More accessible and inclusive productions • Different angles while working on same subjects • For and by approach • Taking stands on various issues • Share/ Give visibility to the work groups are doing- use our position and recognition to help them advance their issues • Building responsible and respectful alliances with groups and people, building trust and learning while doing so, deconstructing our oppressive and non inclusive ways of working-acting- talking- priorizingissues • Not asking activists/organisations to « come to us » but going to them and offering to work with them on issues that are interesting to us both and complementary.

  9. Positive outcomes • Presence in new political spaces • Feels right- try to align our priorities with those expressed by communities that are directly affected • Intellectually and politically, it is fascinating. • Got some funding that were reinvested in projects carried by more grassroot communities and managed to share our resources and position • We open space for other feminist organisations

  10. Difficulties • Being an responsible ally takes time. Balancing act between the expectations of traditional members and future allies • Have to do more with no more resources: where to cut ? • Unsustainable working conditions /burn outs from the staff • Generational gap/ different priorities: the painful breakups • Transmission to institutional members/ individual ones • Way we work/ structures are exclusive • Humility is required. We make mistakes. We learn. We say sorry. We keep on going • How to be a federation when conditions are not there? • Whose role and responsibility? How to develop solidarity without appropriating? Doing nothing/ doing too much- walking the fine line

  11. Where are we going?

  12. WWW.FQPN.QC.CA

  13. Processus exigeant • Fascinant • S’inscrit dans plus large • Rendu possible grâce à… MERCI!

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