Indonesia has a great unmet need for sexual and reproductive health services and information, and unsafe abortion is believed to cause approximately 30% of maternal deaths in the country. Abortion is only legal under limited circumstances (rape and in cases of risk to a woman’s life or health), and this legal context—along with abortion-related stigma and discrimination—forces many women to resort to seeking unsafe abortions.
Ipas began working in Indonesia in 2017 to develop a close partnership with the Ministry of Health and increase the health system’s ability to provide high-quality postabortion and contraceptive care—and to ensure that women and adolescents can access these services as needed. Ipas also works with other partners to advance laws and policies that fulfill women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights and to reduce the devastating impact of unsafe abortion on the lives of Indonesian women and adolescents.
Ready for the next 50 years
I’m proud of how Ipas has helped expand reproductive rights and championed the need for safe abortion access in Indonesia. I believe the next 50 years will see Ipas using advancements in technology, globalization, and interconnectedness to ensure reproductive rights for all. When I look to the future of Ipas, I am excited to center the needs of women and girls in an intersectional approach to advance their rights and bodily autonomy.
Dr. Marcia Soumokil
Director, Ipas Indonesia
Expanding access for sexual violence survivors
Consistent practices and strong partnerships between law enforcement, health systems and community services are critical to ensure violence survivors can exercise their right to abortion. That’s why Ipas Indonesia is working with hospitals and health workers, police and community-based organizations to expand abortion access for those that who need it.
‘No woman should feel embarrassed for sharing her decision’
Ipas Indonesia Country Director Marcia Soumokil shares her abortion experience
‘Shifting the paradigm’ on postabortion care
New national guidelines provide an opportunity to improve reproductive health in Indonesia
Making progress on the issue that nobody wants to talk openly about
Ipas Indonesia works with partners to meet the reproductive health needs of women and girls