Did you know around the world, more than 200 million women who want to avoid pregnancy face an unmet need for modern contraception. [1]

Did you know each year, approximately 1.8 million people acquire new HIV infections, more than 350 million people need treatment for curable STIs, and approximately 266,000 women die from cervical cancer. [1]

This is Zaya and in this blog I will be talking about how I imagine myself as a Civic Agent.

Website

How do I imagine myself as a civic agent? A person willing to take action about reproductive rights. I imagine myself promoting sites and places that bring awareness to reproductive rights such as the “infamous” Planned Parenthood. They are about more things besides abortions, they also advocate for women’s health. The other website I will promote is “The Right to Decide”, which is a site that shows contraceptive deserts and where to find clinics that offer a full range of choices for contraception. I will also promote the site “Status of Women”.  This site includes information about reproductive rights and statistics in each state.   It is easy to navigate and find the information you are looking for, state by state. An example question is, “Does Montana provide sex education?”, and you can easily see that the answer yes. By promoting these sites, I also will be guiding people to the right information about reproductive rights, not the bad sites, who claim abortions are bad.

Inform

[3]

I also will be informing people out on the web or in person that Planned Parenthood does STD screenings/ care and gives low cost birth control. They go in depth about effects and convenience of birth control, provide pap smears, provide men and women health services, and provide LGBTQ+ services as a normal clinic would do. Also, I will Inform people that birth control does other things besides prevent pregnancy. Some women do need birth control because they have medical conditions an example is endometriosis. Mayo Clinic says, “endometriosis is an often painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus.” The use of some types of birth control can help control the hormone responsible for the buildup of tissue.

Buttons

I will wear the buttons that I got from the Women’s Center and from my mother-in-law to push the agenda of reproductive rights and, hopefully, they will not get stolen like last time. I am still upset that my handmaids button got stolen off my backpack, because I cannot find another like it. The buttons make a great conversation starter and help to put a thought in your head like a Bernie sticker does on the back of a minivan. It’s just there and proud, and is bound to either fuck up your day or improve it.

 

 

[1] Boyer, Jesseca. “A Time to Lead: A Roadmap for Progress on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Worldwide.” Guttmacher Institute, 30 Oct. 2018, www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2018/09/time-lead-roadmap-progress-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-worldwide.

[2] Bott, Ed. “How to Build a Website for Any Business: Your Step-by-Step Guide.” ZDNet, ZDNet, 4 Dec. 2019, www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-build-a-website-for-your-business-your-step-by-step-guide/.

[3] Killeen, Pierre, and \. “Social Media for Online Public Participation.” Thornley Fallis, 1 May 2013, thornleyfallis.com/social-media-advice-for-marketing-your-public-participation-program/.