Shifting the Narrative: Project Brief

What is measured and why in relation to human rights? Who decides what
gets measured and who defines what success looks like? Which people and groups are invisibilized by existing measurement frameworks?

(APA) undertook research to understand the data deficit in relation to four priority issues in Asia
and the Pacific – comprehensive sexuality education (CSE); abortion; sexual orientation/gender identity and expression/sex characteristics-related rights (SOGIESC), and sexual pleasure. Methodology included a desk review, a survey completed by advocates and monitoring experts
in the region, and in-depth interviews. Existing information on the respect, protection and
fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) does not provide sufficient insight into the
inequalities faced by marginalized communities. More evidence is needed to expose the intersections of
overlapping systems of disadvantage that compound SRHR violations in Asia and the Pacific.
The findings show that:

• Advocates in Asia Pacific need more and higher-quality evidence relating to CSE, abortion, SOGIESC and pleasure to be effective. Available evidence often hides the way that people experience the systems and processes of the government and invisibilizes marginalized communities
• Civil society organisations (CSOs) are well-placed to generate evidence at community level that fills gaps in the available evidence
• Experiential evidence that centers the lived realities of individuals and communities is needed in order to fully understand whether human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled
• Governments and CSOs can play complementary roles recognizing the value add of evidence generated by both