Our Work

• Over 230 million women and girls have undergone FGM/C worldwide, and approximately four million are at risk of being cut each year. The highest rates are in Africa, but the practice also occurs in significant pockets of Asia and the Middle East.
• Approximately 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 each year.
• Nearly one in three women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence, whether from an intimate partner or non-partner, in their lifetime. Formal reporting of sexual violence is low, so whilst women describe widespread victimisation, the level of rape, sexual assault and harassment is difficult to establish.
• Climate and humanitarian crises exacerbate existing inequalities that contribute to sexual and gender-based violence. Displacement, loss of livelihoods, and lack of resources all contribute to increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence in crisis.
• While there is a lack of official data in many countries on the rate of LGBTIQ violence, studies and reports show that there is increasing violence based on gender identity and sexuality towards LGBTIQ individuals.
• Technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), or the use of digital tools, such as AI and social media, to inflict harm, poses an increasing threat to women, girls, and LGBTIQ individuals. While research is nascent, available prevalence data shows a range from 16% to 58% of girls, women, and LGBTIQ individuals affected by TFGBV.

We receive more applications on gender-based violence than any other theme. Our funding strategy is led by your ideas and initiatives. Our grantee partners work on a wide range of gender-based violence issues, including outlawing child marriage, monitoring gender-based violence and hate crimes towards LGBTIQ people, promoting community-based solutions to end FGM/C, supporting initiatives to provide holistic care for survivors, and engaging boys and young men to challenge harmful gender norms and build healthier, more equitable models of masculinity. Our grantee partners are leaders in the movement for a violence-free world.

• According to the World Health Organisation, around 45% of all induced abortions each year are unsafe. This means an estimated 33 million unsafe abortions take place worldwide each year, almost all in low resource countries.
• Between 2009 to 2020, 8% of maternal deaths were attributed to unsafe abortion. In low resource setting, around 7 million women per year were treated in hospital facilities for complications of unsafe abortion.
• Millions of people around the world are denied the choice to have a safe abortion due to legal restrictions, medical regulations and widespread stigma. Unsafe abortion rates are highest in the most restrictive settings.
• Stigma around abortion extends beyond the decision to end a pregnancy, affecting mental and physical well-being post-abortion. Stigma is widespread but can be challenged through civil society action and social norm change.
• Support networks and technology such as apps, websites, and hotlines have made access to information and resources on self-managed abortion more available, especially in low resource settings or where laws are more restrictive.

We are one of the largest funders of safe abortion advocacy in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. We support local organisations facing stigma in challenging contexts. Our grantee partners campaign to remove legal and policy barriers on safe abortion, support the expansion and availability of post-abortion care, and increase access to information about safely using medical methods of abortion. They are changing the debate and tackling social norms, demonstrating that locally-led activism can change laws, strengthen health systems, and make abortion safe, dignified, and available for all.

• It is challenging to measure the scale of stigma and discrimination, since reaching those most affected can be complex. There is increasing recognition that stigma and discrimination against LGBTIQ individuals and groups can lead to an increased vulnerability to HIV, violence, and mental health issues.
• Challenging stigma means addressing the root causes of discrimination in societal norms, behaviours, laws and policies. It also means dealing with the public health consequences of stigma as well as the impact on sexual pleasure, mental health and well-being.
• Homophobic and discriminatory legislation is widespread throughout the world, and very few countries have created a legal framework to provide full equality.
• Sex workers are heavily stigmatised and amongst the most vulnerable to HIV, sexual abuse, and other forms of violence, including violence from state institutions such as the police.

We are one of the main sources of funding for LGBTIQ rights activism. Our grants have contributed to major legal reforms to improve the lives of millions, such as the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in India. Our grantee partners have worked with law makers and enforcers, as well as health workers and teachers, to tackle homophobia and transphobia and improve access to resources for sex workers.

We take steps to ensure that a large share of our grants support organisations led by members of the LGBTIQ and sex worker communities.

• Education and information on SRHR are crucial tools to provide young people with the information they need to make informed choices about their health, particularly in adolescence and during puberty.
• Restrictive laws, stigma, and widespread misinformation around SRHR education limit access to information about contraception, safe abortion care, and other essential sexual and reproductive health services. These barriers contribute to high levels of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and poor health outcomes, which disproportionately affect those with the least power to access services or seek redress for rights violations.
• SRHR education is increasingly contested globally. Well-resourced opposition movements seek to undermine evidence-based education, restrict public discussion of sexuality and reproduction, and roll back hard-won rights, often targeting marginalised communities and people excluded from formal education systems.
• Accurate, comprehensive, and inclusive digital and online SRHR resources are becoming more widespread and available, opening up further access to SRHR information and education for communities who do not have reliable or consistent sources of information.

We fund advocacy that advances sexual and reproductive health and rights by influencing laws, policies, social norms, and accountability mechanisms to expand access to SRHR education and information for all. This includes quality CSE and Life skills-based education, as well as broader learning approaches that are inclusive, scientifically accurate, age-appropriate, and grounded in gender equality, bodily autonomy, and human rights. Our grantee partners also advocate for non-formal and alternative forms of SRHR education, such as community-based education, peer-led initiatives, and digital and media-based strategies, and culturally relevant approaches that reach people excluded from formal education systems.

• Access to rights-based SRH services forms part of the Sustainable Development Goals (Target 3.7) and recognised as a key indicator for human rights and development. However, inequality and global pushback mean overall progress, especially for the most marginalised, is slow.
• Each year, approximately 10.5 million adolescents have an unintended pregnancy, most of whom do not have access to modern contraceptive methods.
• Discriminatory laws and policies, underinvestment in public services, and exclusion from health and education systems undermine menstrual health, particularly for marginalised communities, including youth, women and girls, LGBTIQ people, and people with disabilities.
• Persons with disabilities can face multiple disadvantages that constitute their inability to fulfil their SRHR. Visually impaired, blind, hearing impaired, and deaf girls, for example, are amongst the most vulnerable to sexual violence.
• Evidencing the barriers to accessing SRH services is crucial to identify the steps needed to overcome barriers that prevent people from accessing SRH services. These barriers differ depending on the affected communities and the cultural and legal context around access to SRH services.
• Despite the evidence that investing in SRH services is cost-effective, funding for SRH services is often deprioritised. Civil society play a key role in advocating for high quality, widely available SRH services, holding governments to account and ensuring inclusion in government budgets. Civil society also can ensure that governments are held to account for their global, regional and national commitments to SRHR.

We are a major investor in campaigns and advocacy efforts to improve the SRHR of young people, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups. We fund initiatives to increase government accountability to ensuring existing SRHR needs and services, such as family planning, menstrual health, maternal healthcare, and STI and HIV care, are maintained, strengthened and available to all.

By taking a broad definition of ‘barriers to access’, we support organisations seeking to improve service accessibility in their own communities, with a focus on community-led monitoring and ensuring the involvement of service users. Our grantee partners lead advocacy work for accessible, acceptable, and non-discriminatory SRH services, including services that are confidential, respectful, and responsive to diverse needs across the life course.

Climate change has far-reaching implications that extend beyond environmental concerns, affecting various aspects of human life, including SRHR, especially for the most marginalised communities. Limited access to healthcare, including family planning services, can be exacerbated by environmental pollution and resource scarcity. Displacement caused by environmental disasters heightens the risk of sexual violence and exploitation. Scarce resources and changing agricultural patterns can lead to economic instability, affecting access to education and increasing the risk of child marriage and female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C).  

AmplifyChange acknowledges the importance of climate justice and endeavours to support organisations seeking to address the consequences of climate change on SRHR outcomes in their communities.  

Pleasure is a key aspect to ensure that all individuals can access their full sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), prioritising joy, safety, and consent. Pleasure is recognised as a core component of sexual health and well-being, and evidence shows that embracing pleasure-based, sex-positive approaches contributes to positive outcomes for SRHR services and programming.  

AmplifyChange is committed to championing pleasure-based sexual health and sex positivity within SRHR through our support to civil society. We are endorsers of The Pleasure Principles, which have taken evidence and best practice from pleasure-based sexual health interventions and created a set of principles to follow for effective implementation. More information and resources on pleasure-based sexual health can be found at The Pleasure Project website. 

SRHR and mental health are interconnected. Mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress, may impact an individual’s sexual experiences and desire. They can also influence decision-making related to reproductive choices and engagement in safe and consensual sexual practices. Issues such as unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence, and discrimination can contribute to negative mental health outcomes. Stigma surrounding sexual and reproductive health choices and experiences can exacerbate mental health issues and create barriers to seeking necessary support and care.

AmplifyChange welcomes advocacy efforts to address the challenges arising from mental health and SRHR, acknowledging that addressing this intersection is vital to promoting comprehensive, person-centred health and fostering a society that values and respects the diverse aspects of individual health and autonomy.