Contraceptives

Key Findings

• Worldwide, the most popular birth control methods are female sterilisation (30.1%), IUDs (21.5%) and the pill (13.9%). Male sterilisation, on the other hand, is a tiny fraction (3.7%).

• Family planning, or choosing if you want to have children, and when and how, is a right. But 12 of every 100 sexually active women aged 15 to 49 cannot exercise it.

• There are unmet needs in all kinds of countries, from the United States to Albania, but in the least developed countries, the rate is double the global average.

• The main barriers to contraceptive use are fear of side effects and opposition from women themselves and people in their communities.

• Religion continues to be a barrier to birth control. It can interfere with a gynecological consultation in Israel, in a purchase in a pharmacy in Mexico or in an imam-supervised sex education class in Senegal.

• The three main monotheistic religions permit contraceptives in some cases, but a woman’s freedom of choice comes second to mens’ interpretation of scripture.

• Women from around the world tell us about the contraceptive methods they know, the ones they use and the factors that have shaped their choices.