LIST OF PANELS

This panel endeavors to transcend conventional approaches to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) discourse by fostering critical engagement with the nuanced realities of achieving equity and empowerment within the Global South.

Our objectives are multi-fold:

1. Disrupting Dominant Paradigms: We aim to challenge hegemonic, often Western-centric, SRHR frameworks that fail to adequately address the multifaceted socio-political and economic determinants impacting marginalized communities.
2. Elevating Lived Experiences: Central to our approach is the prioritization of lived experiences, ensuring that the voices of individuals and communities most impacted by SRHR disparities, including youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and those facing intersecting forms of oppression, are amplified and centered.
3. Interrogating Systemic Inequities: This panel seeks to deconstruct the complex interplay of power dynamics, socio-cultural norms, and structural inequalities that perpetuate SRHR inequities.
4. Catalyzing Transformative Solutions: We aim to showcase and analyze the efficacy of community-driven interventions, technological innovations, and policy frameworks designed to dismantle barriers and promote SRHR justice.
5. Generating Actionable Knowledge: This panel serves as a catalyst for producing impactful scholarship that can inform policy advocacy, program development, and community mobilization efforts.

Research Questions:

This panel welcomes submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following research questions:

1. How do intersecting forms of power and privilege (based on gender identity, sexual orientation, caste, class, ethnicity, etc.) shape the SRHR experiences of marginalized communities in the Global South?
2. How can technological advancements and digital platforms be leveraged to bridge information gaps, improve service delivery, and empower individuals to navigate their SRHR, while also addressing potential risks and ethical considerations?
3. What alternative methodologies and data collection approaches can be employed to decolonize SRHR research and ensure that knowledge production is ethical, inclusive, and culturally relevant?
4. How do existing legal frameworks, policy interventions, and deeply entrenched social norms interact to either facilitate or hinder progress towards SRHR equity and justice?
5. What innovative frameworks and metrics can be used to effectively measure the impact of SRHR interventions and hold stakeholders accountable for achieving equitable and sustainable outcomes?

Scientific Relevance

This panel occupies a critical space within the evolving landscape of global health research and practice:

1. Bridging the Knowledge-Action Gap: We address a critical need to move beyond descriptive analyses of SRHR disparities towards generating context-specific, action-oriented knowledge that can be leveraged for tangible societal transformation.
2. Decolonizing SRHR Research: By challenging dominant paradigms and centering marginalized voices, we aim to contribute to the decolonization of SRHR research and practice.
3. Fostering Transdisciplinary Synergies: This panel recognizes the inherent complexity of SRHR and encourages submissions from diverse fields of inquiry, fostering a synergistic and holistic understanding of the issue.
4. Amplifying Impact through Dissemination: We are committed to disseminating the findings and insights generated through this panel to relevant stakeholders, including policymakers, practitioners, funders, and community organizations, to maximize real-world impact.

This panel calls for critical and innovative scholarship that moves beyond simplistic notions of "access" to grapple with the multifaceted realities of achieving Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) equity and empowerment in the Global South. We seek to dismantle hegemonic narratives, amplify marginalized voices, and inspire transformative solutions grounded in principles of social justice and human rights.

We invite submissions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Interrogating Power Dynamics and Intersectional Inequities: Exploring how intersecting forms of oppression based on gender identity, sexual orientation, caste, class, ethnicity, ability, and geographic location create and perpetuate barriers to SRHR justice.
2. Decolonizing SRHR Data, Knowledge, and Methodologies: Examining the influence of colonial legacies on current SRHR research and practice, and proposing alternative methodologies, data collection approaches, and knowledge frameworks that are ethical, inclusive, and culturally relevant.
3. Leveraging Technology for Equity and Empowerment: Analyzing the potential of technological advancements and digital platforms to bridge information gaps, expand access to quality services, and empower individuals to navigate their SRHR, while also critically addressing potential risks, ethical dilemmas, and issues of accessibility.
4. Navigating the Interplay of Policy, Law, and Social Norms: Investigating the complex interplay between existing legal frameworks, policy interventions, and deeply ingrained social norms in shaping SRHR access, experiences, and outcomes.
5. Measuring Impact, Ensuring Accountability, and Advancing Social Justice: Developing and applying innovative frameworks, metrics, and accountability mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of SRHR interventions and promote sustainable progress towards equity and social justice.

We welcome submissions that employ diverse methodological approaches, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research, as well as participatory action research, arts-based inquiry, and other innovative approaches. We are particularly interested in research that centers the lived experiences of marginalized communities, challenges dominant paradigms, and offers concrete recommendations for policy and practice.