Citizen Science for Sustainable Menstrual Health

22nd January 2025

CORTH co-Director Dr. Chi Eziefula (Associate Professor in Infection, Brighton & Sussex Medical School) recently gave a talk at a workshop hosted by SSRP and CIRCY (two of the University of Sussex's ‘Centres of Excellence’) on sustainability research important to the lives of children and young people. The workshop, called Exploring environmental sustainability: what issues matter to the lives of children and young people? brought together young people and researchers with four presenters giving inputs on their research, and participants being invited to share their own ideas, responses, and questions. The event was a successful opportunity to collaborate on exploring complex sustainability issues where answers are not straightforward and contribute to an idea for a new sustainability game. Dr. Eziefula's presentation focused on "Citizen science for sustainable menstrual health."

CORTH Director, Maya Unnithan, awarded by Leverhulme Trust

15th January 2025

Professor Maya Unnithan has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust major research fellowship to explore the ethical, legal, and cultural dimensions of reproductive freedom, examining the right to reproduce and the right to avoid reproduction.

While philosophers and feminist scholars have long studied reproductive rights, anthropology has not yet fully explored how these rights are shaped by different social, moral and legal systems.

Maya's project, titled Reproductive Freedom and Ethics: A Comparative Study on the Making of Self, will investigate how reproductive decisions are influenced by religious, legal, and ethical frameworks in cultural contexts. By analysing case law in the UK, US, and India, as well as religious and ethical perspectives on reproductive freedom, she aims to better understand how reproductive aspirations are framed and navigated.

She said "I have worked for a long time on rights issues to do with the body, conception and contraception. Now I am really excited about exploring this through the idea of freedom which provides a broader moral and inclusive vision."

Reliance on fertility apps on rise in England and Wales, study shows

An article in The Guardian reports the potential risks associated with the move away from traditional hormonal contraception and use of fertility apps. Read the full article here. 

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November 2024)

Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem

Even as they flee crisis and disaster, women and girls have the right to safety and support

When conflict and disaster force women and girls to flee their communities and homes, they face grave danger. Displacement takes a devastating toll on their well-being and leaves them exposed to violence and abuse.

As livelihoods and safety nets vanish in emergencies, rates of gender-based violence can skyrocket. Shattered protection systems mean inadequate services and support, leaving many survivors struggling to recover on their own.

UNFPA is determined to end the scourge of gender-based violence, to protect women and girls, and to assist survivors on their journey to recovery.

As the lead United Nations agency for addressing gender-based violence in humanitarian settings, last year we provided services and protection from gender-based violence for 6 million people. We established 1,000 safe spaces offering comprehensive services, including legal aid and psychosocial support. And we are continually investing in long-term prevention strategies that address gender inequality and root causes that fuel cycles of violence.

This vital work provides hope and support when and where it is needed most. Together with our partners – including governments, civil society, and women-led organizations working at the grassroots level – we have saved and transformed countless lives. Still, the needs are staggering.

Every survivor of gender-based violence deserves protection, quality care, and access to justice. Yet, less than a quarter of the funding needs for essential prevention and protection services in emergencies have been met this year.

Along with more resources, there is also a need for strengthened laws and policies that protect women and girls in humanitarian settings and beyond. Men and boys also need to be engaged in interrupting patterns of violence and helping change harmful attitudes and gender norms.

As we mark this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let us renew our commitment to a world where every woman and girl can enjoy dignity and equality, living free from all forms of violence and harm.

It will take all of us to ensure that women and girls everywhere can navigate their futures safely and without fear. They must know that the world stands by their side, just as UNFPA does every day.

MOU with Bergen University

August 2024

CORTH and the Department of Anthropology at Sussex have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bergen University in Norway for collaborative research and knowledge exchange

This month we celebrate the approval of the MOU to ‘undertake collaborative research, training and knowledge exchange’ between our institutions over the next five years (2024-2029). The MOU has grown out of collaboration between the CORTH centre (UoS) and CIH centre (UiB) focused on the ongoing Maternal Mortality monitoring and surveillance ‘Matriset’ project (2021-2026; Norwegian Council funded) with junior (PhD level) and senior researchers visiting Sussex. The project includes PhD scholars, post docs and senior researchers from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Norway and UK. Going forward, several institutions from UiB would take part in this exchange, including the Depts., of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health (CIH), the Dept. of Health promotion and Development (HEMIL), with units on gender and development, and the Centre for Law Transform.

CIE Views on the Sewell Report

By: Farzana Bardai

Last updated: Monday, 24 May 2021

At the end of March 2021, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities released its report (aka the Sewell report) into racial discrimination in education, healthcare, work, and policing. It concluded that there was little evidence of institutional racism in the UK.

As researchers at CIE we disagree with the report and have written this response piece because we believe we have an intellectual responsibility to address the report’s lack of empirical rigour, its internal contradictions, and its flawed conception of race and racism. 

We also believe we have an ethical responsibility to you - our students - to make clear that we reject the report and the ethos of suspicion towards democratic protest contained within it.

We want you to know that we value and support your intellectual and political agency, and that the right to protest is a key condition of substantive equality and freedom.

Please read our response on our website here.

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