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Topics
- Adolescence/transitions to adulthood
- Family planning services
- Female genital mutilation/cutting
- Financial literacy/livelihoods
- HIV biomedical research
- HIV care, support, and treatment
- HIV and children
- HIV prevention
- Microbicides
- Integrating health services
- Maternal and newborn health
- New and improved reproductive technologies
- Population policy and demographic analysis
- Reproductive health biomedical research
- RTIs/STIs
- Safe abortion and postabortion care
- Sexual and gender-based violence
- Social isolation/support
- Strengthening health systems
- Urbanization, health, and the environment
- Vulnerable populations
- Countries
- Projects
Population Council Research that makes a difference
Safescaping to protect girls
The Council's Abriendo Oportunidades program is changing the way communities think about girls' safety in the Mayan highlands of rural Guatemala. In an activity called "safescaping," girls, with mentor support, use GPS technology to map unsafe places in their communities—like overgrown fields and places where men gather. Girls present these maps at community meetings to prompt discussion about improving girls' safety. One community has already established a safety commission in response.
Safe and smart savings
The Population Council's Safe and Smart Savings project helps girls who live in the slums of Kenya and Uganda to open savings accounts, acquire budgeting skills, and learn about HIV and reproductive health. Council research in 2011 found that girls in these groups were significantly more likely than other girls to have financial goals and accurate financial knowledge; to know about HIV and reproductive health; and to discuss financial issues with parents. They were also less likely to be sexually harassed.
