Rutgers annual overview 2014 by Rutgers

annual overview 2014

Contents

2 4 6 8

Introduction IPPF our big sister In Brief Identifying the benefits of alliances

Update on the Unite for Body Rights programme

The long distance relationship of Teun and Talimba

Unite for Body Rights in Malawi

1 1 2 1 12 14 15

The female condom in the spotlights A brighter future for young people in Surinam Our activities throughout Europe Removing the taboo from sex and the elderly Discussing sex in health care settings

Experiences from the Netherlands

6 1 8 1 20 21 22 22 24

Roundtable on a cooperative approach to young people Blog: How Conchita is teaching us to think out of the box A world of difference Towards accepting sexual diversity What people say Sex and the media The sexual health of young people is key to economic progress

News from the country offices

Indonesia, Uganda and Pakistan

9 2 0 3 30 32 34 34

Influence within the United Nations Making periods normal in India Winning men’s hearts and minds Impetus to innovation Behind the scenes News concerning the Supervisory Board

Our new Chair: Andrée van Es

5 3 6 3

The Supervisory Board Financial review of the year

Introduction

Dianda Veldman ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

We don’t work alone One of my favourite sayings is ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together’. It is originally an African proverb. To me it always conjures up visions of a solitary hunter, rushing across the endless plains until, ultimately, he is consumed by a predator. This in contrast to a close-knit tribe who do not proceed at any great speed, but do eventually reach that highly coveted tract of fertile land. The proverb is applicable in all kinds of contexts. People and organisations alike are often inclined to do things on their own, and while that does appear to be quicker, do they actually achieve more? At Rutgers we have cooperated extensively with other organisations during the past few years. And the closest form of cooperation we have been involved in is, of course, our own merger, now some five years ago. That was certainly a good move. The fact that we now operate both in the Netherlands and in developing countries provides a great deal of added value, on both sides. We have also been cooperating more closely than ever with like-minded organisations for the past few years. And – as the old African proverb goes – we have noticed that things sometimes proceed a little slower than they might if we were to work alone. The ultimate benefits, however, are far greater. Cooperation does not happen naturally though; you really have to make an effort. First establishing that you truly share the same vision, to avoid realising halfway down the line that the parties involved actually had different

outcomes in mind. However, you also have to ensure that the partnership offers each partner sufficient gain. There has to be an adequate balance of give and take, otherwise the partnership will not last long. I have also discovered that professional partnerships benefit greatly if the people involved like and trust one another. Particularly when you meet adversity, an amicable relationship proves a solid basis on which to redouble your joint efforts so you can overcome the problem together. This annual magazine draws attention to the range of national and international partnerships in which Rutgers participates. Furthermore, we have encouraged NGOs in developing nations to cooperate with one another, and I am particularly proud of all that has been achieved as a result. Numerous organisations throughout Africa and Asia have informed us that they have gained far more domestic influence as a result of forming an alliance. Their governments take them more seriously, they gain readier access to funding and, above all, the people whose interests they and their partners represent are better served. Incidentally, have you noticed that I have been referring to us in this foreword as ‘Rutgers’ instead of ‘Rutgers WPF’? It may already have caught your attention that the cover of this annual magazine also bears the name Rutgers. In that case, it will come as no surprise to you to learn that we have changed our name. Rutgers WPF was a combination of Rutgers Nisso and World Population Foundation, the two organisations which merged in 2010. We have since discovered, however, that people find it a rather complicated name, difficult both to pronounce and remember. Rutgers is basically no more than a Dutch surname. Nevertheless, it’s a name the Dutch have associated with sexuality ever since the first Rutgershuis was founded in Rotterdam in 1931. And in the meantime the name Rutgers has become increasingly established overseas. We therefore had no qualms whatsoever about adopting this brief yet distinctive moniker. The fact that we have dropped the letters WPF, however, by no means implies that our international operations are to be curtailed. On the contrary: the contents of this annual report bear witness to the fact that we are increasingly successful in improving and promoting people’s sexual health and rights around the world. We therefore extend the invitation to organisations struggling with issues relating to sexuality both in the Netherlands and far beyond: Rutgers is willing and able to forge partnerships with you. After all, that old African proverb remains applicable to this very day: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Dianda Veldman Executive Director

Rutgers annual overview 2014

IPPF our big sister

Miranda van Reeuwijk ‘To this day we share a common mission and vision with IPPF, which centres on adopting a positive approach to sexuality that is based on rights.’

Rutgers is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). We asked Miranda van Reeuwijk, International Researcher at Rutgers, and Doortje Braeken, Senior Advisor on Adolescents, Gender and Rights at IPPF’s headquarters in London to discuss the significance of Rutgers’ membership. What is the background to our membership of the IPPF? Miranda: ‘Rutgers is a Member Association of the IPPF – IPPF has one in almost every country throughout the world. These members deliver work on the ground, like issuing public information on sexuality and promoting the provision of facilities and resources for sexual health and birth control. Rutgers has a special relationship with the IPPF: we were both founded by the Dutch association for sexual reform (NVSH). In those early days, IPPF actually adopted a great deal in terms of vision and approach from the organisation known at the time as the Rutgers Foundation. To this day we share a common mission and vision with IPPF, which centres on adopting a positive approach to sexuality that is based on rights.’ Doortje: ‘At IPPF, I have been able to impart a great deal of what I learned previously as an adviser and policy officer at the Rutgers Foundation. My colleagues in London initially found it rather strange that I spoke of adopting a positive approach to sexuality, but the attitude has certainly caught on. IPPF now has its own Declaration of Sexual Rights, while sexual pleasure is high on our agenda. IPPF and Rutgers have learned a lot from one another throughout the years, and continue to do so.

What does it mean to Rutgers to be a Member Association? Miranda: ‘Membership of IPPF is highly valuable to us. For instance, we originally learned how to develop a framework with which to monitor and assess projects with our partner organisations from IPPF. We utilise materials developed by IPPF and benefit from being in its network and all the contacts that yields. On the other hand, however, in us IPPF has a partner that can support other Member Associations we cooperate with in our programmes. We collaborate a great deal, for instance in the areas of advocacy, developing manuals and tools, and organising conferences.’ Doortje: ‘Membership of IPPF naturally has a different significance to Rutgers to that of another Member Association which is subsidised by IPPF. However, all IPPF members share a vision and joint objectives. We are a federation, not

Rutgers annual overview 2014

‘I Decide’ campaign catches on Politicians have their photo taken in support of sexual rights

a foundation, which implies that each of our members is independent, has its own board and is free to set its own priorities. This offers scope for creativity, giving us the opportunity to learn from one another, for example, by exchanging materials and programmes. I am incredibly proud of the work that IPPF and Rutgers have carried out together, like developing the Explore toolkit, a unique instrument which is greatly appreciated by many other organisations, including UN bodies.’

What has IPPF achieved through its network? Miranda: ‘The Federation has proved successful in improving sexual rights in so many countries, partly because IPPF has Member Associations there. You have to meet certain criteria in order to become a member of the Federation, like operating according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This includes rights in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Another important criterion is youth participation in the work that you carry out; after all, you cannot be entirely effective without actually involving the target group in your work. Furthermore, the application of such criteria promotes universal qualities across efforts to promote sexual and reproductive health around the world.’

Passers-by, members of parliament, cabinet ministers and policy-makers: large numbers of them took time out on city square Het Plein in The Hague on 13 May to have their photos taken. They posed in a frame bearing the message ‘I decide’ completed with the words ‘about my own body’, ‘whether I want to have children’, ‘about my own future’ or ‘who I love’. In doing so, they expressed their support for IPPF’s new global I Decide campaign to promote sexual and reproductive rights. Member associations in 56 countries participated, including Rutgers. Linda Voortman, a Dutch MP for the GroenLinks party, also had her picture taken. ‘The main reason for participating in this campaign is that we take it very much for granted that we can decide about our own bodies and who we have sex with. This is certainly not a given in many countries, however. That’s why I chose this means of making a statement: I want to ensure that everyone can take it for granted.’ In pursuing their campaign, the IPPF Member Associations aim to collect one million signatures to present to United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon. The campaign will run until the summer of 2015, which is a decisive juncture in the process of setting the future development and rights agenda.

Doortje: ‘I agree with you, Miranda. I still consider IPPF a pioneer in the fields of both young people’s sexual rights and youth participation. IPPF’s latest strategic plan devotes considerable attention to young people as clients, as partners and as agents of social change. We intend to sharpen the focus on the groups of young people who are currently poorly served. Moreover, we have the courage to tackle ‘difficult issues’, such as the age of consent. I think we are capable of adopting this kind of progressive approach because organisations like Rutgers are members of our ‘family’.’

Linda Voortman Groen Links

Esther Ouwehand PvdD

Doortje Braeken ‘Moreover, we have the courage to tackle ‘difficult issues’, such as the age of consent. I think we are capable of adopting this kind of progressive approach because organisations like Rutgers are members of our ‘family’.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Jasper van Dijk SP

Bram van Ojik Groen Links

Jeanine Hennis-Plasscheart Minister of Defence VVD

Jetta Klijnsma State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment PvdA Sjoerd Sjoerdma D66

In Brief

Experts exchange experiences International meeting in The Hague How do teachers in Uganda talk to students about the changes taking place in their bodies? What do schoolchildren in Bangladesh know about contraceptives? Trainers, researchers and other interested parties congregated at an expert meeting held in The Hague on 16 October, to exchange information regarding sexuality education. Various members of Rutgers’s staff also held lectures and ran workshops there. The meeting, which was jointly organised by Share-Net, the Institute of Social Studies and Rutgers, focused primarily on the current state of affairs in the field of sexuality education. Participants from countries including Kenya, France, Rwanda and Ethiopia took the opportunity to exchange experiences, become acquainted with one another’s materials and draft plans for the improvement of their work. Effectiveness In her lecture, Rutgers’s Ine Vanwesenbeeck addressed the standard of studies into the effectiveness of sexuality education. Professor Vanwesenbeeck insists that studies would present more realistic findings if they were to cover aspects beyond health and individual behaviour.

Joanna Herat ‘We are delighted to see the commitment made by African Ministers of Health and Education.’

Compulsory subject Joanna Herat, sexuality education specialist at UNESCO, explained how her organisation is negotiating with 21 African nations to have sexuality education designated a compulsory subject in schools. ‘We were delighted to see the commitment made by African Ministers of Health and Education in 2013. We are already experiencing the benefits of this commitment in the form of improved curricula and the support of parents who have become involved.’ Participants had the opportunity to peruse a wide range of international programmes in the meeting’s information marketplace, not only materials for use in a traditional classroom setting, but also online or by mobile telephone. There were plenty of options, applicable whether students are taught in a metropolis or in an isolated village with no internet access. For parents too Sara Tabassum, a participant from Bangladesh, is a good ambassador for sexuality education. ‘Parents can benefit too, through their own children,’ she insists. ‘It is never too late to learn.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Toolkit for Men accredited in South Africa

Progress on sex education

The South African Council of Social Service Professionals (SACSSP) has accredited Rutgers Toolkit for Men. This Toolkit can be used for counselling abusers who want to stop intimate partner violence and become more respectful partners. Social service professionals in South Africa are required to undertake training courses to retain their registration and ability to practise. Completion of the Toolkit for Men training workshop has been designated a value of 25 professional development points; 30 points are required per annum. As a result we expect a large increase in demand for the toolkit and the workshops provided by our South African partner MOSAIC.

Burundi and Uganda have seen important progress in providing life skills and sexuality education to young people. By supporting young people to understand these issues we can contribute to improved sexual and reproductive health and gender equality in both countries. The Ugandan Ministry of Education recognises the Rutgers Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme ‘The World Starts With Me’ as a good method for sexuality education in secondary schools. This is significant as the free expression of one’s sexuality and sexual orientation has been under pressure in Uganda for the past few years. The Burundi government has also adopted a national module for CSE for all its schools based on the World Starts With Me. Beyond the education sector, community workers and health workers will be trained in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights so that the information will be more widely accessible within communities and the healthcare system. The World Starts With Me curriculum and materials help young people between 12 and 19 years old to make safe and informed choices on sexual and reproductive health issues. The programme is currently running in ten countries in Africa and Asia and is adapted for each country’s local culture and societal norms while maintaining its focus on gender equality and bodily integrity. The Burundi module is the first Rutgers has produced in French.

Identifying the

benefits of alliances

Update on the Unite for Body Rights programme Of course it sounds like a great idea: a network of alliances across Asia and Africa pursuing a joint strategy to improve people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. But does it actually work? To begin to answer this, in 2014 we carried out an interim assessment of the levels of collaboration within the Unite for Body Rights (UFBR) programme.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Joint Theory of Change

We are keen to ensure that young people, women and vulnerable groups – such as people living in remote areas and young people with HIV – receive improved levels of sexuality education and access to health services and resources. We usually support local partner associations, sharing our expertise and developing projects according to our joint Theory of Change. This means focusing closely on influential people, including parents, spouses, religious leaders and policy makers.

Developing together

The interim assessment revealed that the partners take a highly positive view of cooperation within the alliance. For instance, Kenya responded: ‘A pool of diverse resources was brought into the alliance: competences, skills, networks and financial resources.’ The partners also feel that together they have a better chance of placing SRHR on the agenda and influencing policy. They also identify benefits in jointly developing websites, apps and training courses, as well as collaborating in lobbying and awareness campaigns, such as World AIDS Day and World Contraception Day.

Strong position

The national alliances have already established positions of strength. The Tanzanian alliance Pamoja Tunaweza (‘Together We Can’) promotes the right to education of pregnant girls and young mothers. By participating in working groups and forums alliance staff have been able to assume a crucial role in having national policy amended, enabling teenage mothers to continue attending school for a substantial part of their pregnancy and to return again after giving birth.

Learning and challenging

Partners learn from one another, while challenging each other to adopt a more progressive approach to their programmes and policy direction. In Indonesia for example, this enabled the provision of an advanced and broad package of sexuality education, with the approval of the country’s religious leaders. Talimba Bandawe, National Coordinator in Malawi, comments: ‘When we started in 2011, some of our organisations only had a basic knowledge of SRHR. Partners have been able to build capacity through interaction, learning from each other.’ [see page 9]

Our lessons

Our attention was initially focused on the added value of cooperation and collaboration, but we have also come to realise the need to recognise one another’s individual interests. Achieving more favourable results, broadening your horizons, and the prospect of strengthening your own position as an organisation are all important incentives to continue participating in alliances.

The long distance

relation ship between Teun and Talimba

Unite for Body Rights in Malawi

Theory of change

‘Partners learn from one another, while challenging each other to adopt a more progressive approach.’

Even though they live almost 8,000 kilometres apart and differ thirty years in age, Talimba Bandawe and Teun Visser have become friends forever. When they arrive for this interview, they show no sign of haste, having taken the scenic route from the train station in Utrecht to the Rutgers head office. ‘Teun and I have created a really effective long-distance working relationship,’ explains Talimba once she settles down. As National Programme Coordinator she has almost daily contact with Teun, the Country Lead for Malawi. ‘We have long discussions through Skype every month and weekly or, if necessary, daily, email contact. There is a lot of autonomy but as partners we run the programme together. It is funny because in a way we shield each other. Teun coordinates the issues and questions around donors, while I try not to bother her with the daily challenges of working on sexual and reproductive health in my country.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

➔

10 A new way of working

Though the programme in Malawi started well enough, the alliance was slow in developing. ‘It is a new way of working and the group started off on the wrong foot,’ explains Talimba. ‘Organisations were too focused on ‘business as usual’. Luckily we managed to change this. Staff and management of the partner organisations now really take the time to talk and spend time with each other. We meet four times a year and when possible Teun joins us at those meetings as an observer and advisor.’ Teun agrees: ‘Being in Lilongwe [Malawi’s capital] regularly makes it much easier to understand the problems the organisations are facing. Not only in how hard it can be to really improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people, but also how hard it is for the organisations to really work together.’

A partnership with a future

‘Between the partners we speak a lot about the future of the alliance,’ says Talimba. ‘It is fascinating how in our joint search for new funding the Malawi alliance has moved beyond competition. The partners have started to work together and are willing to submit joint proposals. As long as there is equal funding, this will be a lot easier.’

A rich harvest

Some years after the start of the joint programmes, the cooperation between the different organisations is really starting to bear fruit. Teun: ‘There are many examples of how former rivalry or sometimes just plain ignorance led to wasted resources. Organisations set up duplicate structures, supported people wrongly, or sent away the people they could not help.’ Talimba: ‘This is different now. For example, we see where different partners work in the same district they have started to refer young people to partners – to make sure they are helped quickly and correctly. When they organise training they let each other’s staff participate. Or they contribute to each other’s training with their own expertise.’ ‘It is interesting to see how rivalry between organisations has lessened and the interests of the people we are trying to support comes first,’ says Teun. ‘Organisations are becoming more mature, more self conscious and aware of their own strength.’ ‘With the Organisational Capacity Assessment the partners can actually show they have grown,’ according to Talimba: ‘In Malawi, Unite for Body Rights is already being used as an example of best practice.’

Commitment

To realise these advantages there has to be not only additional funding but partners must also be committed to invest in their relationships with the other organisations. Teun: ‘As an observer in different partnerships, it is clear to me who are more committed than others. I often work with country teams and sometimes it is hard to get the teams together.’ Talimba agrees: ‘Some of our partners are very committed, others simply have other priorities, or do not have the capacity. An eye opener for me was some time ago when

Rutgers annual overview 2014

we had to write a work plan, but none of the partners really wanted to take the lead. One partner stood up and said, Okay, we are not looking forward to writing a work plan, but it’s really important so we will make sure it gets done.’

Working in communities

‘For me to sit in an office all day is sometimes very hard,’ Talimba admits. ‘I used to work in the communities, speaking directly with the survivors of sexual and gender based violence. Now I have to think about plans and strategies, write reports, and organise meetings. Sometimes I miss being in the communities and being directly in touch with the people we support.’ ‘I came into this line of work because I want girls to have a brighter future by having an education and by being able to make informed choices around sex and sexuality. It is really inspiring to see how the combined programme has a far larger impact in the villages than we could have made with each of our organisations on our own.’

The SRHR Alliance

The SRHR Alliance works in 11 countries on two programmes: Unite For Body Rights! and Access, Services, Knowledge. In the Alliance for United for Body Rights! Rutgers, AMREF Flying Doctors, Simavi, Choice and Dance4Life work together with 5 partners in Malawi. These partners are CAVWOC (Centre for Alternatives for Victimized Women and Children), CHRR (Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation), FPAM (Family Planning Association of Malawi), YECE (Youth Empowerment and Civic Education) and YONECO (Youth Net and Counselling).

Talimba Bandawe ‘In Malawi, Unite for Body Rights is already being used as an example of best practice.’

Teun Visser ‘Being in Lilongwe regularly makes it much easier to understand the problems the organisations are facing.’

The

female condom in the spotlights

The success of the conference was cruelly overshadowed, however, by the MH17 airline disaster. On board were five prominent Dutch AIDS researchers and advocates travelling to the conference, including the first UAFC coordinator, Lucie van Mens.

Prime example of a PPP

In August, the Dutch website OneWorld ran a feature on UAFC as a successful public-private partnership (PPP). ‘Each partner performs a different role,’ Vincent Snijders of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains in the interview. ‘Rutgers is active in the field of policy direction and communication relating to female condoms, while Oxfam Novib bears primary responsibility for project and contract management. The ministry itself serves mainly as a financier, while also endeavouring to bring the female condom to the attention of major organisations, such as the UN. I+solutions counsels potential new manufacturers on the best means of introducing their female condom to the global market. After all, the more suppliers there are, the cheaper and more readily accessible the female condom will become. UAFC seeks to partner private businesses in Nigeria, Cameroon and Mozambique, including hairdressing salons, pharmacies and corner shops. It also forges business relationships with condom manufacturers. It nevertheless sets great store by maintaining brand neutrality. UAFC has consciously opted to operate independently, with a view to promoting a greater variety of condoms.

Dance for Demand

The Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) programme attracted a great deal of attention in 2014. This helped to put the potential of the female condom to prevent both sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy firmly on the world map.

AIDS conference in Melbourne

At the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2014, UAFC stole the show with a replicated African hairdressing salon. In Cameroon and Nigeria, the hairdresser’s is one of the places one can gain information about female condoms, and where they are also available. UAFC representatives staffing the stand at the conference talked to policy makers, like-minded organisations, activists and journalists. Armed with Bellytrays (mobile vending trays) they mingled with visitors, demonstrating the various models of female condoms available.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

On 16 September, Global Female Condom Day, dance events are to be held throughout the world to raise awareness of the female condom. Rutgers is organising this global campaign with its US colleagues PATH, CHANGE and NFCC, and Nigerian partner organisation ARFH. Video clips of people dancing are already being shared enthusiastically on social media. Various activities will be staged around the dance events to draw the attention of policy makers to the issue of female condoms.

A brighter future for young people in

Surinam

In 2014, Rutgers launched a coaching programme aimed at providing sexuality education to the youth of Surinam between the ages of 15 and 25. We run the Mi Tamara (‘My Future’) programme in cooperation with two local organisations committed to reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy. Sixteen percent of Surinam’s expectant mothers are between 15 and 19 years old. Every year, 250 girls enroll in the ‘Teenmums’ project of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Our activities throughout

Europe

Rutgers made considerable headway throughout Europe during 2014. We translated our teaching package Relationships and Sexual Health Education into English for use in Great Britain. However, organisations from various other European countries also approached Rutgers in 2014, to seek support or to boost their expertise.

Lack of education and confidence

Teenage pregnancy occurs mainly among the country’s more vulnerable socio-economic groups and in unstable families where the parents are often absent. The lengthy absences mean a lack of sexuality education is combined with a lack of parenting, making young people vulnerable: they prove less able to be resilient or responsible when experimenting with sex. As a result girls often get pregnant at an early age and leave school prematurely to take care of their child.

Pooling knowledge

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association expressed interest in our Totally Sexy teaching materials, which are aimed at young people with disabilities, their parents and professional carers. Rutgers was able to develop this package of materials thanks to resources provided by the IPPF Innovation Fund. The package is currently being translated and adapted for use in the Bulgarian setting. Rutgers is also using the materials to train a number of Bulgarian professionals in making sexual matters easier to discuss with young people with disabilities. They will then proceed to train fellow professionals throughout the country. Paulien van Haastrecht, Programmes Manager in the Netherlands at Rutgers: ‘We were pleasantly surprised at both the scope of this cooperation throughout Bulgaria, and the frankness of the Bulgarian organisations in tackling issues of sexuality.’

Macedonia

We also received a request for support from the Health Education and Research Association (H.E.R.A.) in Macedonia. At its behest, our experts have started training university lecturers in Skopje. In addition, we are supporting the Commission for Protection from Discrimination in Macedonia in its efforts to secure equal treatment for LGBTs. We provide this support in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, and with advice from COC, the Dutch gay rights organisation.

Cyprus

The two-year exchange project entitled Keep me Safe was completed in 2014. Of the twelve IPPF member associations participating in the project, we were paired with Cyprus. The aim of the exchange project was to make European youths with an intellectual disability more resilient to sexual abuse. Rutgers trained Cypriot carers in how to discuss sexuality with young people with an intellectual disability. These carers then proceeded to train fellow professionals, parents and the young people themselves. Keep me Safe has succeeded in placing the issue of the resilience of young people with an intellectual disability firmly on the political agenda throughout Europe.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

This situation was mapped out by Eugenie Waterberg, who has carried out research into teenage mothers in Surinam. She put Rutgers in touch with Surinamese organisations the COCON Foundation (Stichting Communicatie, Cultuur en Ontwikkeling) and Prohealth. With them we are jointly developing the Mi Tamara programme. Mi Tamara offers group discussions and coaching & counselling sessions to young people and public information meetings for parents and carers.

Boosting resilience

During the sessions Surinamese teenagers learn to discuss sexuality. The aim is to boost both their sexual resilience and their social skills, with a view to preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. As well as working directly with young people the programme also comprises training courses for locally recruited coaches.

Success

Eugenie says the signs are that the programme will be successful: ‘The young people themselves are eager to discuss their problems and seek out coaching. We are working to involve prominent figures from the young people’s own communities. The coaches we engage are equipped to offer active and informed counselling in the area of youth sexuality education and development.’

Anyone who thinks that intimacy and sex are no longer important to the elderly is sadly mistaken. The readership of Plus Magazine, the over-fifties, are apparently generally satisfied with what goes on in their beds, even though their health may be on the decline. To them, intimacy is very important.

From Plus Magazine

Removing the taboo from sex and the

Almost half the over-fifties respondents make love at least once a week. When asked to give their sex life a mark out of ten, 34% of respondents awarded it an eight or over. 49% of Plus readers experience physical difficulties in bed or are not comfortable with their own bodies. A fifth of Plus readers no longer make love at all.

elderly

In June, Plus Magazine – a Dutch periodical for the overfifties – published the results of a survey on readers’ sex lives, carried out in collaboration with Rutgers. This and the ensuing media attention opened the floodgates for the discussion of issues relating to the elderly and sex in 2014.

Laurent de Vries ‘It is high time for an action plan in the field of care for the elderly.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

The elderly: also the boss in your own bed?

In the Johannes Rutgers Lecture 2014, entitled Baas in eigen bed or ‘The boss in your own bed’, Kim Putters, Director of the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), addressed the topic of sex and the elderly. He insists that this is one of the taboos surrounding sex which has yet to be challenged: ‘By 2060, the Netherlands will have some five million inhabitants over the age of sixty-five, half of whom will actually be over seventy-five. And these are increasingly highly educated, emancipated people with substantial purchasing power and minds of their own, who remain eager and able to experience different forms of sex.’ Dr Putters considers it time that a strong case be made in favour of sexual liberty in nursing and care homes. He went on to denounce the media for promulgating the taboo surrounding the elderly and sex.

Care for the elderly

Laurent de Vries, Governor of Dutch care institute Viattence and a member of Rutgers’s Supervisory Board, also recognises the problem: ‘There are 411 protocols in place in the sector of care for the elderly. And not a single one of them makes any mention of hugging or holding someone’s hand, despite the fact that warmth and intimacy are generally considered basic human needs.’ Laurent de Vries considers it high time for an action plan in the field of care for the elderly. ‘We need to make sexuality a subject that can be discussed. Make physical and mental sexuality a part of care training.’

Karlijn de Blécourt ‘People experience problems of a sexual nature or have questions about sex at various stages of their lives.

Discussing sex in

health care settings

Experiences from the Netherlands In 2014 Rutgers asked Dutch healthcare professionals, ‘Do you devote attention to your clients’ sexual wellbeing?’

Its new website Seksindepraktijk.nl, launched in May, offers tips and tools to make sex a more approachable subject in health and care settings because, according to the site’s editor Karlijn de Blécourt, too little attention is devoted to questions of sex by this sector. ‘People experience problems of a sexual nature or have questions about sex at various stages of their lives,’ she says. ‘Sometimes these problems are a direct consequence of the medical complaint that has brought them to the doctor. But patients can find it difficult to discuss intimate problems with their GP. And care professionals can feel awkward asking their patients about their sex lives. The result is that people’s sexual worries and problems are often not addressed.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Do professionals really need this guidance?

Karlijn: ‘A survey revealed that while professionals in the Netherlands agree it is their responsibility to cover the topic of sex when giving consultations, they appear to lack both the skills for doing this as well as examples of good practice. They asked: ‘How should I raise the subject? At what point? How do I deal with the cultural and age differences between me and my clients?’ Seksindepraktijk.nl provides the answers.’

From GP to obstetrician to institution

The website provides information on a range of topics in the area of sexuality, as well as numerous practical tips and tools. Video clips explain how to open and sustain discussion of sexual matters with clients in settings like the GP’s surgery, the antenatal clinic, the youth healthcare sector and in care for the elderly. For institutions, there are useful guidelines, brochures and training materials, and guidance in the development of sexuality policy.

Expert guidance

The Seksindepraktijk.nl site was developed with the help of a large group of committed care professionals and a number of specialist Dutch agencies, including STI AIDS Netherlands and MOVISIE, contributed their expertise. They have formed an editorial board that provides continuing guidance and experience, and act as ambassadors for the issue of sexuality in the care sector.

What have we learned?

‘One of most crucial insights we gained is that doctors hold primarily inquiry and problem-based consultations, while practice assistants and nurses can be more focused on clients’ general wellbeing,’ Karlijn reports. ‘So practice assistants and nurses have become an important target group for us.’ It is clearly a challenge to reach busy professionals, but those who are willing to access the site and adopt some of its ideas will find they can discuss sexual matters more easily with their clients.

Roundtable on a cooperative approach to

young people ‘We are circles which overlap slightly’

1 Robin van Bremekamp (Chair), Consultant on alliances and partnerships at Common Eye 2 Ineke van der Vlugt, Programme Coordinator Sexual Development & Education at Rutgers 3 Wijnand van der Werf, Campaign Leader Youth at STI AIDS Netherlands and Brand Manager at STOP AIDS NOW! 4 Elsemieke de Jong, Executive Director of CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality, an international youth-led organisation 5 Silke David, Programme Leader Sexual Health at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM); coordinates grants to organisations including Rutgers and STI AIDS Netherlands on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). 6 Rebekka van Roemburg, Head of the Health and AIDS division at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs up until March 2015 7 Marijke Priester, Alliance Manager SRHR at Rutgers 8 Aika van der Kleij, Programme Manager SRHR at Simavi 9 Robert van der Gaag, Health Promotion Officer at Hollands Midden Public Health Service

Rutgers annual overview 2014

One stormy evening last winter, in a cafe in Utrecht, several of the partners so important to Rutgers’s success gathered to reflect on their cooperation to provide sexuality education to young people. Here is a brief summary of that insightful discussion. Partnerships and alliances are crucial to Rutgers’s work to improve the sexual health of young people, in the Netherlands as well as in Asia and Africa. For example, the Ministries of Health, Welfare and Sport and of Foreign Affairs strongly support civil society to build on each other’s strengths in reaching young people. In the Netherlands we work closely with STI AIDS Netherlands and others. Public Health Services are important intermediaries with the education sector. Within the SRHR Alliance we join forces with, among others, Simavi and CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality.

However, Programme Leader Sexual Health at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Silke Davids says: ‘Of course sound initiatives can be launched locally. Although the national organisations remain necessary to provide support, as well as carrying out research.’

Robin Bremekamp, consultant on alliances and partnerships, tries to clarify how these partners experience working with Rutgers, as a partner or commissioning organisation, and what the results of the collaboration are:

How successful is cooperation proving in the education of young people, both in the Netherlands and internationally? According to Robert van der Gaag, Health Promotion Officer at Hollands Midden Public Health Service, there are vast differences in the way the various public health services in the Netherlands provide support to schools in the field of sexuality education. ‘School heads generally leave it to the teaching team to decide whether relationships and sexuality lessons are actually given. And the team often has limited competence.’ Ineke van der Vlugt, Programme Coordinator at Rutgers, agrees with him. ‘Teachers are inclined to opt for the less controversial topics: falling in love, friendship … Topical matters may nevertheless prompt schools to tackle some of the more difficult issues, such as sending sexual text messages, sexual harassment and social safety. However, some teachers may lack the confidence and/or skills to do so.’ Marijke Priester, Alliance Manager at Rutgers, has also encountered this problem overseas. ‘We know how sexuality education and behaviour change models work, of course. But do health service staff also know, in the event that young people approach them?’ And, according to Elsemieke de Jong, Executive Director of CHOICE, on an international scale sexuality education is generally not covered comprehensively either. ‘We have to look for scope within the context of what is considered taboo.’

In other words: not all implementing organisations are adequately equipped to practise the methods? Robert confirms this: ‘It is perhaps also worthwhile examining the implications of budget cuts on local activities. After all, not all public health services are capable of offering schools the envisaged level of support.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Are you succeeding in involving young people in information programmes? Wijnand van der Werf, Campaign Leader Youth at STI AIDS Netherlands and Brand Manager at STOP AIDS NOW!, explains that the campaigns are largely co-creations, in which young people more or less devise the campaign themselves. ‘We mainly provide coaching. Young people also serve as a useful means for us to access their networks.’ ‘It is actually easier to get young people directly involved than small children,’ according to Ineke. ‘We have to keep abreast of issues affecting young children through parents and teachers, of course. And the child helpline is another useful source of information to us.’ CHOICE works together with youth organisations. ‘It is essential to provide young people with a body through which they can express their views, as they usually have very little say in the cultures in which we operate,’ Elsemieke says. Aika van der Kleij, Programme Manager SRHR at Simavi, confirms this: ‘Young people in Africa and Asia do not readily discuss matters of sexuality with adults. Not with a teacher, a health service employee, or even their parents. We therefore engage slightly older youths to impart information. Rutgers trains these young people, who then proceed to cooperate with the public health services.’

Government departments are promoting cooperation. What are your experiences in this regard? Rebekka van Roemburg is head of the Health and AIDS division at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She reckons that an individual organisation is not capable of submitting proposals for major programmes. ‘You simply cannot manage it on your own. Forming an alliance allows you to complement one another, while it also makes for greater scope.’ Aika agrees with Rebekka and says that cooperating with Rutgers has improved Simavi. ‘We have a more progressive attitude nowadays. In addition to targeting maternal mortality in the broadest context, we now focus sharply on young people and the prevention of unintended pregnancy.’

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‘Although the Ministry of Health basically insisted that we become a member of the SRHR Alliance, the level of Rutgers’s cooperation has nevertheless continued to expand naturally,’ Marijke says. ‘Organisations in the various countries are very keen to learn from and therefore visit one another. Our joint Theory of Change serves as a stable reference point in this regard.’ ‘That’s right’, Ineke agrees. ‘Rutgers would have sought to forge partnerships even if the powers that be hadn’t insisted on it. However, you do need to reassess matters regularly: ‘What is our latest joint aim? What is the added value of each member? Do we need new partners?’.’

Does cooperation affect the positioning of your organisation? That risk is always present, according to Silke. ‘Some organisations may appear broadly similar at first glance, but this is not necessarily the case. While STI AIDS Netherlands and the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)/Centre for Healthy Living both pursue the aim of combatting infectious diseases, there is more to the prevention of STIs than simply the use of condoms. Rutgers is the logical partner in these circumstances. However, you have to consider carefully whether you wish to retain your unique selling point.’ ‘I basically view our organisations as circles which overlap slightly’, says Aika. ‘You have to be able to continue doing your own thing. While your own strategic positioning remains vital, you also need to seek to cooperate wherever you can.’ Elsemieke finds it is a little different in reality: ‘The first thing you need to do is ensure you acquire a grant. Only then can you proceed to decide upon the content of your programme, together with partners.’ ‘It should not just be about the future of the organisations’, according to Rebekka. ‘The most important thing is to impress upon the funding agency that you have clear added value to offer. And that is perhaps a little easier for specialist organisations.’

What is the key to successful collaboration? Marijke finds it’s important that staff become both well acquainted with their organisation’s added value and used to expressing it. Certain skills are also required, however, to participate in cooperation processes with other organisations, to establish the interests at stake within them, and to deal with sketchy mandates. ‘Collaboration is very much a matter of trust and transparency’, Ineke says. ‘You have to get to know each other, as well as one another’s expertise and working culture. The success of a partnership depends on a favourable match of people. You also have to be able to switch loyalties, opting for your own organisation the one time and a partner the other.’

Rutgers annual overview 2014

How Conchita is teaching us to think

out box of the

In 2014, Austrian singer Conchita Wurst stood up for everyone who defies our urge to pigeonhole people. She won the Eurovision Song Contest. Blog by Tamar Doorduin Countless song contest viewers took this ‘bearded lady’ and her rendition of Rise Like a Phoenix to their hearts. Conchita’s performance called for respect for people who are ‘different’, and a large part of Europe sat up and took note. She also caused plenty of confusion, and even triggered aversion. Regardless of the response, she succeeded in making it clear to a vast audience that not everyone can be simply labelled a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’. Despite the huge number of points that Conchita’s Euro vision performance accumulated, the song contest revealed just how much opposition and aversion there is to people who are not typically male or female. Thousands of people in Belarus signed a petition opposing her participation, while thousands subscribed to an Austrian Facebook page bearing a largely similar message. Viewers in Russia were even advised to turn off their TV sets for the duration of her performance. In the Netherlands, Conchita evoked not so much a sense of aversion, but rather confusion: ‘Is that a

man or a woman?’ I myself realised that I was very curious to learn ‘what’ she actually was: a drag queen performing as a woman for entertainment, or a trans person who feels both male and female? Or perhaps, was Conchita both of these: a trans person with a non-binary gender identity, putting up a drag show for entertainment? Our desire for clarity regarding a person’s gender is deeply rooted. If you see a person walking down the street, it is difficult to look at that person without noticing their gender. When you enter a clothes shop, you automatically look for your ‘own’ department: men’s or women’s fashion. And a visit to the toilet literally leaves you the choice of only two ‘boxes’. Gender is everywhere. The two ‘types’ are generally clearly distinguishable from one another, and if you inadvertently do something that is apparently the domain of the opposite sex, then others waste no time at all in pointing this out to you. It actually gets on many people’s nerves if someone fails to fall into one of the two categories. A survey carried out by Rutgers revealed that fifty-seven percent of Dutch citizens consider it important to know whether a person is male or female. In fact, one in five admitted that they would not want to associate with a person if this were not clear. Even if you are not ‘opposed’ to people who cannot be pigeonholed, it can still be difficult to comprehend: how do they fit within my frame of reference? How should I address them? If a person such as Conchita Wurst were truly the exception to the rule, then perhaps this pigeonholing would not be that problematic. However, there are all sorts of people who do not fit neatly into the gender boxes we apply. There are ‘masculine women’ and ‘feminine men’ for instance, who do not conform to our ‘genderalisations’ in the way they dress or behave. There are also people whose physical features are different from our normative idea of a ‘normally sexed body’: they

Rutgers annual overview 2014

have an intersex condition. For instance, a young woman in England began sprouting facial hair when she was just eleven. Although this made her feel insecure for many years, she ultimately decided to stop being ashamed and grow a full beard. And finally, there are those people who simply do not fit into one box in terms of their gender identity – how they really feel deep inside. For example, they may feel simultaneously male and female, neither of the two, somewhere in between, or even fluid. And yet very little attention is devoted to this specific group of transgender people at the moment. The trans people we see on TV have generally changed from ‘he’ to ‘she’ or vice versa. Nevertheless, non-binary gender identities are far more common than one might think. Almost half the trans people who participated in our latest trans survey identify as something other than male or female. The majority of this group would prefer to express the full range of their gender identity in their daily lives, but remain unable to do so. All too often they will choose to present as either male or female to the outside world, only expressing their non-binary identity behind closed doors. This is not really strange, considering all the objections and confusion surrounding the issue. And yet Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest, in spite of, or perhaps thanks to her non-binary gender expression. Although Conchita herself does not identify as trans, anyone who thinks that her appearance is a gimmick is very much mistaken. Conchita Wurst takes the matter extremely seriously and she has a statement to make, which resounds in the lyrics of her song. Her message is basically: ‘No matter what you wish to look like, you should never be discriminated against on the basis of your appearance.’ The huge number of points that Conchita received should therefore be viewed as support for the point of view that people who are ‘different’ are also entitled to be treated with respect.

20 The sexual health van LGBTs in the Netherlands

A world of

difference

The Rutgers’ study entitled Een wereld van verschil or ‘A world of difference’ presents a unique insight into the sexual health of lesbian women, gay men, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBTs) in the Netherlands. It should be a matter of great concern that LGBTs in the Netherlands often suffer intimidating behaviour and sexual violence. The prevention of such violence (and identification of tell-tale signs) is of vital importance. We found that transgenders are generally less satisfied with their sex lives than other people. These problems are often associated with a sense of dissatisfaction with their bodies. Those transgenders who have undergone an operation have the most positive attitude. The variety of sexual preferences present among LGBTs is considerable, while there is also a striking number of ‘gender identities’. ‘No matter how many boxes we think up with which to categorise people, some simply never fit,’ said Laurens Buijs, sociologist at the University of Amsterdam, presenting the report. And this also explains the title: A world of difference.

Doubly vulnerable Consequences of sexual violence against transgenders Transgenders both feel and act differently to their birth gender. And this may prompt negative reactions within their environment. Such circumstances can greatly affect transgenders’ self-confidence and resilience. For instance, they may become more vulnerable to aggression and intimidating behaviour. Based on eighteen in-depth interviews, the report Dubbel kwetsbaar or ‘Doubly vulnerable’ offers insight into the violence that transgenders in the Netherlands are subjected to, the risk factors, the consequences of violence and their experiences in the field of care. The researchers concluded with recommendations for the improvement of both prevention and care.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Towards

accepting sexual diversity

‘When he stood up in front of his colleagues and announced that he loved men, it gave me goosebumps,’ says Jo Reinders, Technical advisor Youth and Sexual Health, of a training session on sexual diversity sensitization in Indonesia.

Rutgers has been working with sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations around the world for many years. We have found that cultural taboos around sexual diversity can limit the effectiveness of our tools and programmes. The same can be said of sexual and genderbased violence. For our partner organisations these topics can become blind spots in their work in communities but also in their own functioning. At Rutgers we believe one cannot work effectively on sexual and reproductive health and rights when some of those rights are ignored. Rutgers has developed ways to help partners increase recognition and acceptance of sexual diversity within their own organisations. We support them in adapting their policies and practices to be more inclusive. Rutgers’s sensitization training enables their staff to acknowledge and prevent any discrimination and stigmatization towards colleagues who are different from the cultural norm. Only this way can the organisations be more inclusive in their support to clients. In 2014 these kinds of training sessions were organised in Malawi, Indonesia and Tanzania. In one exercise the training shows how love and sexual pleasure are universal, not related to what gender you are and who you love.

Jo Reinders ‘When he stood up in front of his colleagues and announced that he loved men, it gave me goosebumps.’

22 What people say ‘Being a midwife makes you the ideal person to discuss sexuality. You have personal contact with people in an intimate phase of their lives.’ Dieuwke Ottens, Seksindepraktijk.nl (Discussing Sex in Healthcare Practice)

 ‘The new guidelines for the sexual development of children (0-19 years) contain useful tools for professionals in youth healthcare, and for parents. The guidelines address the needs of young people in an appealing way.’ Oudersonline.nl (Parents online)

 ‘Long Live Love’ shows that the best promotion of healthcare is possible in the Netherlands. This is based on theory and evaluated in scientific research: wonderful work!’ Gerjo Kok, Professor of Applied Psychology, University of Maastricht.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Sex and the

media What should you tell your kids about sex? How do you stop your children seeing the sex portrayed in pornography as the norm? How can you improve your sex life?

Sex was a popular topic on Dutch television throughout 2014. Rutgers’ experts were increasingly approached to provide professional input, both behind and in front of the cameras. As sexuality is a highly sensitive topic we were pleased to be able to make the subtle distinctions and interpretations required to adopt a positive, non-sensational approach to the issue. By collaborating with programme makers we were able to exercise some influence on the impression of sex and sexuality they presented to the Dutch viewing public.

‘Sexuality education really helps one to be open minded and make informed choices in life. This is why it is so important for all young people to embrace this.’ Humprey Nabimanya, Reach a hand, Uganda

 Many children become acquainted with internet pornography at an early age, unbeknown to their parents. As a body providing public information on a range of issues on Dutch TV, SIRE (Society for Ideal Advertising) is keen to encourage parents to prepare their children for some of the more graphic images they might encounter (often inadvertently) on the internet. Rutgers has therefore been asked to advise on their campaign ‘Talk to your child about sex, before the internet does’.

‘Rutgers addresses the unspoken issues and taboos related to sex and sexuality in a conservative and post-conflict society, while at the same time respecting cultural values. We consider this a contribution to creating a more peaceful society with respect and dignity for all.’ Jolke Oppewal, Ambassador of the Netherlands in Burundi

 Dr Corrie is a character appearing on Dutch School TV’s (NTR) weekly news bulletins. She gives sex education to children from the age of nine upwards, and answers their queries on puberty, relationships and sexuality. Rutgers advises the makers and consults on the topics and scripts for the series. The programme is designed to broach the subject in a rather playful manner, prompting further discussion of the themes at home or in the classroom in the same, informal atmosphere.

 ‘I appreciated Rutgers’s thorough and integrated approach in the MenCare+ programme in Indonesia and South Africa. I was also impressed by the level of knowledge, expertise and interest shown when I met staff in the Netherlands for a lively and informed discussion on men and feminism.’ Nikki van der Gaag, consultant and author of ‘Feminism and Men’

One of the Dutch commercial channels broadcasts a programme called Sex Academy, in which six couples go back to school to improve their sex lives. The programme’s celebrity presenter, Belgian sexologist Goedele Liekens, gives participating couples and viewers lessons in love.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

24 The sexual health of young people is key to economic progress A quarter of the world’s population is under 24 years old and 90 percent is living in developing countries. Now is the time to invest in the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people. This is essential for developing economies to be able to reap the benefits of the ‘demographic dividend’. Such a dividend can be achieved when a country’s working age population is larger than the dependent population that is younger or older, says The Power of I.8 billion: Youth and the Transformation of the Future, UNFPA’s 2014 State of the World Population Report. This year Rutgers launched UNFPA’s report in the Netherlands in partnership with CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality. During the event we showed how promoting young people’s sexual rights and their access to comprehensive sexuality education can help realise the demographic dividend.

News from the

country offices

Opportunity

‘The Power of 1.8 billion is one of the most significant World Population Reports in a long time,’ says Bruce Campbell, Director of UNFPA’s Technical Division. ‘The demographic dividend is a profound boost for development and a unique chance to end poverty.’ In the 1950s and 60s, several East Asian economies invested heavily in young people’s capabilities and in expanding their access to voluntary family planning, enabling individuals to start families later and have fewer children. The result was unprecedented economic growth. The Republic of Korea, for example, saw its per capita gross domestic product grow about 2,200 per cent between 1950 and 2008.

Demographic Dividend

Demographic shifts taking place in about 60 countries are creating an opening, a window of opportunity. If sub-Saharan African countries were able to repeat the East Asian experience, they could increase economic growth, by as much as 500 billion USD a year, for 30 years. Growth at that level has the potential to catapult economies forward and lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. ‘The economic argument to invest in young people’s education, and sexual and reproductive health and rights is often very powerful.’ Jeroen Verheul, Netherlands’ Ambassador at Large for Aid and Trade.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Rutgers Indonesia Ending violence against women and engaging men through music ‘Just one word, fun!’ said Dwi Priyono, describing the song creation workshop he had just attended, run with the Rifka Annisa organisation, partner in the Indonesia MenCare+ programme. Just one of many of the programme’s diverse interventions, the project to work with and through musicians in the Jogjakarta region is maybe its most imaginative. Rifka Annisa worked for nine months with an established young song writers’ forum in the city of Jogjakarta. Music is an important part of the culture: by targeting musicians the programme hopes to raise awareness among artists who will address the issue of gender-based violence in their own work. The process started with a song creation workshop and continued with sessions resulting in a performance to the community, journalists and NGOs. After making a recording, an album of songs was launching in November 2014. Most of the participants are young people who are already musicians and song writers. After working with Rifka Annisa, these students and artists feel that they know more about violence against women: ‘Every time the topic of violence against women was raised, be it through a community forum or in the media, I always used to avoid it. However, due to my work in the song writers’ forum with Rifka Annisa, I have no choice but to get involved in this programme. I was clueless at first, but I let it flow and start to learn a lot. This is tough: since I am a Javanese male, based on my ethnic rules, male and female should fit to the rules made for each other assigned at birth. I hope that I can continue to practise the way I address this concept,’ said Didik Adi Sukmoko, coordinator of young song writers’ forum.

As well as increasing their knowledge of gender-based violence the participants get to share experiences with other musicians. Most of the songs have been presented on Jogja TV and by some Jogjakarta radio stations; this is expected to expand awareness about ending violence against women and the need to engage men. Some schools have also been targeted. By reaching different communities the project recognises the diversity found in the Jogjakarta culture. The album consists of 20 songs with the themes ranging from ending violence against woman, masculinity, male involvement in childcare and sharing domestic roles. If you would like to hear the album you can access it at: http://bit.ly/1MkzhFe

Reaching out to young people in prison through the ASK programme We believe that young people have the right to get information and services on SRHR no matter where they live, including those who live in prison. Based on our findings, many of the young people who are in prison are there because of convictions for sexual violence. At the same time, living in prison will put young people at greater risk of unsafe sexual activities, sexual violence and harrassment. Yayasan Pelita Ilmu, our Jakarta-based partner extended the work of the ASK programme in reaching out to hardto-reach young people to two juvenile prisons, one for boys, the other for girls. We enhanced our work in SRHR by using popular culture to attract young people to our programme and their enthusiasm exceeded our expectations. Not surprisingly, reaching out to these sites is challenging. Even the popularity of the programme presents problems, as the prison administration cannot always allow everyone who would like to participate to join our sessions.

Supporting a youth-led organisation in Papua Rutgers is proud to have our first partnership with a youth-led organisation in Papua, the Youth Forum Papua. YFP has members of all kinds of youth organisation in Papua; we have supported the YFP since its inception. Youth Forum Papua has worked with dance4life, using their skills and resources to establish themselves as the only youth-led organisation working on SRHR in Papua. The work of YFP has attracted local government to support the activities that have been planned by reaching out to young people. And they have worked with two government agencies, the AIDS commission in Papua and the National Family Planning Agency. As a result YFP has been able to mobilise young people as well as support the government’s programme through a youth counselling and information centre. YFP realises that partnership with government needs to be maintained and sustained to ensure that SRHR remains on the government agenda. The geographical concentration of Indonesia’s populations and services is an issue: as an organisation based in eastern part of Indonesia, YFP’s access to information has been a challenge. However through its current partnership with Rutgers, YFP is able to expand and share knowledge with other SRHR organisations from western and central parts of the country.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

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26 Rutgers Uganda Our new Country Director about Uganda’s main challenges and opportunities People in East Africa face many obstacles to fulfilling their sexual and reproductive health and rights. To support the many international programmes and projects that are carried out by Rutgers in the region, we will open an office in Uganda. Anslem Wandega is our new Country Director. Wandega worked as a researcher and advocate with the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) in Kampala and Addis Ababa. For the past few years he has been the Executive Director of ANPPCAN Uganda Chapter. ‘We worked directly with young people and women at risk of gender-based violence, and I am proud of how ANPPCAN started using an evidence-based approach in its advocacy towards government, professionals and the general public.’

What motivates you to work on sexual and reproductive health and rights? ‘I have seen how people struggle with sexuality, with sexual and gender-based violence, unsafe abortions, unplanned pregnancies, unmanageable families, to name but a few. My cousin died from intense bleeding as she secretly tried to use crude methods to abort an unplanned pregnancy. By the time it was discovered, it was too late. I still believe that my cousin’s story would have been different if society had been more open to allowing young people to receive sexuality education early enough to enable them to make informed decisions when they need to!’

Anslem Wandega ‘I believe my cousin’s story would have been different if she had been allowed to receive sexuality education.’ What is the main challenge in Uganda? ‘An important challenge will be the uptake of information: will people listen, will they share the information, what about the sources of destructive information? There are also challenges in the legal environment. But I believe that when we build demand from the grassroots, this too can change. We have to link our work to real life situations, and show how sexual and reproductive health and rights touch us all. Sexuality education can be an effective instrument to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights.’

And a major opportunity? ‘Uganda is very diverse. In some regions there are harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, but in others there is the phenomenon of labia elongation and informal sex education by aunties and uncles. Many parents and

Rutgers annual overview 2014

28 professionals do not feel free to talk about sex or think their children are not yet of such an age. However, police statistics show that adolescents as young as 14 years are having sex. Some are in marriages while others are having children. They need to be well informed before they are faced with life changing events such as body changes during adolescence, an unwanted pregnancy or becoming HIVpositive. Introducing sexuality education at a young age will prevent many sexual and reproductive health and rights challenges. Education will help to reduce discrimination around sexual diversity. It will be very phased and we cannot change attitudes in a year or two, but with the right message delivered in the right way we will be able to make changes.’

contextualized comprehensive sexuality education curriculum in Pakistan. The taskforce will be leading negotiations with education departments in provinces where efforts to advocate for CSE have stalled. Continuing collaboration with country-level partners has also strengthened the Pakistan SRHR Alliance and the Pakistan Gender and Reproductive Network (PGRN).

SRHR Sign Language

As part of its ASK – Access, Services and Knowledge – programme, Rutgers Pakistan collaborated with the Family Educational Services Foundation to develop a 500-word dictionary of SRHR sign language, helping teachers, educators and parents communicate with young deaf people about their SRHR needs. It complements the existing Life Skills Based Education Handbook, CD-ROM and online curriculum.

E & M (electronic and mobile) Health Initiatives

Rutgers Pakistan Year of Diversification

Pakistan is a country of great diversity: of cultures, religious views, populations, attitudes and behaviour, access to technology and marginalized groups. To meet the challenges of this diversity Rutgers Pakistan has sought to diversify projects, methods and technologies across its Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights programming. Rutgers Pakistan’s successes have relied on strategic partnerships with international and local non-government organisations as described below. Over the year a total of 20 partnerships were adopted, including seven international partners, six youth-led organisations, six networking partners and one technical partner.

Partnerships

The MDG5b Alliance, led by Rutgers Pakistan, engaged with the Government to support preparations for the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) 2014 and strengthen its delegation, which ultimately included our country representative. With the input of civil society organisations, Rutgers submitted a draft Country Statement to the Government of Pakistan, and organised meetings between the MDG 5b Alliance, UNFPA and Government representatives to discuss CPD strategy. Rutgers greatly enhanced its role in the EVAW (End Violence Against Women and Girls) Alliance meetings. EVAW played an important role in preparation for the 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Rutgers participated in the National Action and Coordinating Group against Violence against Women and Children (NACG) and was part of the sub-committe working on child marriage, sharing our best practice for advocacy on child marriage with the participants. In 2014 the Rutgers team trained 210 girls between the ages of 16 and 19 to prevent child marriage. Rutgers is a member of the Alliance Against Child Marriages – Punjab and Sindh Chapters, comprising organisations mandated to advocate for the elimination of child marriage through legislative reforms in those provinces like the new Child Marriage Restraint Act 2014 in Sindh. Rutgers is part of the CSE Taskforce that has designed a

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Rutgers Pakistan launched a website and a mobile messaging service to provide access to accurate SRHR information to young people as part of its ASK programme. In 2014 there were 21,000 visitors to www.youask.pk and 14,000 conversations on the ASK SMS Service. The initiatives have been well received, also proving effective in reaching women and marginalized groups.

Rutgers Pakistan in the media

Given the sensitive nature of SRHR programming in the country, some media backlash is usually to be expected, but during 2014 more than 120 news items, articles and blogs on SRHR were published without a single negative mention of Rutgers, its interventions or SRHR principles. Pakistan’s media demonstrated a real understanding of the importance of SRHR reporting and the role the media have to play. Another highlight was the international profile given to Rutgers’s work in Pakistan by Bina Shah’s New York Times story on sex education. http://nyti.ms/1MkBbpm

Influence within the United Nations Rutgers tried to influence various United Nations inter governmental processes in 2014, including the reassessment of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme and setting the Millennium Goals for sustainable development. Together with our allies, we grasped the opportunity of every relevant session to ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights became embedded in resolutions: wording is of vital importance in such negotiations. At the ICPD in Cairo in 1994, 179 countries agreed to pursue population issues, with the basic point of departure of securing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. This resulted in the implementation of a pioneering international programme covering the next twenty years. 2014 was the year in which the programme came up for assessment: What had been achieved in the field of SRHR? Where were the shortfalls? Where did we need to redouble our efforts, and which new topics had emerged that had not yet been apparent twenty years before? It was therefore a crucial year in which to persuade governments to reiterate their support for the ICPD Programme. Another important international UN process was being carried out in parallel to the reassessment of the ICPD Programme. In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals were adopted, to be achieved by 2015. In 2014, new post2015 goals had to be established. To this end, sessions were held with 70 UN member states, with the mandate of developing a proposal containing new international goals. They agreed that seventeen objectives had to be set – the so-called sustainable development goals – in order to achieve sustainable social and economic development. This proposal is now on the UN agenda for 2015.

Collaboration with Foreign Affairs

Rutgers has long collaborated with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a view to securing people’s sexual and reproductive rights internationally. For instance, one of Rutgers’s advocacy officers, Hilde Kroes, has on several occasions been a member of Dutch negotiation delegations attending UN meetings on the topic. In fact, Rutgers’s and Hilde’s joint expertise and network have proven so valuable to the Ministry that she was seconded to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. This posting should enable her to focus more closely on the Netherlands’ contribution to the new development agenda, with particular attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights. After the secondment, the Ministry decided to offer her a permanent position.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

30 Making periods normal in India Girls and women throughout the world menstruate. And so long as having one’s period is a minor inconvenience at worst for the majority, women are able to live their lives as usual while menstruating. However, this is not the case for many women and girls in India. For instance, in India many girls are completely shocked the first time they menstruate, wondering ‘What is wrong with me? Am I ill, and about to die?’ They have not been prepared with any information on the matter: their mothers, schoolteachers and girlfriends have told them nothing about it. And this is only half the problem: sanitary towels and other products to absorb menstrual blood are not widely available – if at all – in rural areas. This creates a number of health risks. Furthermore, girls and women start lagging behind in education and employment, because they do not go to school or work while they are menstruating. Rutgers aims to address the issue by launching the ‘Making Periods Normal’ programme in collaboration with the organisations Simavi and Women on Wings. The Dutch Postcode Lottery has awarded us a two million euro grant for an information campaign in Indian schools and women’s groups. This will teach menstrual hygiene and management. We will also make suitable products available for girls and women to buy. This should go some way to making periods ‘normal’ in India too. ‘It occasionally happens that girls start bleeding at school. So, it is better that they stay at home while they are impure.’ An Indian boy ‘What do I avoid when I have my period? I don’t go outdoors. Nor do I cook or fetch water. I also refrain from washing myself for the first three days.’ A young Muslim mother

Winning

men’s hearts and minds

MenCare+ is the joint programme of Rutgers and Promundo US to engage men in gender equality in four countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Rwanda and South Africa. 2014 was its second year, a year when many initiatives came together and political momentum to engage men picked up.

‘Fathers grow into their role one day at a time …’ Participant of father group, South Africa

Changing policies

the men. While mothers generally have the opportunity for a long leave from work before and after giving birth with full or partial pay, this is different for men. In many countries fathers have only two or three days off after their child arrives. Rutgers supports the MenCare+ country partners in advocating for increased paternity leave and advocates for two weeks paid paternity leave in the Netherlands. When Dutch minister Asscher of Social Affairs announced an increase in paternity leave of three days of unpaid leave, Rutgers expressed its disappointment.

Advocacy to change policies in the four countries has started to bear fruit. In Rwanda, for example, officials in several districts have started to promote men’s greater involvement in maternal and child health and sexual and reproductive health services. Expectant fathers already report local health facilities are more welcoming when they seek to attend maternal and child health services. In New York, at the 58th UN Commission on the Status of Women, MenCare+ partners worked with their country delegations to include language in the final statement about fully engaging men and boys in eliminating discrimination and violence against women. A critical moment came when Rutgers, on behalf of MenCare+, was able to deliver an oral statement explaining why the involvement of men is essential to increasing gender equality. Rutgers emphasised the need to work with men as supportive partners in sexual and reproductive health and rights and the prevention of genderbased violence. ‘We need to create safe spaces for men and women to address harmful norms and work through past experiences of violence,’ the statement says. And becoming a father is a ‘life-event’, an opportunity to reach young men with a new perspective on what it means to be a man. During 2014 research and writing began for a global report on the State of the World’s Fathers to be published in 2015. This report will become an important advocacy instrument.

Paternity leave

Involving fathers in pregnancy, delivery and care of their new born children has great benefits for maternal and child health. It also increases the physical and mental health of

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Caring men becomes a hot issue

The second Global Symposium on Men and Boys took place in New Delhi in November. After the first symposium 5 years ago in Brazil with some 350 participants, this symposium now attracts over 2000 gender equality activists. MenCare+ partners and Rutgers were well presented and hosted different sessions, including inspiring open discussions. Gender justice became the new buzz term and people were invited to think beyond the ‘binary’. Rutgers created a glossy magazine that details the results of working with men in communities, making services more men friendly and advocating for policy change in Brazil, Indonesia, Rwanda and South Africa. The magazine also showcases how partners Mosaic and Sonke Gender Justice (South Africa), RWAMREC (Rwanda), Rutgers Indonesia and Promundo Brasil have each achieved close partnerships and collaborations with government agencies and departments, health services and male role models.

Impetus to

innovation ‘Leading and learning’. These are two of our core values. This means we must remain open to new ways of thinking and continue to develop innovative methods and promote them when they are successful. Rutgers lent additional impetus to innovation in 2014.

Innovation Fund project: Photo Voice Since 2013, we have had an internal Innovation Fund to which staff may submit project proposals. A few of the ideas for innovative projects put forward have already been approved for implementation. One of these is the Photo Voice project, which was executed and assessed in 2014.

The power of the image

A picture paints a thousand words. This popular saying is the principle behind Photo Voice, an innovative method of assessing the effects of our programmes. While impact analysis is a complex matter in itself, the contexts in which our projects are carried out often make their impact difficult to express in terms of universal indicators. The aim of Photo Voice is to enable programme participants to provide feedback on their thoughts, feelings and experiences not only verbally or in writing, but also in the form of photographs.

Pilot in Malawi

The concept was first put to the test in Malawi, where ten young people – peer educators in our UFBR programme (which is featured on page 10) – participated in a pilot assessment using Photo Voice. Members of staff of the Family Planning Association Malawi (FPAM) and the national programme coordinator also took part. A training session taught participants how to formulate a research question, as well as the basics of photography and how to select photos that best express the findings of their joint report.

Experiences made visible

‘With a view to the future, we all need to start thinking and working in more innovative ways,’ says Paulien van Haastrecht, Programmes Manager in the Netherlands. ‘We have started to promote innovative thinking through initiatives like our internal Innovation Fund: all staff here are encouraged to submit suggestions for innovation. It might be anything at all: from the development of innovative methods to a period of work experience in a different part of the organisation.’ One result is the Photo Voice project, developed in 2014 thanks to the Innovation Fund.

The photos clearly show that the young people who participated in the UFBR programme are capable of rendering sexuality a subject that can be discussed in their community. Talking about sex had previously been taboo. ‘I managed to bring about a few changes at my school. Thanks to my efforts, teachers now express clear messages regarding sexuality to the students,’ says Everess Yobe, a peer educator at FPAM. Various photos also show that the young people’s education enjoys the support of village chiefs and religious leaders.

Effective impact analysis

By using open questions the Photo Voice method enables participants to explore the impact of their work and how it is viewed by others. Furthermore, they get a huge kick out of jointly discussing and selecting the pictures for the local exhibition, and the way this renders their experiences tangible.

Photo Voice to become the standard

This successful pilot will not be a one-off event. In future, the Photo Voice methodology will be incorporated in ongoing UFBR and ASK programmes in seven countries. We are currently developing our own Photo Voice manual, which will be shared with other agencies when complete.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Cooperating with the client

Staff were also offered additional opportunities for further training and personal development in 2014. Strategy sessions were organised to allow employees to brainstorm on how we more adequately anticipate future requirements. Paulien explains: ‘An increasingly broad range of people and organisations use our products and services. And they would prefer these to be customised. We are therefore keen to get closer to clients for the purposes of collaboration, as this should enable us to provide exactly what is required. Furthermore, it will enable us to supply products which we jointly endorse.’

Catalyst

So for Rutgers innovation also entails new working methods and partnerships. Paulien: ‘We endeavour to establish connections, not only internally but also externally. One of the vital changes we have made is that we no longer seek to develop everything ourselves; if we notice that one of our clients or partners has a good initiative, then we can work to perfect that idea by sharing our knowledge and expertise with them.’

Voyage of discovery

In 2014, Paulien herself went on a ‘Social Expedition’ to MVO Nederland (Dutch organisation for Corporate social responsability), accompanied by Senior HR Adviser Hannie Ontijt. ‘The exchange of knowledge and experiences with other organisations helps us assess whether Rutgers is actually responding adequately to change.’ Paulien assures us that Rutgers continues to devote ample attention to innovative thinking and working. ‘This is an exciting voyage of discovery: we have embarked on an expedition, and shall continue to pursue this course.’

Paulien van Haastrecht ‘We are therefore keen to get closer to clients for the purposes of collaboration, as this should enable us to provide exactly what is required.’

Behind the scenes 2014 has seen Rutgers expand staff numbers. Our Dutch office now has a workforce of 105 (86.4 full-time equivalent): 90 women and 15 men. The field office in Pakistan has a capacity of 25 FTE in Islamabad and various temporary project offices. Our Indonesian field office has a capacity 23.2 FTE. A candidate has also been selected to set up a field office in Uganda. Absenteeism

The rate of absenteeism declined from 5.5 percent in January to 4.1 percent in December. We have devoted considerable attention to both the prevention of absenteeism and favourable reintegration.

News concerning the Super visory Board Our new Chair: Andrée van Es In July, former politician Mrs Andrée van Es succeeded Bert Koenders as Chair of the Rutgers Supervisory Board. We also welcomed Laurent de Vries, a governor of health care provider Viattence, as a new Member of the Board. In 2014, we unfortunately had to bid a fond farewell to Mohamed Baba, who had served as our dedicated Vice-Chair for several years.

Vacancies

We had a considerable number of job vacancies during in 2014. Twenty-three positions were filled during the course of the year. Twelve people left the organisation, the majority as a result of expiry of their contract or the completion of projects. One employee found a position elsewhere, one was dismissed due to unsuitability and one has retired.

Workload

According to an Employee Satisfaction Survey (MTO) held previously, workload is an area requiring attention. In 2013 and 2014, all teams therefore completed a programme to acquiring team insight into the causes of perceived excessive workloads, both individually and collectively. All teams are to draw up their own action plan.

Training

A budget of €187,500 was earmarked for staff education and training. The emphasis was placed on improving project skills and personal efficiency, while reducing workloads and stress. Managers attended a Management Development course which focused on teambuilding, communication and providing feedback.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

‘Making a difference with only limited resources’ Andrée van Es

The Supervisory Board Andrée van Es (4), Chair and Member of the Select Committee (appointed July 2014). Chair of the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO, Chair of the Supervisory Board of De Forensische Zorgspecialisten and Chair of the UMCG Supervisory Board.

About our new Chair

Andrée van Es embarked on a serious career in Dutch politics in the early 1980s, serving as an MP for the Pacifist Socialist Party and its successor, GroenLinks. She went on to hold positions including Chair of GGZ Nederland (Dutch Association of Mental Health and Addiction Care) and Director-General of Administration and Kingdom Affairs at the Netherlands Ministry of the Interior. She also served as an alderman in Amsterdam from 2010 to 2014.

Sound and creative

Andrée van Es became very well acquainted with Rutgers during the latter half of 2014. She travelled to Uganda, where we are set to open a field office in 2015. In her view: ‘Making a difference with only limited resources in complicated circumstances is what Rutgers does, and in my view, in a manner that is equally sound and creative. My conversations with youth workers, teachers and students in Uganda remain indelibly etched upon my memory. It is a dire necessity that young girls there be offered support as they approach sexual maturity, not only by informing them about fertility, menstruation and contraceptives, but also by providing protection from sexual intimidation and violence.’

Strong brand

Given the substantial knowledge and experience it has accumulated in the Netherlands, Andrée feels Rutgers is ideally equipped to connect with the demand for such knowledge elsewhere in the world. She also considers the following as vital to our success: ‘Never be pedantic, or forge relationships based on dependence. Share your knowledge and experience, but without insisting on the rigid application of your own standards. This is not always easy, but it does yield splendid results. Rutgers is a strong brand and will carry that into the future through its collaborations with partners around the world.’

Erik Thijs Wedershoven (8), Member of Rutgers’s Audit Committee. Consultant to the Operations Strategy Group, KPMG. Koos van der Velden (3), Professor of Public Health at Radboud University Nijmegen. Sara Seims (7), Consultant Global Reproductive Health and Rights. Senior Adviser to the Population & Reproductive Health Program of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2011-2014. Tom de Man (6), Member of the Board of Nigerian Breweries Plc and Consolidated Breweries Plc. Nicolette Loonen (2), Managing Director of VERA Community. Marijke Wijnroks (5), Chief of Staff of the Global Fund (appointed February 2014). Laurent de Vries (1), Governor at Viattence Wonen, Zorg & Welzijn (appointed July 2014).

Resignations in 2014: Bert Koenders, Chair and Member of the Select Committee (resigned February 2014). Currently Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mohamed Baba, Vice-Chair, Member of the Audit and Select Committees (resigned July 2014). Co-director of a consulting agency in the field of integration and diversity.

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 6 – 7 – 8

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Financial review of the year

Results

As was the case in 2013, 2014 proved a favourable year financially for Rutgers. Our surplus at the end of the year was €297,442, which exceeds both the surplus in 2013 (€141,024) and the figure budgeted for 2014 (€106,207).

Income

Our income increased by €4 million: rising from € 25.2 million in 2013 to € 29.4 million in 2014. If we disregard funds transferred to other members of the three alliances we lead, then net income for 2014 amounted to €16.8 million. This is 15% higher than in 2013, and €0.3 million more than budgeted.

Explanatory notes

Rutgers is lead agent in the SRHR Alliance (UFBR = Unite for Body Rights), the Youth Empowerment Alliance (ASK = Access, Services, Knowledge) and the MenCare+ Alliance, all three of which are subsidised by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs from its Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Fund under the MFS II cofinancing system. Ministry rules oblige Rutgers, as the lead agent, to include all the subsidies received by these alliances in its own accounts. Amounts subsequently transferred to other members (AMREF Flying Doctors, Simavi, dance4life, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, IPPF Central Office, Stop Aids Now! and Promundo) are therefore reported in our statement of income and expenditure. However, this procedure has no effect upon Rutgers’ net result. The statement of income and expenditure shows four sources of revenue: 1 Direct fundraising: Income that Rutgers itself generates from donors and charitable funds (such as the Hewlett Foundation) in the Netherlands and elsewhere. This category also includes earnings from consultancy work, training and product sales. 2 Joint fundraising: Income generated jointly with Oxfam Novib and i+solutions for the Universal Access to Female Condoms programme. 3 Third-party funding: Money donated to Rutgers by other fundraising organisations, such as the Dutch Postcode Lottery.

Rutgers annual overview 2014

4 Government subsidies: All income from government departments, agencies and related bodies, such as the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). While the majority of these bodies is Dutch, Rutgers did also receive grants from the UNFPA in 2014. The year-on-year increase of 15% in relation to 2013 is attributable primarily to government subsidies, which rose by 23% to € 2.5 million. Other sources of revenue showed a decline, however: third-party funding (€ 0.2 million, -9%), direct (€ 0.07 million, -8%) and joint fundraising (€ 0.07 million, -14%) were all reduced. The increase in government subsidies is largely attributable to the aforementioned ASK and MenCare+ programmes, which were launched in 2013. However, as these two programmes got off to a delayed start in 2013, it was not possible to actually utilise the full amount of subsidy allocated. Part of this backlog was nevertheless caught up on in 2014. Furthermore, Rutgers succeeded in securing additional funding from the Netherlands Ministries of Education, Culture & Science and Health, Welfare & Sport. Comparing our actual income in 2014 with the original budget, we find a surplus of €0.3 million (+2%). 40% of this amount can be attributed to higher interest rate income than budgeted. The remainder is largely due to a rise in revenue from third-party funding (€ 0.2 million) and a decline in revenue from direct fundraising (€ 0.1 million).

Spent directly on core activities

Of our total expenditure of € 29.1 million, € 27.6 million (94% of income) was spent directly on Rutgers’ three core activities: the Dutch national programme, the international programme and the advocacy and communications programme. In 2013, this proportion also amounted to 94%.

Dutch National Programme

Most of our programme activities in the Netherlands are carried out by our own staff. Those funded by our institutional subsidy are reported in detail to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). Expenditure on the

37 national programme amounted to 3.4 million euro in 2014, equal to 20% of total income. This proportion is lower than in in 2013 (25%).

International programme

The majority of these activities are carried out by local partner organisations in Africa and Asia and by our two field offices, in Indonesia and Pakistan. Project expenditure also includes costs incurred for support, technical assistance and monitoring & evaluation by Rutgers staff in the Netherlands. The costs of the two field offices in Asia form part of the respective country portfolios. Apart from Rutgers itself, their sources of funding include the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Global Fund and income raised locally. Total spending on international activities in 2014 amounted to €23 million. Of this, €12.6 million was in the form of subsidies transferred directly to our alliance partners: AMREF, CHOICE, dance4life, IPPF, Promundo, Simavi and Stop Aids Now! Rutgers itself spent €10.4 million, equal to 62% of its total income. This is a higher proportion than in 2013 (55%).

Advocacy and communications programme

Most of these activities are carried out by our own staff. Expenditure in 2014 amounted to €1.2 million. That is €155,000 less than 2013, and €320,000 more than budgeted for 2014.

the organisation to continue to exist in a slimmed-down form in the event of a substantial drop in income. The creation of a reserve of this kind is recommended in the guidelines issued by Dutch national charities association VFI and a requirement under CBF Quality Mark regulations, which suggest an upper limit of one-and-a-half times annual costs. With the lease on our offices at Oudenoord due to expire in 2015, we have already set aside €100,000 to cover the expected costs of relocation and outfitting of new premises. In addition, we have created a reserve to the tune of €77,000 for our e-learning platform project.

2015 and beyond

Rutgers has proven quite successful in raising funds in recent years, particularly for international activities. We are therefore assured of sufficient funding for these activities until at least the close of 2015. In the case of our activities in the field of advocacy, we have been awarded funding by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the period from 2016 to 2020 inclusive. The new Right here, Right now programme is to be executed by an alliance in which Rutgers is the lead agent, and whose members comprise Hivos, CHOICE, dance4life, ARROW, LACWHN and IPPF African Region.

Management and administration costs

The three major executive programmes being carried out in developing countries are gradually drawing to a close. It is therefore essential that further funding be generated in 2015 to vouch for the continuity of these activities. Generating additional income for our work within the Netherlands – over and above our institutional subsidy from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, which is to be reduced once again as of 2016 – nevertheless remains a challenge.

Liquidity

Funding for the kind of work we do is heavily dependent upon government policy and grants, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Current successes provide no guarantee for the future. We therefore do our utmost to ensure we remain an organisation able to both respond flexibly to fluctuations in income and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. Furthermore, as our work is all about people, we continue to invest in our employees and partners.

Direct fundraising costs

Rutgers spent €112,000 on direct fundraising activities in 2014, an increase of 5% compared with 2013 and €23,000 more than budgeted. The bulk of these costs are staffingrelated.

These costs represented 3.6% of total costs, compared with 4% in 2013. If we disregard subsidy funding transferred directly to alliance partners, the 2014 figure was 6.4%. This is well below our own standard of 9%, a limit we set based upon a variety of factors. The Central Bureau for Fundraising (CBF) has not defined a standard for such costs.

Our liquid assets amounted to €8.4 million at the end of 2014, which is ample to meet our short-term obligations. This decline in liquid assets in relation to 2013 is largely due to the fact that the funds earmarked for the ASK programme were not transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ SRHR Fund until January 2015, whereas these were actually required in December 2013. Rutgers does not engage in investment activity. Any surplus liquid assets are deposited in accounts at major Dutch banks (ABN AMRO and ING).

Reserves

Of the surplus of €297,442 at the end of the year, €135,295 has been added to the continuity reserve. This is intended to safeguard our organisational continuity and to cover any risks arising. In the long term we aim to have sufficient available assets to cover fixed outgoings for a period of at least three, yet no more than six months, in order to enable

Rutgers annual overview 2014

These figures are based on the complete 2014 annual statements of accounts for which approval has been given by Dubois & Co officially recognized accountants. These complete annual account and the auditorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; certificate are available on request.

Annual Financial Statements 2014

(amounts in euros)

Assets 31 12 2014

31 12 2013

Intangible fixed assets

22,312

39,347

Tangible fixed assets

60,286

73,437

82,598

112,784

Receivables, prepayments and other current assets

4,114,489

3,408,293

Cash and cash equivalents

8,411,003

9,271,053

12,525,492

12,679,346

Total

12,608,090

12,792,130

Rutgers annual overview 2014

Liabilities 31 12 2014

31 12 2013

Reserves and funds: – Continuity reserve – Appropriated reserve

1,708,964

1.,573,669

500,000

Dutch Postcode Lottery expenditure for objectives – Appropriated reserve, expenditure for relocation costs

280,000

– Appropriated reserve,

77,000

180,000 –

e-learning platform – Equalisation fund VWS – Reserve exchange rate differences

60,149 – 32,049

75,002 – 41,320

2,594,064

2,287,351

Provisions: – Provision reorganisation

–

125,918

– Provision jubilee employees

42,174

41,147

– Provision transitions staff

26,482

–

116,200

51,850

– Provision collective employment agreement

184,856

218,915

Current and accrued liabilities

9,829,171

10,285,864

Total

12,608,090

12,792,130

Rutgers annual overview 2014

40 Statement of income and expenditure for 2014

(amounts in euros)

Income

real 2014

budget 2014

real 2013

Direct (own) fundraising income

983,266

Income from joint campaigns

1,069,029

438,915

482,003

510,029

1,838,449

1,640,836

2,013,971

25,984,136

13,193,952

21,425,547

126,340

15,000

Income from third-party campaigns Government subsidies

1,130,524

Result from interest and exchange rates

141,724

Total income 29,371,107 16,462,314

25,160,298

Total income MFS II and SRHR fund

14,589,756

alliance partners excluded

Rutgers annual overview 2014

16,745,243

16,462,314

Expenditure

real 2014

budget 2014

real 2013

Directly allocated to objectives National International

3,432,767

3,418,311

3,693,534

23,020,224

10,487,625

18,524,549

1,153,356

832,189

1,308,660

Advocacy/communication

Total expenditure 27,606,347 14,738,125

23,526,743

Total expenditure MFS II and SRHR

12,956,201

14,980,483

14,738,125

fund alliance partners excluded

Fundraising income Costs of obtaining fundraising costs Costs third-party campaigns Costs subsidies

112,289

89,688

31,751

36,480

262,645

283,938

406,685

106,539 66,925 272,285

410,106

445,748

Management and administration Costs management and administration

1,060,633

1,207,544

1,046,783

Total expenditure 29,073,665 16,355,776

25,019,274

Total expenditure MFS II and SRHR

14,448,732

16,447,801

16,355,776

fund alliance partners excluded Result

297,442

106,539

141,024

Profit or loss appropriation: – Continuity reserve

135,295

– Appropriated reserve, expenditure

100,000

106,539

54,334 120,000

for relocation costs – Appropriated reserve, e-learning platform

77,000

– Equalisation fund VWS

– 14,853

– – 33,310

Result

297,442

106,539

141,024

Rutgers annual overview 2014

42 Explanatory notes to allocation of expenditure

Specification and cost allocation to appropriation (amounts in euros)

Appropriation

Objective

Raising funds

Advocacy/

National

International

Programme spending Subsidies and contributions Staff costs Accommodation costs Office and general expenses Depreciation and interest Total

Rutgers annual overview 2014

communication

Direct fundraising

1,279,597

15,562,301

317,256

â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

4,865,579

1,890,500

2,351,422

631,949

69,491

84,892

74,494

20,020

2,202

163,622

148,712

153,127

40,081

14,156

17,716

4,686

26,317

3,432,767

23,020,224

1,153,356

515

112,289

Management and

administration

Total 2014

Budget 2014

Total 2013

17,159,154

3,792,436

Third party

campaign Subsidies

15,036,411

4,891,896

4,909,094

3,197,456

28,836

238,531

963,254

6,173,983

6,641,178

5,879,800

914

7,557

30,516

220,594

294,217

262,808

1,788

14,788

59,720

581,838

648,350

567,761

214

1,769

7,143

46,200

70,500

75,040

31,751

262,645

1,060,633

29,073,665

16,355,776

Rutgers annual overview 2014

25,019,274

44 Remuneration

(amounts in euros)

Payment (executive) board

Employment Nature (temporary, fixed contract, ended) Hours (full time working week) Part time percentage Period

fixed 36

100%

month

Salary Gross payment

103,941

Holiday allowance

8,315

13th month

7,016

Total annual income

119,272

Total received salary 2014

119,272

Total received salary 2013

117,833

Supervisory Board

The supervisory board receives a remuneration of â&#x201A;Ź 150 per meeting. There are three meetings per year. For members who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t live in the Netherlands, the travel costs are

reimbursed.

The members in 2014 where: M. Baba (till February 2014) A.C. van Es B. Koenders (till July 2014) N.C.G. Loonen- Van Es T.A. de Man S. Seims (USA, reappointed) J. van der Velden L.F.L. de Vries E.T. Wedershoven

M. Wijnroks

Rutgers annual overview 2014

For sexual and reproductive health and rights

Everyone should have the opportunity to experience sexuality voluntarily, safely and pleasantly. And we pursue this aim with great passion. For numerous decades, the name Rutgers has been synonymous with open, candid and positive sexual education in the Netherlands. Nowadays we mainly support professionals in the care and education sectors in discussing sexuality with their target groups. We acquire knowledge and develop effective methods on the basis of research. Furthermore, we utilise our knowledge and expertise to influence policymakers.

Arthur van Schendelstraat 696 3511 MJ Utrecht Postbus 9022 3506 GA Utrecht The Netherlands +31(0)30 231 34 31 office@rutgers.nl www.rutgers.international www.rutgers.nl

Rutgers’ success is also evident in other countries. This inspires us to cooperate with organisations throughout the world in improving sexual health and offering people freedom of choice in relationships, sexuality and the decision whether or not to have children.

Colophon © Rutgers, June 2015 Photography: Peter Boer, Pieter Glerum, Floor Godefroy, Jelmer de Haas, Kees Hummel, Karijn Kakebeeke, Christiane Kasdorp, Jeroen van Loon, Rick Mandoeng, Leonie van de Mortel, Bram Muller, Benoit Paillé, Prabuddha Paul, Mirande Phernambucq (Hollandse Hoogte), Suzanne Reitzema, Lilian van Rooij, Guus Schoonewille, Jonathan Torgovnik, Michael Tsegaye, Kees Veling. Cartoon: Brian McFadden Design: Beukers Scholma This is the public version of the Rutgers Annual Overview of 2014. If you would like to read the complete and official English-language annual report, please send an e-mail to office@rutgers.nl

Thanks to our donors and clients

We would like to take the opportunity to especially thank all our donors and clients. Through their generous contributions we can work on improving sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Netherlands and worldwide. Donors and clients in 2014: David and Lucile Packard Foundation Dutch Postcode Lottery Educaids European Commission Equilibres & Populations Global Fund Hogeschool Avans (Avans University of Applied Sciences) International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) J.P. van den Bent Foundation Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Justice Nefkens Development Aid Foundation Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Cooperation (NUFFIC) NHL University of Applied Sciences Organisation for the Suriname-Netherlands Twinning Facility (UTSN) Pathfinder International Pharos (SKN Welcome to school) (Dutch centre of expertise on health disparities) Royal Dutch Visio â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Heerenloo The Dutch Embassy in Burundi Trimbos Institute United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Warwickshire County Council The World Bank William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ZonMW (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development)