Johannesburg, 24 September 2025 - Ibis Reproductive Health, in partnership with Section27, Soul City Institute, MB Teen Lifestyle, Accountability International, Ipas Africa Southern Region and Tiko, will commemorate International Safe Abortion Day (ISAD) with an Imbizo on 29 September 2025 from 10:00 to 14:00 at The Forge in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
This year’s global theme - “Safe Abortion is Life-saving Healthcare!” - affirms the right of choice that the South African Constitution and the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CToP) Act guarantees women and girls seeking abortion. It speaks of the right to safe abortion access as a core pillar to sexual and reproductive health rights, justice and dignity.
Building on the momentum of previous ISAD events, our organisations felt it important to facilitate dialogues about safe abortion through an Imbizo - a Zulu term that refers to a traditional community gathering organised by a leader or chief to resolve community issues and build consensus.
The first leg of the Imbizo will provide young people with an opportunity to engage in fearless discussions about the challenges and barriers they experience when seeking abortion services in South Africa. This will be enabled through a multi-sectoral panel discussion titled “An Unstoppable Movement of Resistance and Solidarity for Safe Abortion”. Led by investigative journalist and Ibis Reproductive Health board member Ms Claire Mawisa, the panel discussion promises to convey rich insights from abortion providers, researchers, legal experts, religious commentators and activists. The second leg of the Imbizo will gauge young people’s understanding of abortion rights and access, through a Values Clarification and Attitudes Transformation workshop. This workshop is aimed at enabling young people to unpack how moral, religious and societal values as well as norms shape and inform their opinions about abortion.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, unsafe abortion accounts for up to 30% of maternal deaths, with over 6 million unsafe abortions affecting women and girls under the age of 25. Furthermore, women and girls under the age of 25 are disproportionately impacted, with over 6 million unsafe abortions occurring in Africa alone.
Access to safe abortion is about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their age, background, ability, religion and/or identity, can exercise control over their bodies and their future. Securing this right is critical to achieving a society that is grounded in principles of equality, dignity and reproductive justice for all.
As civil society partners, we affirm that ensuring access to safe abortion is inseparable from ensuring justice for young women and girls, as well as their allies. We recognise that young people must not only be able to access essential sexual and reproductive health rights and services, but must also be equipped with accurate, age-appropriate information and safe spaces where they can thrive and engage openly without stigma, discrimination or fear. On this International Safe Abortion Day, partners across the country are uniting to shift the mindsets of young people impacted by the lived experience of unsafe abortion, and/or by the misinformation and disinformation surrounding safe abortion, by affirming that the choice to access safe abortion is a human right that upholds bodily autonomy and dignity, and is a reproductive justice imperative for all.
Media is invited to attend the ISAD Imbizo as follows:
Event Details:
Date: 29 September 2025
Time: 10:00 - 14:00
Venue: The Forge, Ground Floor, 87 De Korte Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Media RSVP by: 28 September 2025 on this speaker’s RSVP form
This press statement is endorsed by the following organisations:
- Accountability International
- SECTION27
- Abortion Support South Africa
- Ipas Africa Southern Region
- Soul City Institute
- MB Teen Lifestyle
Please find below the provisional programme and ISAD poster:
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Programme International Safe Abortion Day Imbizo |
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Item |
Speaker |
Time |
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Welcome and event positioning |
Ms Claire Mawisa Programme Director |
5 minutes |
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Opening remarks |
Dr Dela Nai Vice President for Africa Programs Ibis Reproductive Health |
10 minutes |
|
VCAT workshop |
Ms Matokgo Makutoane Health Systems Advisor Ipas Africa Southern Region |
60 minutes |
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Panel theme: An Unstoppable Movement of Resistance and Solidarity for Safe Abortion |
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Panel Discussion |
Speakers: Dr Daphney Conco: Wits University SRHR Policy Researcher Ms Pontsho Pilane: Religious commentator and Communications and Advocacy Manager at Soul City Institute Ms Nomsa Mafrika: SRHR Youth Representative and abortion activist Sr Brenda Bamuza: SHR & Operations Manager & Abortion Provider at Lister Clinic Ms Khanyisa Mapipa; Attorney at Section 27 |
60 minutes |
|
Dialogue/ Q&A including media |
Ms Claire Mawisa Programme Director |
60 minutes |
|
Vote of Thanks |
Ms Duduetsang Mmeti Associate Communications Director Ibis Reproductive Health |
5 minutes |
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Closing with lunch reserved for attendees |
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For Media enquiries, please contact:
- Duduetsang Mmeti, Associate Communications Director, Ibis Reproductive Health; email: dmmeti@ibisreproductivehealth.org; phone: +27780889294
- Sesona Buyeye, Communications Coordinator, Ibis Reproductive Health, email: sbuyeye@ibisreproductivehealth.org; phone: +27103440982
- Siyanda Magayana, Advocacy Officer, Soul City, email: siyanda@soulcity.org.za; phone: +27117717953 or +27844525547
- Akona Zibonti, Communications Officer , Soul City, email: akona@soulcity.org.za; phone: +27117717977 or +27746045799
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