It all started with a condom. An interaction on the streets of Athens, Greece inspired The Unmentionables CEO Kaleigh Heard to co-found the non-profit organization, which provides forcibly displaced individuals and communities around the world with safe and consistent access to sexual and reproductive health education, services, protection, and empowerment programs, providing them the knowledge, tools, and skills to make well-informed decisions for their futures.
Curiosity Magazine spoke with Heard about how the organization came to be, its work, and what you can do to get involved.
Where did the idea for The Unmentionables come from?
In 2016, while working on a research project for my Ph.D, I met four 14-year-old Afghan boys that were resorting to prostitution on the streets just to survive and meet their basic needs–food, shelter, clothing. The next day, I met three teenage girls from Syria who had been raped by smugglers that had taken them to Greece. The smugglers had threatened that they’d turn them over to the authorities if they tried to get help. It was heartbreaking. I’ll never forget meeting these young people and hearing their stories.
Why focus on sexual and reproductive health?
Sexual and reproductive health is a human right, but due to taboos and political prejudices, it can be difficult to access necessary information and services. This is particularly true in the refugee context, with intimate health products and programs being consistently underprovided and not made a priority by many aid organizations. People on the move are more vulnerable than ever to sexual exploitation and violence, and as a result, sexual and reproductive health access, support, education and protection is a life and death matter. This is why we do what we do at The Unmentionables.
Where do you work and how did you choose to focus on those places?
Over the course of the past two years, we’ve worked in six different countries, but we’re primarily focusing on Greece and East Africa at the moment. We believe strongly in quality over quantity, which is why we choose to focus on a a few key areas where we can make a significant, sustainable impact for those most at risk for early or high-risk pregnancy, intimate infections or disease, sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking, or exploitation. Of course, political stability, displacement crises, resettlement hotspots, and community alignment all play a role in where we create and maintain programs.
How do you maintain cultural sensitivity when working with people from different countries and cultures in different countries?
All of our programs are evidence-based and community-informed to ensure that we provide the most necessary information and resources in the best way for that group of people. We believe the best solutions are generally the ones that integrate the community’s knowledge, skills, passion, and dedication into every step of the process and that their investment in our work ultimately leads to sustainable change.
We started our Community Educator program in response to what our beneficiaries told us they wanted. The Community Educators are members of the forcibly displaced community themselves and are trained in our sexual and reproductive health curriculum so that they can teach classes on these topics to people in their own communities, in their own languages. This creates a level of comfort and trust that is needed to effectively discuss such intimate topics.
We embody an ‘Ask, don’t tell’ approach in our work, ensuring that we empower people to make the best decisions they can for themselves, while providing them the information and tools that they need to ensure they can make informed decisions for their futures. Sexual and reproductive health is incredibly personal, and we strive to protect individual dignity when dealing with these topics.
What are the responses you are getting from the people involved with your programs?
We are providing vital and often taboo services. We’ve heard from some of our class attendees that this is often the first time they have seen condoms and learned how to use them, for example. Others, particularly women, have expressed to us that before attending the classes, they didn’t know they had any rights when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health because it’s not something that’s talked about in their culture. In the era of #metoo, it is vital that all women and men have the information needed to understand their rights, consent, and healthy relationships.
One of our Community Educators shared that she experienced significant domestic abuse from her in-laws and husband while in Afghanistan, but she and her husband now understand her rights and have a much happier marriage as a result. The Community Educator program also provides the opportunity to become teachers, something that was once out of reach for many of the people we work with. When our first class of female educators graduated earlier this year, many said that it was the first graduation they’d ever had and they were excited to share the information they learned with others in their community.
We’ve seen concerns from around the world about access to sexual and reproductive health services in the news a lot recently. Are you doing anything to help people who aren’t refugees, but also are having a difficult time getting the knowledge and services they need?
We recently launched a multi-level, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health platform called UnFiltered. It brings together information from experts on topics ranging from menstruation and reproductive anatomy to healthy relations and LGBTQ+ sexual health, putting the power of knowledge in the hands of millions via an accessible website and app.
How can people help?
There are so many ways to get involved. Volunteer, apply for an internship with us, set up a fundraising page, or donate. For those who don’t have a lot of time or money but still want to help, becoming a Social Ambassador is an easy way to make a difference by spreading the word about our work.
