Fact-finding

Serious human rights violations occur across the world on a daily basis, yet very few, if any, are reported, either in the international media, academia or in the public sphere more generally. Fact finding missions allow for these violations to be documented and publicised and therefore create a space where human rights violations can be exposed and hopefully, in the future, prevented.

 The activists from the Initiative on a fact finding mission to Chhattisgarh

Undertaking fact finding missions is a key strategy of the Reproductive Rights Initiative. The Initiative has conducted numerous fact findings in thirteen Indian states since 2011. Fact finding reports are used by the Initiative to support legal and social interventions on a wide range of reproductive and sexual rights. The Initiative has coordinated fact findings on subjects as diverse as the international surrogacy industry, child marriage, unsafe and unlawful sterilization and medical services available to pregnant and lactating homeless women. By working closely with local activists, advocates and NGOs, the Initiative ensures that its fact findings are as accurate, informative and reliable as possible. The Initiative has successfully utilised fact finding reports as evidence of human rights violations in the Indian courts and as advocacy tools to show the need for higher standards of reproductive and sexual rights.