Nearly half of all women are denied their bodily autonomy, according to data from 57 countries, UNFPA’s flagship report announced today. The 2021 State of World Population report, titled My Body is My Own, marks the first time a United Nations report focuses on the power and agency of individuals to make choices about their bodies without fear, violence or coercion.

Nearly half of women in 57 developing countries are denied the right to decide whether to have sex with their partners, use contraception or seek health care, according to UNFPA's 2021 flagship State of World Population report, released today. This lack of bodily autonomy has massive implications beyond the profound harms to individual women and girls.

Dear Partners and Friends, Through this report, we celebrate our joint achievements over 2020 and recommit our collective efforts to address the unfinished business, reaching first those left furthest behind.  The year 2020 marked a starting point in a decade of action in the delivery of the 2030 Agenda and the unfinished business of the ICPD Programme of Action. It marked a move from Commitments to Action in the pu...