Securing Digital Futures for Young People’s Sexual Health and Rights

The USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health and Reckitt invite you to join us for “Securing Digital Futures for Young People’s Sexual Health and Rights,” an in-person panel event and reception on Sunday, September 22nd from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT.

The dramatic pushback against sexual rights across the globe is felt most acutely by marginalized populations, especially those who are young. With further rollbacks on comprehensive sexuality education curricula and less accessible evidence-based information, young people are increasingly turning to social media and digital platforms – whether or not they are a source of reliable sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information. Ongoing censorship of sexual health and rights content, compounded by a rise in misinformation and disinformation, means the digital space is inadequately supporting young people’s sexual health and rights. The question is how to ensure that social media platforms deliver on their full potential as useful and accessible tools for relaying critical SRHR education and information to young people, and to all who need it.

This event will bring together actors from diverse sectors to examine existing strategies, recognize gaps, and build a shared agenda to move us forward. With young people’s leadership as a core pillar, panelists will explore how to better utilize existing digital technologies and will seek opportunities to facilitate cross-sector discussions on making the digital space a more equitable tool for furthering, not hindering, sexual health and rights. 

The dialogue will be moderated by IIGH Director Sofia Gruskin, and will be followed by a reception. 

Please join us in-person on Sunday, September 22nd at 1:30 PM ET at 21 W 46th St in New York City.

Speakers:

Dr. Ayman Abdelmohsen is a medical doctor, an Ob&Gyn and international public health specialist with 30 years professional experience in sexual and reproductive health, health care management, clinical service delivery, and health systems strengthening. Dr. Abdelmohsen has proven international experience in leading health systems strengthening programmes and managing and implementing sexual and reproductive health health multilateral and bilateral programmes. Internationally recognized as a sexual and reproductive health service delivery expert with a sound evidence-based approach to expanding access to contraceptive and maternal health services and commodities. Dr. Abdelmohsen - a citizen of Egypt - has a medical bachelor degree with postgraduate degrees in Ob&Gyn, Health Care Management and Public Health.

Nadya Okamoto is the co-Founder of August, a lifestyle period brand working to reimagine periods to be powerful. She is also the author of the book PERIOD POWER: a Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement, and founder and former Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, PERIOD. Outside of her work in the menstrual health space, Okamoto is also a social media creator with over 4m followers on TikTok, producer and host of the podcast, Tigress, a mental health advocate, and known as a Gen Z marketing expert. She recently graduated from Harvard College, class of 2021.Her debut book, PERIOD POWER, published by Simon & Schuster in 2018, made the Kirkus Reviews list for Best Young Adult Nonfiction that year. She has been recognized on the lists of Forbes 30 under 30, Bloomberg 50 “Ones to Watch” and People Magazine's Women Changing the World.

Patty O’Hayer is a Communications and Public Affairs professional with over 20 years experience in change, policy and partnerships with the UN organizations. She is an international politics graduate from the George Washington University, and is a member of the board of directors of Raleigh International and a European trustee of the Global Poverty Project. Since 2013, she has been Reckitt’s Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships. Prior to this, she worked as Director of Communications and Campaigns at Plan International, and as Vice-President, Global Communications, for Unilever. She has also implemented issues and crisis management systems in major companies such as Tetra Pak, Baxter and Dow Corning. Patty is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group to the WHO Foundation and sits on the Health Innovation Exchange Advisory Board.

H. Rodrigo Moheno is the President of the Mexican Federation on Sexual Education and Sexology (FEMESS); he is also General Director and Founding Associate of Fundación México Vivo, Member of the National Consultative Committee for the Normalization of Public Health; Member of the Love Matters Global Network; Member of the Board of Comprehensive Sexual Education of the GIPEA of the ENAPEA (National Strategy for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention); Member of the Board of Mexico City’s Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Group; Commissioner of the Lancet HIV– IAPAC Commission on the Future of Urban Response to HIV; member of the Ethics Committee of CISIDAT, and Ambassador of the Global Campaign #ZeroDiscrimination. He studied Political Sciences and International Relations at CIDE. He has collaborated as Parliamentary Advisor to the LVII Legislative Assembly of the Honorable Congress of Union; as Delegate of Mexico City at the Fast Track Cities UNAIDS Meeting in Mumbai; as Delegate of Mexico at the London Fast Track Cities in 2019; as Delegate of Mexico at the 25+ UN Conference on Population and Development in Nairobi in 2019; and in 1998 as Youth Delegate of Mexico at the 50th Anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration at the UN Headquarters.

With moderation by: 

Sofia Gruskin directs the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health (IIGH). She is USC Distinguished Professor of Population, Public Health Sciences & Law, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Chief of the Disease Prevention, Policy and Global Health Division at the Keck School of Medicine, and Professor of Law and Preventive Medicine at the Gould School of Law. A pioneer in bringing together multidisciplinary approaches to global health, Gruskin’s work — which ranges from global policy to the grassroots level — has been instrumental in developing the conceptual, methodological and empirical links between health and human rights. She currently sits on numerous international boards and committees including the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, the Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health, the IUSSP Steering Committee to Strengthen Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Systems, and the Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights. She has published extensively, including several books, training manuals and edited journal volumes, and more than 200 articles and chapters.

Featuring Youth Ambassadors:

Mariana Gomes Martins is a medical student and researcher at the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, and a Youth Ambassador for the Global Initiative on Young People's Sexual Rights and Health. Her research focuses on understanding the systemic inequalities that affect socioeconomically vulnerable populations, especially in the Afro-Latin American context, with an emphasis on how housing, race and gender influence access to health and health outcomes. Her interests also include sexual and reproductive rights, health emergency response plans, health education, innovation and global health. With an interdisciplinary background, she uses an approach that integrates public health, social sciences and human rights to explore and propose solutions that promote health equity. She is currently managing director of Núcleo Ayé, an Afro-descendant collective at the University of São Paulo Medical School, a member of the Esperança Garcia sexual and reproductive rights research group and also a member of the Law, Discrimination and Diversity Center, both at the University of São Paulo Law School. She is involved in initiatives aimed at improving the living conditions of marginalized populations, seeking to create a positive impact both locally and globally and demonstrating a strong commitment to combating social and health inequalities.

Rahinatou Sawadogo is a junior at the University of Southern California, majoring in Biopharmaceutical Science on the pre-med track with aspirations to become a dermatologist. She is passionate about advancing skincare solutions for melanin-rich populations and is actively involved in research focused on developing therapeutic skincare products that address skin diseases prevalent among Black communities. Rahinatou participated in the 2023 Sexual Rights for Social Change  Academy, where she honed her advocacy skills and deepened her knowledge of sexual health and rights. As a Youth Ambassador with the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, Rahinatou contributes to global efforts to improve sexual rights and health for young people through creating engaging and informative digital content. She brings a multicultural perspective, fluency in French, and a strong commitment to health equity. 

Zacari Tatum has a BS in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (2022) and a Masters of Public Health (2023) from the University of Southern California, with a concentration in Community Health Promotion. She is passionate about reproductive justice and addressing health disparities, and plans to go to medical school after working in public health. The opportunity to work in public health provides her with real-world insights into the non-medical aspects of healthcare. After completing the Sexual Rights for Social Change Academy fellowship in 2023, she started working as a health educator under the Abortion Safe Haven grant doing social determinants of health screenings, and connecting patients seeking an abortion in Los Angeles to resources beyond their clinic visit. As a Youth Ambassador with IIGH she has been able to continue developing her content creation and advocacy skills, which in turn has strengthened her health education skills with immediate applicability to her one-on-one interactions with patients.