A project run by Imogen Goold and Lesley Hoggart of the Open University, and part funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account and the Oxford Law Faculty
In the fiftieth anniversary year of the 1967 Abortion Act, ‘My Body, My Life is an innovative knowledge exchange project designed to challenge abortion stigma in the UK, developed on the basis of Open University (OU) research on women’s experiences of abortion. Although one in three British women will have an abortion during their lifetime, abortion remains controversial and stigmatised. Women internalise abortion stigma and experience isolation and shame. Internationally, the concept of abortion stigma is increasingly drawn upon to help explain a whole range of negative aspects of women’s abortion experiences; including, for example, why women who have an abortion may wish to conceal this. ‘My Body, My Life' comprises a travelling multimedia installation that enables participants to watch/listen to women's stories, and contribute their own story if they wish. The exhibit debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2017 and will come to Oxford for one week on 6th November 2017, then on to London and Belfast. The Oxford installation event will include a week of evening events.
You can visit the project website to read women's stories of abortion, and see them tell those stories in their own words. The site includes images from the installation.
Follow My Body, My Life on Twitter and Instagram.
Please find the recordings of the lectures below:
