By Shiza Farid and Althea Wolfe
FP2030 is founded on the principle that all people should have the freedom and ability to lead healthy lives and make their own informed decisions regarding contraception and having children. To support the work of countries towards this vision, FP2030 annually publishes a Measurement Report with family planning data for low and lower-middle income countries detailing progress on several key family planning indicators, including modern contraceptive prevalence, unmet need for modern family planning, etc. In recent years, we have acknowledged the data that we incorporate in the report excludes specific information on sub-populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) populations; people with disabilities; migrants; refugees; ethnic minorities; and populations in on-going crises or humanitarian situations. This is due to lack of data collection among these populations in most surveys on which FP2030 reporting relies. However, a recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program report outlines available information on gender, sexuality, and sexual behavior in several DHS surveys.
The launch of this report has expanded our understanding of available data in some surveys. The DHS Program report outlines diverse survey-specific data on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics included in three country surveys. Furthermore, nine additional surveys include data on same-gender sexual behavior.
Our aim with this brief is to summarize available data on gender, sexuality, and sexual behavior in the context of family planning. Data on LGBTI populations was available in some country DHS surveys as early as 2002. However, we narrowed our focus to surveys since 2015, including the 2021 Cambodia DHS, 2019-21 India DHS, 2016 South Africa DHS, 2015-16 Myanmar DHS, and 2015 Colombia DHS. India is a FP2030 commitment-maker and Cambodia and Myanmar are included in our annual reporting of low and lower-middle income countries. South Africa and Colombia are upper-middle income countries and not commitment-makers to FP2030.
