ReproNorth Origin Story

What is ReproNorth? How do we define it? Who is involved? The short answer is: we don’t entirely know!

ReproNorth seeks to be led by its members, so the slippery and evolving nature of the collective is a call for celebration. Through its lifetime we hope ReproNorth maintains a squashy texture, a freedom to change, so we can meaningfully react to pressures exerted through changing tides and different forms of reproductive injustice related to the north of england. What we do know and can explain with more clarity is where ReproNorth started…

It’s 2020. Researchers at Lancaster University have been involved in the development of a report with a team at The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) about UK experiences of seeking Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC).

The report release garnered reasonable ‘mainstream’ coverage, thanks in part to ‘Free Britney’ campaigning and the, at that time, recent exposé about Britney Spears and her forced experience of IUD use. Conversations with national policy makers and public health teams about Lancaster University’s (unexpected) involvement in this project led to some curious reflections like:

• How the majority of research about sexual and reproductive health and rights in the UK context, takes place at institutions based in London and the south of England;

• How, following this, this research tends to include the voices and experiences of people who are also from and/or based in the south of England;

• How inequities between the north and south (‘the north south divide’) and the relevance of place e.g. Ireland-Liverpool abortion corridor, patterns of migration, scale and rurality, shape reproductive lives in the north

• How stereotypes and northern cultures differ (or not) from other places and what this means for reproductive health, rights and justice.
  

Recognising this as a unique set of circumstances and bolstered by policy drivers, for example to ‘level up’ (see Due North report) and address inequity across the nation, the idea for ReproNorth was formed.

Starting small and local whilst we navigated national lockdowns related to covid-19, we sought to connect to other colleagues already based within Lancaster University who we knew had similar interests, albeit from diverse perspectives. From food insecurity to trans healthcare to forced adoption; from sociological to historical to public health perspectives; a small but perfectly formed collective was established to start the conversation.

From a research perspective we were united by the desire to centralise unique perspectives, experiences and inequalities of northern communities including attending to: disparities between city, remote and rural locations, regionalism and localism; practical disparities in service infrastructure and access; and northern cultures and stereotypes. We knew, for example that the north has some of the highest rates of child removal nationally and that the impact of austerity has disproportionately been felt in the north compared to the south of England, overall. Both the ‘big data’ and our own experience and knowledge supported our understanding of a need for ReproNorth.

ReproFest 2022 Zine Front Cover. Click here to view the full Zine.

With commitment to social justice and, for many of us, with identities as providers and activists (past, present and emerging) it was crucial that ReproNorth did not remain a research only network confined to the boundaries of Higher Education sector and untethered from the ‘front line’ of work that addresses and attends to the fallout of reproductive injustice in the northern context.

What followed is a process of mapping, identifying priorities and connection – to our existing networks and to many new friends. The ReproNorth snowball started to grow outside through public events such as ReproFest (2022) hosted in Preston and we continue to expand. Slow and steady. Limited as ever by lack of capacity (money and time) to do as much as we would like; but thrilled by the ever growing interest and support for this endeavour.

So even if we don’t know exactly where we are going at present, we are confident we have enough support to form a great navigating team to get there! Whilst we might not know exactly what we may do when we get there (where?!), we understand there is enough passion and motivation to make whatever needs to happen, happen.

If you wish to join us whilst we collectively figure this out, you and all are welcome; and if you want to watch curiously from the sidelines for now whilst we trample out a clearer pathway, feel free.