Joan Dunlop
Joan Marie Dunlop (née Banks, May 20, 1934 - June 29, 2012) was a British women's health advocate and activist. She was the first president of the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC).[1]
Biography
Dunlop was born in London to a British father and an American mother.[2] Dunlop attended the Queen's Secretarial College in London.[3] As a young woman, she had an illegal abortion in England, and her experience "fueled her campaign to improve women's reproductive choices."[2]
Dunlop helped raise money for the New York Public Library and was an advisor to John D. Rockefeller III on population.[4] She also worked in the budget office of the Mayor John V. Lindsay.[4] While Dunlop was working for the Ford Foundation, she was told Rockefeller was interested in interviewing her for a position.[5] During her interview with Rockefeller for the job as a population adviser, Dunlop told him the story of her abortion and later she said, "He listened with great attentiveness."[4] Dunlop was hired by Rockefeller in 1973.[3] She worked with Rockefeller on the Population Council where she helped expand research the council did and also promoted the idea that recognizing women's sexuality was important in population control.[2]
Dunlop founded the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) in 1984.[6] Part of her motivation in leaving a good job and taking on the task of running the IWHC was that she was "angry at the rise of the anti-abortion movement in the United States" which she considered an organizing tool for a conservative political agenda.[6] She was a strong driving force behind the IWHC, changing what was at first a small project into a global women's health organization.[7] She was a leading voice for women’s health and rights around the world and believed that “[t]his was not about abortion, this was about women.”[8]
After retiring from the IWHC in 1998[9], she worked to put together a women's group to lobby for women's voices in United States foreign policy.[4]
Dunlop died after a battle with cancer on June 29, 2012 in Connecticut.[7]
Additional Information
- Joan Banks Dunlop Papers, 1934-2012, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
References
Citations
- "History - International Women's Health Coalition". International Women's Health Coalition. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- Martin, Douglas (30 June 2012). "Joan Dunlop, Advocate for Women's Health Rights, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- "Joan Banks Dunlop". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- Bumiller, Elisabeth (14 April 1998). "Putting Women's Rights in Population Policy". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- Dunlop & Sharpless 2004, p. 2.
- "Joan Dunlop". Reproductive Health Matters. 20 (40): 197. November 2012. doi:10.1016/s0968-8080(12)40650-4. JSTOR 41714995.
- Girard, Françoise (29 June 2012). "Statement by the Board and Staff of IWHC on the passing of Joan B. Dunlop". International Women's Health Coalition. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- "History - International Women's Health Coalition". International Women's Health Coalition. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "Joan Dunlop". Reproductive Health Matters. 20 (40): 197. November 2012. doi:10.1016/S0968-8080(12)40650-4.
Sources
- Dunlop, Joan; Sharpless, Rebecca (2004). "Joan Dunlop" (PDF). Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project. Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.