Objectives:

The final objective:

Contribute to enlightening and improving the outcomes of the communication and service programs directed to the many elements of the reproductive health, in a way that contributes to supporting opportunities to improve the level of sexual and reproductive health for women and girls in Jerash Governorate

The sub-objectives:
1. Demonstrate the disparity between men and women in the governorate in their characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding issues related to marriage and childbearing and their preferences, family planning, family violence, sexually transmitted diseases, empowerment and other elements of reproductive health.
2. Clarify the impact of direct and indirect factors (social and economic) on the different components of reproductive health in Jerash Governorate.
3. Explore the nature of cultural norms and gender relations in Jerash Governorate and how they stand behind reproductive behavior and attitude there.
4. initiate proposals for policy alternatives related to appropriate strategies to improve reproductive and sexual health in Jerash and similar governorates, and responsive to the principles of human rights and gender-based justice. 

Abstract:

The study took a quantitative approach by using the data of Population and Family Health Survey 2017/18 as well as qualitative approach by convening of 15 focused groups discussions (FGDs) in which targeted residents of Jarash governorate, male and female, single and married, Jordanian and non-Jordanian of marriage and childbearing age participated. A focused dialogue group of health service providers and individual interviews with decision makers were also organized.

The most important findings:

• The proportion of childbearing age married women increased by about three percentage points in the past five years. Jerash Governorate came in third after Mafraq and Zarqa governorates in the proportion of women who have been married before the age of 20 and before the age of 18. The participants in the FGDs attributed early marriage to the presence of Syrian refugees. Jerash came first in the prevalence of consanguinity marriages but the lowest in polygamy.
• The TFR per woman in Jerash governorate decreased from 4.3 to 3.5 births between the last two-family surveys and participants in the FGDs attributed this to economic conditions and life hardships. However, Jerash Governorate remained second after Mafraq in fertility level.
• The use of family planning (FP) methods in Jerash Governorate increases with age and reaches its peak among women 35-39 years of age to return to a slight decline after this age, possibly because of the decreased need for their use.
•  Use of FP is higher among Jordanian women than others and among the highly educated and more well-off women. The unmet need for FP in Jerash governorate also varies among different segments, as it is higher among younger women for spacing between births, higher among older women in order to terminate childbearing, higher in urban areas than in rural areas, higher among non-Jordanian women and higher among those with primary education and the poorer segment.
• The missed opportunities for non-users of FP methods to receive counseling and information on family planning methods when they were in a health facility over the past year were the highest in Jerash Governorate (79%).
• Reproductive desires, there has been a slight increase in the proportion of those who want to stop having children, but there has been a significant decrease in the proportion of those who want to wait at least two years before having a new baby. The participants in the FGDs attributed this to pressures from society, especially parents, and a self-desire to check their infertility and have children when at their full fecundity.
• The proportion of women who had self-examination or screening from specialists during the last year was also low in Jerash Governorate and the Kingdom (26% versus 21%).
• There has been a significant decrease (30 %) in the proportion of those who accept marital violence, and there has been a decrease in the percentage of girls and women being subjected to violence in all its forms, sources and time; respondents have attributed this to raising awareness among young men and women, but what calls for concern here is the significant rise (about 22 %) in the proportion of victims who have kept silent about physical and sexual violence and have not sought help to stop it despite injuries to some of them.
• The study cited indicators of women's empowerment in Jerash Governorate revealing a lower economic empowerment of women as measured by the proportion of employed women, single and joint ownership of real estate, the use of bank accounts, lending and use of cash income compared to men. The respondents justified this by the general lack of job opportunities because of the small size of the private sector in Jerash Governorate and the futility of working in Amman because of low wages
• The knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases was low, about 35% of women and 26% of men were able to mention a sexual disease other than AIDS. 
• Comprehensive knowledge among young women and men in Jerash Governorate of HIV prevention methods was very low 4% and 9%, respectively