Gynopedia: The sexual health site every woman needs when abroad

If you've ever spent time travelling, you'll know how daunting it can be attempting to access information on sexual or reproductive health care in various countries.

One woman who anticipated confusion while travelling through Asia has launched Gynopedia – a website which provides women with information pertaining to contraception, sexually transmitted infections, menstrual products, pregnancy and abortion in 77 countries around the world.

Speaking to The Independent, Lani Fried explained that her motivation to create the platform stemmed from her own reservations about travelling without a full understanding of her host country's approach to sexual and reproductive health.

“I started Gynopedia because I couldn’t find anything like it," the 31-year-old explains.

"When I began preparing for my travels, I realised that I had no idea how I would get birth control in the 12 or so Asian countries that I planned to visit and that was just the tip of the iceberg," she continued. "How about annual pap smears? What if I got pregnant?"

"This lack of information has been a constant theme in my life and I assumed that many other women felt the same way."

Recalling the various incidents which led her to the creation of the site, she added: "Time and time again, I have needed advice from local people and lacked an online resource. This made me enraged yet wildly inspired and so Gynopedia was born."

“Women may not know which clinics or gynaecologists they can trust and where they can feel safe and respected as well as which health options are accessible and affordable," Lani explained.

Highlighting the importance of Gynopedia, Lani added: "As women, we are often aware of how religion, politics, culture and history can play a role in health care in our home countries. However, we may not be aware of how these factors work in other countries,"

Like Wikipedia, anyone can contribute to the site which was created from a 'tiny budget' provided by Lani herself.

Commenting on the site's contributors, Lani tells the publication: "Every day, I add information to Gynopedia and other people add information with no financial compensation."

"It is a lot of work to develop and manage an information-rich site with no profits but it is incredibly rewarding.”