Sonali Silva

Sonali Silva is a PhD Candidate in Demography at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research explores the intersections of abortion stigma, health systems, and reproductive governance in Sri Lanka, situating these within broader global debates on reproductive justice and gender inequality.

She has a decade of experience working across feminist financing, abortion, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in international development. Sonali has collaborated with a range of global partners including WHO, IPPF, and FP2030, focusing on evidence generation, policy advocacy, and youth-led approaches to gender equality. She has also delivered a TEDx talk on abortion stigma in Sri Lanka, sharing insights from her research and advocacy work.

Research interests:

Abortion stigma; reproductive governance; gender and health inequalities; qualitative and mixed-methods research; youth-led research; feminist demography; reproductive justice.

Publications

Silva, S., Bezbaruah, S., Bhushan, A. (2024). Emerging Gender Themes of the Covid-19 Infodemic in Southeast Asia. In: Ravindran, T.S., Sivakami, M., Bhushan, A., Rashid, S.F., Khan, K.S. (eds) Handbook on Sex, Gender and Health. Springer, Singapore.