K G SANTHYA

      Dr. K G Santhya is an outstanding economist and demographer, with 12 years of experience in designing and conducting rigorous qualitative and quantitative studies on rights of youth, gender equity and women‘s empowerment, reproductive health and gender based violence. She is an associate at the Population Council‘s office in New Delhi, where she manages and conducts research on maternal health and young people‘s reproductive and sexual health issues. She holds a Ph.D. in population studies from Flinders University, Australia, and M.A. degrees in economics from the University of Kerala and in population studies from the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai, India. She was the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from the Population Council. She has worked extensively with multiple stakeholders from the government, NGO and development sectors. She has authored 40 book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles and study reports on child marriage, the needs of married adolescents, violence against women, maternal health, and youth sexual and reproductive health. She has been called upon to provide peer review to many international journals on health, education and youth. She has served or currently serves as a member of various panels, including the Scientific Panel on Reproductive Health, and the Scientific Panel on HIV/AIDS and Sexual Behaviour, International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

Previous employment 
1. Associate I, Population Council
2. Senior Programme Officer, Population Council
3. Programme Officer, Population Council

Other honorary or professional positions 
1. Member, Scientific Panel on Reproductive Health (2011-2014), International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
2. Co-theme leader, Life-course analysis in Asian Countries, The 2nd Asian Population Association Conference
3. Member, Scientific Panel on Sexual Behaviour and HIV/AIDS (2006-2010), International Union for the Scientific Study of Population

Publication
1. Treatment-seeking for symptoms of reproductive tract infections among young women in India, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2012, (with S. Sabarwal)
2. Condom use before marriage and its correlates: Evidence from India, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2011, (with R Acharya and SJ Jejeebhoy)
3. Early marriage and sexual and reproductive health vulnerabilities of young women: a synthesis of recent evidence from developing countries, Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2011
4. Effects of the Janani Suraksha Yojana on maternal and newborn care practices: Women‘s experiences in Rajasthan. New Delhi: Population Council, 2011, (with SJ Jejeebhoy, R Acharya and AJ Francis Zavier)
5. Parent-child communication on sexual and reproductive health matters: Perspectives of mothers and fathers of youth in India. New Delhi: Population Council, 2011, (with SJ Jejeebhoy)
6. Timing of first sex before marriage and its correlates: evidence from India, Culture, Health & Sexuality, 2011, (with R Acharya, SJ Jejeebhoy and U Ram)