Family planning personnel may treat clients poorly if personnel themselves have to work with insufficient time, supplies, space, or pay. If so, managers can acknowledge the problems, remedy them if possible, and at the same time make clear that the staff's frustrations are not an excuse for treating clients disrespectfully. Set an example. Managers are role-models for other program personnel. If they do not treat clients and staff with respect, they cannot expect their staff to do so.
Clients know when they are treated with respect.
This is the only clinic where I was asked to sit down and where I was treated as an equal. People who are treated with respect develop self-respect. Brief contacts with a family planning program are not likely to revolutionize women's lives. I am realizing that I am really worth something.