The theme section of this issue of PLA Notes focuses on the use of participatory approaches in Sexual and Reproductive Health, building on previous RRA/PLA Notes issues on Health (RRA Notes 16, 1992) and HIV/AIDS (PLA Notes 23, 1995). The issue brings together accounts of exciting initiatives from around the world that hold the potential to transform this arena of work, which has traditionally tended to provide information and services rather than seek to engage people more actively in processes of change. Ranging from innovative uses of participatory methods to enhance communication and understanding to strategies to amplify the voices of people who would otherwise remain unheard in policy and institutional processes, the articles in this issue offer food for thought and lessons from experience.