Documentation Centre and Archives on Feminism, Equal Opportunities and Women's Studies
Documentation Centre and Archives 
Elisabeth Gerarda van Loon was born in Voorburg (The Netherlands) on November 5th 1931. She was naturalized to become a Belgian citizen. She married George Severne.
After her studies in Holland and at the Parisian Institut de Psychologie, she began to work on her own account. From 1970 to 1974 onwards, she was co-founder and co-responsible for the department family planning and relational issues of Infor-Femmes. This organisation supplied information on a wide range of women's issues in juridicial, social, medical and sexual matters. The publication of popularised articles and leaflets was one of the means to spread information to as many women as possible. Liesbeth Severne writes her first leaflet on modern contraception in 1972, followed later on by other subjects.
In 1974, Liesbeth Severne becomes director of the Belgian information centre of the International Health Foundation. She held this position until 1989. The IHF Information centres, which were also founded in France, Italy and Germany, closed in 1990 because of budgetary reasons.
In addition to this, Liesbeth Severne was an active member of different initiatives on women, for example the National Women's Committee. She was also present at the foundation of the V.H.V. (Women and Assistance), she was a member of the administration of 'Omschakelen' (education centre), of C.I.F. (Information Contacts for Women) and of the Scientific Committee of the Belgian Menopause Association. Furthermore, she engaged herself in several self-help groups as VIM (Middle-aged Women), PND (Postnatal Depression), Leven als Voorheen (Living after breast cancer).
Her publications are written for a broad audience and contain leaflets, more scientific articles concerning her specialities: hormonal and psychological changes in different stages of life: fertility problems, postnatal depression, becoming older and sexuality by elderly people. Most books and articles are addressed to women, but especially the publications on growing older do not forget male problems.
RoSa Documentation centre contains a selection of publications by Liesbeth Severne.
Elza Daix - translation Annemie Vanthienen
Take a look at the archive.
