Around the world
Since its launching, in 2006, the Sexuality Policy Watch website has circulated relevant information on sexual politics trends, events and actors around the world. This investment has resulted in a rich archive of global and national sexual politics.
One main feature of this database is that it is not confined to specific areas or issues. It encompasses information on abortion, sexual and reproductive rights, sex work, sexual violence, gender and women’s rights, HIV and AIDs; and emphasizes materials and analysis that contribute to locate these issues in relation to the political economy of sexuality. Since 2013, key facts, events and trends are selected and highlighted in monthly announcements.
The art of ‘dreaming”: Brief notes on an exhibition
by Sonia Corrêa Last week, in Rio, I visited an exhibition of drawings, painting, and sculptures produced by persons belonging to the ‘first nations’ of Australia. I was both dazzled and uncomfortable. The discomfort settled immediately when I read the subtitle of the show: ‘ contemporary aboriginal art from Australia‘. I am well aware that this […]
Read moreBrazil: Abortion lawsuit at the Supreme Court
On March 7, a lawsuit (ADPF 442) was filed at the Brazilian Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of Penal Code’s articles 124 and 126 that criminalize abortion. The petition was presented by the left-wing party PSOL and the feminist NGO Anis, because, as pointed out by the professor of criminal law Luciana Boiteux, a […]
Read moreLatin America’s Gender Ideology Explosion
While it would be nice to report that the phrase is merely a malapropism, it is a very deliberate concept spawned by conservative religious groups. “Gender ideology” is becoming the catch-all metonym of a growing global movement opposing gender equality, abortion,
Read moreAnnual news release about LGBT situation in Kyrgyzstan
The Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic states «individual, her/his rights, freedoms and guarantees for their implementation are the highest value and purpose of the society and the state», despite the fundamental statement in the country’s main legal document, representatives of the LGBT community are systematically discriminated and face all kinds of violence from the side […]
Read morePunitive laws, key population size estimates, and Global AIDS Response Progress Reports: an ecological study of 154 countries
UN global plans on HIV/AIDS have committed to reducing the number of countries with punitive laws criminalizing key populations. This study explores whether punitive laws are associated with countries’ performance on targets set in the global plans.
Read moreCall for articles: Pambazuka News Special issue on activism in Africa
What is the state of activism in Africa today? How effective is activism in bringing about the transformations that are needed to improve the lives of the African people? What should be done better? Pambazuka News invites articles exploring different perspectives on this theme. There is a protest march taking place somewhere in Africa right […]
Read moreSexual Politics in February and early March 2017
There are many events to be reported in regard to abortion rights in February and early March 2017. The most important comes from Brazil where potential regressions on abortion rights have been registered in recent years. A lawsuit was filed at the Supreme Court, on March 7th, by a political party (PSOL) and the feminist […]
Read moreShe Decides – challenging US Global Gag Rule
The story to date On 22 January 2017, the Global Gag Rule was reinstated by Donald Trump the day after he took office. (See the Campaign newsletter report of 27 January which outlines the history of the Gag Rule, which goes back 32 years, the consequences it had for NGOs in the past and the […]
Read moreNepal’s Civil Service Increasingly Transgender-Inclusive
More than 600 transgender people applied for civil service jobs in Nepal last year, according to a government report released last week. LGBT rights activists hail the announcement as practical progress toward implementing Nepal’s identity-based legal third gender category. A reveller gets ready to take part in a LGBT pride parade to mark Gaijatra Festival, also […]
Read moreNaked: the art of Ren Hang
On February, 24th, 2017 the young Chinese artist Ren Hang left us. His legacy is a vast portfolio of delicate images of androgynous juvenile bodies that has attracted the attention of the high circuits of the art world as well as many social media followers. While living in China, until few years ago, Ren Hang […]
Read moreUruguay: Young woman denied a legal abortion may take legal action against judge
A judge in the city of Mercedes, Soriano, has ruled against a woman having an abortion who was booked for the abortion on 23 February. The ruling came after her ex–partner tabled an amparo asking the court to delay the abortion so that he could challenge her decision. The judge agreed to hear the case […]
Read moreAnnual Report 2016: International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion
In 2016, membership of the Campaign increased by 25% to 1,132 members in 113 countries. We coordinated and promoted the biggest and most influential International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September to date, calling for decriminalisation of abortion, a moratorium on prosecutions, and universal access to safe abortion. We also gathered hundreds of signatures from […]
Read moreCroatia: Constitutional Court upholds abortion rights
The Constitutional Court decision rejected claims made by conservative groups and individuals that allowing women access to abortion on request was unconstitutional. In its decision, the court reaffirmed that women’s access to abortion is protected within their constitutional rights to liberty, personality, and privacy.
Read moreTrump Rescinds Rules on Bathrooms for Transgender Students
President Trump on Wednesday rescinded protections for transgender students that had allowed them to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, overruling his own education secretary and placing his administration firmly in the middle
Read moreIn Plainspeak month issue: Marriage and Sexuality
Traditionally, marriage and sexuality have been bagged together and tinted with a bed-of-roses romance that has, over the last century or so, been unpacked and critiqued for propagating oppressive societal structures of gender, class, caste, and sexuality. Indeed, marriage isn’t just about two wedded souls matched in heaven, but about earthly ties that reach far […]
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