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.
Introduction of medical abortion methods in Zambia
After two years, 25 of 28 sites provided abortion services, caring for more than 13,000 women during the intervention. For the first time, abortion was decentralized, 19% of all abortion care was performed in health centres. At the end of the intervention, all providing facilities had managers supportive of continuing legal abortion services. When asked about the impact of medical abortion provision, a number of providers reported that medical abortion improved their ability to provide affordable safe abortion.
Read morePetition to Supreme Court of Brazil seeks decriminalization of abortion
A petition was filed today, 7 March 2017, with the Brazilian Supreme Court which calls for the decriminalization of abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The petition was filed by the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), with support from Anis – Institute of Bioethics.
Read moreGrada Kilomba: decolonizing thinking, performing knowledge
Grada Kilomba is a Portuguese writer, scholar and artist who enacts and delivers decolonial knowledge by weaving relations between gender, race and class. She is a professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Her work combines a wide range of means — publications, performed lectures and theoretical texts, videos and performances — creating a […]
Read moreDiversity in the Constitution of Mexico City
by Gloria Careaga* Differently from other Mexican states, Mexico City, the Federal District of the Republic, did not have its own Constitution until February 5th, 2017. But now after an intense year of work, a Constitution of Mexico City has been approved. Since the installation of the Draft Working Group in February 2016, the […]
Read moreWomen’s Resistance in Kashmir
In 2016, the Indian-occupied state of Kashmir once again erupted in valley-wide protests, in collective expression for freedom, after the killing of a hugely popular militant commander Burhan Wani. The protests continued for over six months and resulted in the killing of around 100 civilians. Some of the most overpowering moments during that period were […]
Read moreUN Human Rights Council: report on Fundamentalism, Extremism and Cultural Rights
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, pursuant to Council resolution 19/6. In the report, the Special Rapporteur addresses the phenomena of fundamentalism and extremism and their grave impact on the enjoyment of cultural rights. She […]
Read moreSelf-Care and Sexuality – In Plainspeak
As the theme of this month’s In Plainspeak issues, we locate self-care (and self and care) in relation to its connections with issues of sexuality. In the Issue in Focus, Mamatha Karollil lays out ideas of care and sexuality for examination under a psychoanalytic lens.
Read moreLGBTI organizations navigating imperial contexts
This article presents the first sustained social analysis of the Kaleidoscope Trust, the UK’s leading social movement organization on LGBTI issues internationally, and its engagement with the Commonwealth – particularly through forming The Commonwealth Equality Network, comprising national NGOs. A contribution is made to sociological and critical analysis of transnational LGBTI movements, through argument for […]
Read moreAbortion incidence and unintended pregnancy in Nepal
Despite legalization of abortion and expansion of services in Nepal, unsafe abortion is still common and exacts a heavy toll on women. Programs and policies to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion, increase access to high-quality contraceptive care and expand safe abortion services are warranted.
Read moreCall for proposal: Astrea’s Intersex Human Rights Fund
Submit by March 15, 2017. We recognize that the entrenched practice of organizing the world into the sex binary and gender binary has alarming and rights-violating consequences for intersex bodies. People with intersex variations face invisibility, stigma, discrimination and violence. Intersex babies and children are widely subjected to “normalizing,” non-consensual, harmful surgeries and other medical […]
Read moreEnsuring an inclusive global health agenda for transgender people
Article authored by Rebekah Thomas,a Frank Pega,b Rajat Khosla,c Annette Verster,d Tommy Hanaa & Lale Sayc. Published at Bull World Health Organ. Click here to read it.
Read moreReviews of the National Geographic’s special issue Gender Revolution
This is a review of some of the European editions of the National Geographic Special Issue “Gender Revolution” as translated into European languages. Comments on the translations are listed in alphabetical order according to country of issue. Where possible trans people from the country or region have given comments on the national editions and suggestions […]
Read moreUganda’s Abortion Rate: decreased since 2003, but Unsafe Procedures persist
An estimated 314,300 Ugandan women had abortions in 2013, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and Uganda’s Makerere University. This translates to a rate of 39 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49, a significant decline from the rate in 2003, which was 51. The study also found that […]
Read moreDefending LGBT rights in South Asia: Stories of Survival and Justice
Six countries in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have established a national human rights institution (NHRI), all of which include complaint mechanisms. The establishment of these NHRIs has provided LGBT people with access to complaints mechanisms that can help resolve human rights violations these marginalised communities often face. However, several […]
Read moreNew IDS Bulletin published – Engaged Excellence
Who defines good quality research? How, why and with whom should we co-construct knowledge? What counts as impact? How do we build enduring partnerships? The articles in this new IDS Bulletin – edited by Melissa Leach, John Gaventa and Katy Oswald – aim to answer these questions based on IDS’ approach of ‘engaged excellence’.
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