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.
Diverse voices: civil society at the 8th BRICS summit
By Laura Trajber Waisbich . As a first exercise, we will give a brief background to how social participation has been played out in the BRICS. After one full cycle of BRICS chairmanships, since South Africa joined the group in 2011, civil society engagement with the BRICS (both at the national level and internationally) has evolved significantly, albeit in a setting constantly full of obstacles.
Read moreThe controversy surrounding gender: a central question of (sexual) politics in Colombia
By Mara Vivero. In this text I will present some elements on gender ideology, its antecedents and contemporary uses and secondly I will refer to the Colombian case, as one of the cases in which the term “gender ideology” has been used as part of a conservative rhetorical strategy to the constant interfaces between religious and political sectors that oppose the changes that have occurred in society in terms of gender and sexuality.
Read moreEmergence, an Artistic Journal of Women and Gender non-conforming Africans
Women have a lot of interesting stories. So many cool, sad, sexy, funny and strange stories. Stories that inspire and stories that make you shake your head and roll your eyes. Stories that turn you on or make you want to turn away. The lives of women are an intricate tapestry of happenings that often […]
Read moreLocal Representation and Party Politics: Transexual and Travesti Candidates in Brazil
At a time in which electoral processes are undermining democracy not only in Brazil, but also in many other countries, electoral results can give in sight to many questions regarding the foundations of the democratic process.
Read moreNew Sex Worker Zine Project Publication is out
“Featuring the zines produced by 24 men, women, and transgender persons who live and sell sex in the Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa, this publication includes reflections by participants, civil society activists, and researchers from across the globe. The contributors to this publication challenge the stereotype of the migrant sex worker, calling […]
Read moreBrazilian Activists Outsmart Facebook’s Censorship of the Female Nipple
In September 2016, psychologist and blogger Letícia Bahia and photographer Julia Rodrigues launched the campaign Mamilo Livre (Free Nipple), featuring print portraits of both men and women with bare chests, aiming to challenge objectification of women’s breasts and advocate individual sovereignty over one’s body. As the campaign encouraged people to print photos from the campaign’s website and post them in public spaces, the posters were seen in many Brazilian cities.
Read moreKatia Sepúlveda: domestic devices
The 32th São Paulo Bienal, which ends in December, features works by 81 artists from 33 countries among which 46 are women. This strong presence of women artists from various continents – including Brazilian artist Barbara Vagner, highlighted by SPW in August – whose works explore the themes of gender and sexuality in an intersectional […]
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Belgium: 25 years of the right to abortion
It’s been 26 years since abortion was decriminalised in Belgium on medical grounds up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It was an enormous breakthrough, allowing women the autonomy to decide their life course. But 26 years later, abortion remains in the penal code as a crime against family order and public morals. Because it continues to be a criminal offence, the stigma remains, affecting the approaches a woman needs to make to obtain an abortion,
Read moreIs Porn the New Sex Education?
To develop a comprehensive sex education strategy for young people that aims to reduce maternal and child mortality, unwanted pregnancy, sexual violence and includes the realities of sex and pleasure, policymakers and sex educators need to engage with new and traditional gatekeepers, porn distributors and young people themselves.
Read moreRussia: report on discrimination of trans people
The monitoring research was conducted from December 2015 till June 2016 by the Transgender Legal Defense Project. Within the framework of the research, the project collected cases of violation of transgender people’s rights from 2011 till present, focusing our attention mainly on situations of conflict and discrimination caused by the discrepancy between transgender people’s appearance […]
Read moreUN: Victory for LGBT Rights
A close vote on November 21, 2016, by a United Nations General Assembly committee affirming that the newly appointed UN expert to address violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity should continue his work is a victory for human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
Read moreEthiopian feminist movements and the role of Setaweet
Does Ethiopia have an organized feminist movement? Yes. But its performance has been mixed. Unless deliberate, consciously sustained and strategic steps are taken at the level of institution building, resource allocation and leadership, gender equality may take another 100 years to be achieved. A strong women’s movement is indispensable to catalyze change.
Read moreMaking transgender murder victims visible
In the three months following the divisive UK referendum that resulted in a decision to withdraw from the European Union, many more incidences of attacks upon ethnic and religious minorities were reported than during the months before. However, many claim that the reporting by anti-violence charity GALOP of a 147 per cent spike in hate […]
Read moreMyanmar: maternal deaths from abortion
Women denied the right to an abortion are injuring and killing themselves in an attempt to end their pregnancies, doctors and specialists say. These botched abortions are often carried out by the women themselves. The two main causes of maternal mortality are heavy blood loss and sepsis. Many of the women brought to hospital with […]
Read moreTrump’s victory: a preliminary cartography
From the SPW perspective, Trump arrival to power is just another chapter in a chain of conservative restorations sweeping world politics in recent years of which the demise of the Arab spring in vortex of wars and dictatorship followed by the 2014 election of the BJP in India can be eventually considered the starting points.
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