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.
Where were the trans bodies in the Rio Games?
by Leonardo Peçanha The Rio Olympic Games were a landmark in regard to gay and lesbian athletes openly disclosing their sexual orientation. This visibility and expression is very important because homophobia in sports is still very strong and pervasive. Rafaela Silva, the Judoka gold medal, who is lesbian, black and comes from the City of […]
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The ‘sexual games’ are over: what’s next?
Since August 5th, as in an extended Carnival, ordinary life in Brazil, particularly in Rio, was suspended. At their end the Olympic Games 2016 have been predominantly experienced and assessed by both Brazilian and foreigners as a major success story, despite the many threats that haunted the event until the very last moment before they […]
Read moreZika petition filed to the Brazilian Supreme Court
A judicial constitutional review was filed before the Brazilian Supreme Court on 24 August, to demand the protection of rights violated in the context of the Zika virus epidemic in Brazil. Coordinated by Anis – Institute of Bioethics, and filed by the National Association of Public Defenders (ANADEP), the lawsuit was the result of a […]
Read moreAfter the games: another abortion death
As soon as the Olympics were over, Rio — the city that projected the global image of a new Mount Olympus of fit and sensual bodies – once again revealed its face as gendered slaughtering ward. On August 24ththe press reported that Caroline de Souza Carneiro, 28 years old, has died of a clandestine, unsafe […]
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Desacralizing: Paula Rego’s Abortion Pastels
When, in 1998, the proposal to legalize abortion in Portugal was defeated in a first referendum, the acclaimed painter Paula Rego produced a blasting series of ten pastels that portray women undergoing abortions. In interviews with the Portuguese press, when the series was exhibited, Paula Rego said that the series was inspired by both […]
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Barbara Wagner: bodies as they are
During August, 2016, as the Olympic Games evolved, Brazilian and world screens were flooded with young, beautiful, enhanced, fit, ‘efficient’ bodies that happily competed and moved around in Rio de Janeiro. Olympic bodies of various genders, styles and colours that stirred the long rooted imaginations about physical perfection. The upcoming Paralympic Games are a reminder […]
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Rio 2016: the “Sexual Games”?
The most commented sport modalities of the Rio Olympics were the gender relations obstacle course competition, racism target shooting and out-of-closet leaping by Fernando Seffner[1] The Rio Olympics were many things, all at once. Records were broken, sports fans became excited, sweat and tears flowed and people celebrated. But these were also games preceded by […]
Read moreUprooting Whorephobia: Why We Must Change the Stigma of Sex Work
Counting money on a bed is taboo in my family. Growing up, I never fully understood why but I suspected it was another one of our countless every day South American customs that ensured we were in right relationship with the spirit world.
Read moreCapturing Semenya
As the women’s 800m approaches, headlines about Caster Semenya proliferate — once again, seven years after she won the World Championship in the 800m and became a news headline, we have been saturated with “debates” about her presence on the track. This year, these stories unfold in striking contrast with those celebrating other athletes who dominate their events.
Read moreBody shaming is an intersex issue
Please note that this post contains distressing images. It intersperses quotations about intersex infants and children with quotations about the bodies of public figures. Body shaming is an intersex issue, perhaps even more than any other issue. It stunts people’s lives and provides rationales for harmful medical interventions. If you want to know why openly […]
Read moreMeet the ‘Feminists’ Doing the Koch Brothers’ Dirty Work
The Independent Women’s Forum has leveraged its “non-partisan” brand to become an aggressive player in Republican politics. Read the full article on The Nation.
Read moreWhy don’t humanitarian organizations provide safe abortion services?
Although sexual and reproductive health services have become more available in humanitarian settings over the last decade, safe abortion services are still rarely provided. The authors’ observations suggest that four reasons are typically given for this gap: ‘There’s no need’; ‘Abortion is too complicated to provide in crises’; ‘Donors don’t fund abortion services’; and ‘Abortion is illegal’.
Read moreArgentina: Belén’s release from prison ordered
On 16 August, the Supreme Court of Justice of Tucumán in Argentina finally ordered that “Belén”, the young woman unjustly convicted of homicide after having had a miscarriage, should be released from prison, in the face of growing criticism by dozens of feminist, human rights, political and social organizations and the UN Human Rights Committee.
Read moreMake International Safe Abortion Day an Official UN day
UN agencies supporting women’s rights have been asked today to send “a strong signal” to governments around the world by passing a resolution at this year’s UN General Assembly in September to make International Safe Abortion Day an official UN day. An Open Letter was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of UN Women, UN Development Programme, World Health Organization, UN Population Fund, UN Children’s Fund, UNAIDS, and UNESCO today.
Read moreArticles and analysis on the burkini ban in French Riviera
Burkini beach row puts French values to test – BBC Cannes ‘burkini’ ban: What do Muslim women think? – BBC Rights group to take action after Cannes burkini ban – Al Jazeera The burkini ban is misogynistic – and Western feminists are turning a blind eye – The Idependent Liberté, Egalité, Burkini? – BBC Five reasons to wear a burkini […]
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