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This Commentary – published at Global Public Health – addresses key decisions made and policies approved primarily during the first six months of the second Trump administration in the U.S.A. that affect global health, with an emphasis on their implications for the work of World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S.

Since we released our second 2025 bulletin, last December, the world has gotten worse. What happened in Venezuela on January 3, with the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US military forces in Caracas and his imprisonment on US territory, has radically altered the world order, with effects far beyond Latin America.

Patton for Dummies – The Dispatch The Nuremberg Clown Rally – Discourse Blog Pete Hegseth’s “Warrior Ethos” Is Just the Closet in Camouflage – Them

Scenes From Saturday’s Nationwide ‘No Kings’ Protests – Wired ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide – AP Were

This short comment offers a good overview of this very relevant episode of HIV Global policies in the 2000s

by Rosalind PetcheskyOriginally published by Zeteo I’m old enough to be Zohran’s bubbe. I was arrested with him and I can tell you, he’s a

Legal instruments are being waged in a new offensive against the trans community. By Bruna G. Benevides, originally published in Portuguese at Portal Catarinas. In

Photo: Rudolf Karancsi/AP Hungary Banned Pride Events. Thousands Marched Anyway. – Mother Jones Budapest Pride draws huge crowds in defiance of Orban legal threats –

Democracy promotion The emotional fallout of mass USAID and NGO layoffs – Devex What cutting USAID could cost the U.S. — and how China, Russia

Gender and sexual politics The Supreme Court Has Dealt Another Devastating Blow to Women – The Nation What to know about the Supreme Court’s ruling

Trump’s First 100 Days: 5 Attacks on Reproductive Rights You Might Have Missed – Center for Reproductive Rights The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier

Image: Angelica Alzona/Guardian Design The Far Right’s Campaign to Explode the Population – Politico The push for women to have more children has a powerful

Image: Wikipedia President Trump’s war on higher education – NPR Trump Has Targeted These Universities. Why? – NY Times Inside Trump’s Pressure Campaign on Universities

The Right Reads Gramsci: Project 2025 and Neo-Fascism Convergence – Academia Mapping the Ideological Core of Far-Right Movements Globally – Center for the Study Of

Analysis The Constitutional Crisis Is Here – Atlantic How Trump’s immigration policies compare to those of America’s past – Berkeley News We Study Repression in

Analysis The Targeted Chaos of Trump’s Attacks Against International Human Rights Law and Justice – American Civil Liberties Union What do the Trump administration’s sanctions

Analysis The Anti-Trans Executive Orders – Signs Journal The Human Toll of Trump’s Anti-Trans Crusade – American Civil Liberties Union Trump on DEI And Anti-Discrimination

The ridiculous real story behind the tariff plan that turned Donald Trump into a global disaster – Rachel Maddow Show The Trump Tariffs Just Got

Analysis DOGE Has Achieved Its Final Form – Wired What Did Elon Musk Accomplish at DOGE? – New Yorker DOGE Is Busier Than Ever—and Trump

European CPACs show the growing unity of the global far-right – NPR Foro Madrid and the Transnationalization of the Far-Right – Cambridge University Press Orban,

Image: Getty Image USA There Was a Record 5 to 6 Million People Who Took to the Streets to Stop Trump on Saturday! — And

News Israel kills a Palestinian woman every hour in the Gaza Strip, including 7,920 mothers so far – Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor UN Women estimates

English Pope Francis put women on a pedestal, where they could do no harm – Irish Times Pope Francis opened the door to the LGBTQ

A book by Sonia Corrêa in collaboration with Rebecca Reichmann. Access it below or download it here.

By Judith ButlerPublished at The Guardian As Trump delivers a series of devastating and appalling executive orders and public pronouncements every day, it has never been

When Trump was elected for the first time, in 2016, we published a compilation of articles that predominantly analyzed the astonishment that the election result

Torreciudad, Opus Dei’s Shrine El Papa toma el control de Torreciudad, el ‘santuario’ del Opus Dei fundado por Escrivá de Balaguer – El Diario Conflict

English One map to visualize one year of destruction in the Gaza Strip – Le Monde Gaza in Ruins After a Year of War –

English Harris steps up – The Nation August 2024 Issue  The Kamala Show – The New Yorker Kamala Harris’s Gamble – New Yorker Where Kamala

Misinformation campaigns and the future of Bangladesh-India relations – The Daily Star Hasina fled Bangladesh, leaving behind a ‘beaten’ Indian security establishment – Nenews Cannot

English Post-election EU elections: earthquake in France and a rightward policy lurch? Our panel responds – The Guardian 5 things to know about the EU

English If Trump Wins – NY Times Why Trump’s Second Victory Would Be Worse – The Nation The Theocratic Blueprint for Trump’s Next Term –

‘A.N.C. Has Been Humbled’: a Couple’s Vote Explains Why – NY Times South Africa’s ANC wants a national unity government: What is it? – AlJazeera

English Post-election A Non-BJP Government Will Be Unstable, But It is Our Only Hope to Save the Constitution – The Wire To Deal With His

English PM Donald Tusk faces uphill battle on reforming Polish abortion rights – France 24 Letter From Poland – The Nation Taking back Polish democracy

LGBTQ Iraqis fear dark days ahead after anti-gay law – France 24 Comment by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Iraq – UN

Ghana’s parliament passes anti-LGBTQ bill – AlJazeera Ghana’s top court postpones hearing on challenge to anti-LGBTQ bill – Reuters LGBT Ghanaians await court ruling on

What’s wrong with the Cass Review? A round-up of commentary and evidence – Ruth Pearce American Academy of Pediatrics’ response to Dr. Cass NY Times’

EnglishModi’s Power Keeps Growing, and India Looks Sure to Give Him More – NY Times Simultaneous Elections Will Be a Blow to India’s Popular Sovereignty

Hate Crimes Against Queer and Trans Students Quadrupled in States With Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws – Them A Terrifying 300 Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Have Already Been Introduced in

Senegal elections: President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye to lead with ‘humility’ – BBC Senegal election: Voters choose new president after political crisis – BBC Election Delay

We, Latin American and Caribbean feminists gathered at the 15th EFLAC, in El Salvador,  reaffirm our solidarity with our Nicaraguan comrades who,  for the last

Published at Review of International Studies (RIS). Download it here.

At highly charged session, Spain’s PM justifies amnesty as only way to stop the far right – El País Spain: The investiture of the amnesty

Niger coup: What is Russia’s role? – DW Russia uses social media channels to exploit Niger coup – The Guardian Prigozhin celebrates Niger coup, says

Run-off The Free-Market Fundamentalism of Argentina’s Javier Milei – New Yorker Why these Argentines voted for Javier Milei – BBC Argentina’s new leader is a

A Meditation on Death, Killing, and Possibility I knew my body was healing from the surgery when I found myself ready to engage with the

By Françoise Girard On November 13, 2023, in New York City, I had the privilege of interviewing the brilliant Rosalind P. Petchesky, professor emerita of

English Momentous Shift Looms for Poland as Governing Party Looks Set to Be Ousted – NY Times ‘Emotional and proud’: Voters on Poland’s landmark election

Access here the article of Alyosxa Tudor: The -anti-feminism-of-anti-trans-feminism

By Sonia Corrêa I took many meanders before writing this brief note about the enchantment – as the Brazilian writer Guimarães Rosa described death –

One Year, 61 Clinics: How Dobbs Changed the Abortion Landscape – NY Times  The Hell of Providing Health Care in a Post-Dobbs America – Mother

Senegal’s Macky Sall rules out third term after deadly protests – AlJazeera The sexual assault case behind Senegal’s unrest – AlJazeera Senegalese women fear rights

  Maping and tracking Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures – American Civil Liberties Union 2023 anti-trans bills tracker – Trans Legislation

Tunisia: Rached Ghannouchi sentencing part of ‘aggressive crackdown’ by Kais Saied – Middle East Eye Rached Ghannouchi arrest ‘tragic loss’ for Tunisia and region, academics

  How Recep Tayyip Erdogan became Turkey’s most powerful leader – NPR Türkiye election result – why do people vote for authoritarian leaders? – IDS

Child rights body NCPCR asks states not to work with UNICEF — ‘involved in activities out of its purview’ – The Print Rahul Gandhi disqualification:

  English How foreign aid supported anti-LGBTQ+ advocates in Uganda – Devex Calls for US anti-rights groups to face action over Uganda anti-gay law –

By Kalpana Wilson This contribution was first presented at the 2 December 2022 workshop on Transnational “Anti-Gender” Politics and Resistance, part of the AHRC-LSE project on Transnational

This article is one of the chapters of the book “This is War”, written by the Polish feminist journalist Klementyna Suchanova. We dearly thanks her

“I was motivated to write this comment after reading a series of analyses that re-visit the conditions in which a transnational agenda of repudiation of

English Iranian woman dies ‘after being beaten by morality police’ over hijab law – The Guardian  Iran unrest: Women burn headscarves at anti-hijab protests –

As Brazil was stunned by January 8th storming rioters against the buildings of Federal Administration, Congress and Supreme Court, we collected analysis to better understand the roots, circumstances and outcomes of the “infamous Sunday”.

Reproductive and sexual health policies have long mobilised religious and political forces. In this interview conducted in September of 2021, Brazilian feminist activist and researcher

English US midterm elections: Democrats retain control of Senate as House race still undecided – as it happened – The Guardian Red Tsunami? More Like

By Sonia Corrêa Uýra Sodoma is a non-binary Amazonian performance artist. She is intersectional in every sense. In one of her multiple layers, Uýra is

The case of the 11-year-old girl raped and barred by a female judge from having a legal abortion in Santa Catarina had wide repercussions in

The philosopher and gender theorist says the restriction of abortion rights is part of a project to restore patriarchy. By Alona Ferber The fallout from the

If the LGBT+ population is already under attack in the legal and policy realms, this year we have observed a new and worrying trend: the

English Pride Month in Turkey Showcased Homophobia, Resistance – Human Rights Watch This could be one of the most dangerous Pride months ever – openDemocracy

As predicted since December, when a public hearing on the Dobbs case took place, on June 24th 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court, overturned the right

English As elite sports think again about trans participation, our only demand is for fairness – The Guardian International Federations’ bans targeting trans and intersex

English The Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Verdict Is Chilling – The New Yorker The Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial was an orgy of misogyny – The Guardian

English 100 Days of War: Death, Destruction and Loss – NY Times Ukraine round-up: 100 days of war and some Russians refuse to fight –

Macron reelected but Le Pen’s big score shows France increasingly divided – Politico France elections 2022: Macron reelected as far-right vote and abstentions surge –

Philippines: Elections point to ominous moment for human rights – Amnesty International The Philippine election is the latest example of illiberalism’s popularity – Vox How

Last monday (May 2), an initial draft majority opinion, written by US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and leaked by Politico, unveiled what has long been considered credible: the Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade 1973 landmark ruling, that granted constitutional ground to the right of abortion. SPW is gathering – in English, Spanish  and Portuguese – assessments and analysis on the background and implications of the draft.

Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, a people’s uprising for system change – Global Voices Thugs attacked peaceful protesters, Sri Lanka in turmoil – Global Voices

English The situation of Ukrainian trans people during the war – Insight ‘Lawful transphobia’ stopping Ukraine’s trans community from fleeing – Euronews ‘Danger everywhere’: War

Anti-abortion trend: macro and political analysis If Roe v. Wade Is Overturned, What’s Next? – New Yorker 2022 State Legislative Sessions: Abortion Bans and Restrictions

English Putin’s ‘macho doctrine’: Implications for Ukraine – AlJazeera How Putin Converted Russia into a ‘World Male Power’ and Inspired Leaders Like Trump and Bolsonaro

Landmark Decision on Colombia Abortion Rights – Human Rights Watch Statements from the Center for Reproductive Rights on the Constitutional Court Decision Decriminalizing Abortion in

Since 2020, intense controversies against “gender” and trans rights have been unfolding that are mobilized by “gender-critical” feminist strands. As mentioned in previous issues, these

Since our first special, we have read the pandemic through the lenses of biopolitics, as to analyze how its management has activated and even updated

In this article, we present an analysis of narratives mobilised by extreme right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

By Emil Edenborg In Vladimir Putin’s speech on February 24, announcing what would be a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine (in his official Orwellian euphemism, a “special

In 2010, Sonia Corrêa wrote on how the concept of “empowerment” is not reduced to a binary between men and women, where men have all

In order to more fully understand the political and policy atmosphere in relation to gender, sexuality and human rights in Brazil it is necessary to

In order to more fully understand the political and policy atmosphere in relation to gender, sexuality and human rights in Brazil it is necessary to

Para acessar o artigo da The New Yorker Is a Civil War Ahead?

Rough Night for Democrats Exposes the Party’s Weakness – NY Times Were the Ultra-Conservative “Mama Bears” Youngkin’s Secret Weapon? – Mother Jones Lessons From Virginia:

Is Trump’s power over Republicans starting to slip? – BBC All the Republicans Who Won’t Support Trump – NY Times A Prominent Anti-Trump Republican Says

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the face of the world as we knew it. The lives of whole societies were put on hold, almost all

The Tate Britain Museum of Art is featuring a retrospective of the Portuguese artist Paula Rego, whose paintings and ideas SPW periodically revisit to illustrate

After more than two years in the making, the first volume of “Nossos Corpos por Nós Mesmas,” has arrived! The book, a Brazilian Portuguese adaptation of “Our Bodies, Ourselves,” covers topics including anatomy and sexuality, birth control, abortion, body image, safer sex and violence against women.

Then I have realized that even before putting those kinds of blinds [of the lock down], we are living under a situation of blinds,  we

The Tokyo Olympics’ Indelible Moments of Loss and Solidarity – New Yorker Olympic magic cut through the pandemic gloom, but the Tokyo Games’ legacy is

LGBT hate crime bill polarizes Italy – Politico Vatican urges Italy to stop proposed anti-homophobia law – The Guardian Vatican defends intervention over Italy anti-homophobia

Is Cuba’s Communist Party Finally Losing Its Hold on the Country? – New Yorker ‘I’m surprised it took so long’: Cubans find anger in their

The photos in Lucile Boiron’s series Mise en pièce, taken between a cosmetic surgery theatre and her own home, are graphic. The project sees Lucile place shots

Last week’s rallies in London, Berlin, and Los Angeles against lockdown measures attracted both New Agers and far-right groups. We’ve seen before this overlap between the spiritual

Read the new issue of GLQ on “Cuir/Queer Américas: Translation, Decoloniality, and the Incommensurable”

A 33-meter open red vulva was dug in the lands of the Usina de Arte, a gallery located in the South Forest of Pernambuco. According

Title  Vehicle / Author Pedophilia – more of the same? SPW Monsters Under The Bed SPW How Covid-19 myths are merging with the QAnon conspiracy

Derechos en riesgo: la cruzada antigénero en América Latina y el Caribe Línea del tiempo de las políticas antigénero – Wambra Telemedicina: la última tensión

Journal Social Science & Medicine Volume 270, February 2021 by Clare Wenhama, Camila Abagarob, Amaral Arévaloc, Ernestina Coasta, Sonia Corrêad, Katherine Cuéllare, Tiziana Leonea, Sandra

Go to the conference website

The 2020 US presidential election in data: how Joe Biden won – New Statesman How Homegrown Disinformation Could Disrupt This U.S. Election – NY Times

2013 SPW Newsletter N.13 – July, 2013 – SPW 2014 Vatican Document: Gays Have ‘Gifts and Qualities to Offer’ Church – NBC News Catholic bishops

In his artistic practice, Léon Ferrari makes use of different languages, such as sculpture, drawing, writing, collage, assemblage, installation, and video. This heterogeneous set of

COVID-19 encounters Black Lives Matter In June, however, another wave of protests swept over the global political landscape, also targetting State repression but carrying an

Argentinian MP Ofelia Fernandez: ‘Being a feminist means being on the side of history’ – France 24 Argentina moves closer to historic abortion legalization –

In the Battle Over Abortion, Polish Feminists with Disabilities Are Claiming Their Rights – Ms. Magazine “They’re uncompromising”: How the young transformed Poland’s abortion protests

A 10-Year-Old Girl’s Ordeal to Have a Legal Abortion in Brazil – HRW Brazil 10-year-old rape victim name anti-abortion activist put online make pipo vex

EFZ CALLS FOR THE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF THE COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION FROM THE ZAMBIAN EDUCATION CURRICULUM – Phoeniz FM News American Christian right group hosts anti-LGBT

Paul B. Preciado: The Hot War – e-flux Pompeo’s Legacy Of Partisanship And Wading Into Political Waters – NPR Brazil Joins Egypt, Indonesia, Uganda, Hungary

Pedophilia – more of the same? – SPW Monsters Under The Bed – SPW How Covid-19 myths are merging with the QAnon conspiracy theory –

Berlin protests against coronavirus rules divide German leaders – The Guardian Neonazistas, conspiracionistas e antivacinas marcham an Alemanha pelo fim do isolamento – El País

From insight to action: gender equality in the wake of covid-19 – UN Women Recession With a Difference: Women Face Special Burden – NY Times

Biopolitics mainstreamed Meet the Philosopher Who Is Trying to Explain the Pandemic – NY Times Power and perversity – The Telegraph India COVID 19: A

COVID-19 to Add as Many as 150 Million Extreme Poor by 2021 – World Bank What crisis? Billionaires rack up record fortunes, survey shows –

Brazil Hits 7 Million Cases With Infections Picking Up Speed – Bloomberg Brazil’s president rejects COVID-19 vaccine, undermining a century of progress toward universal inoculation

Offline: COVID-19 is not a pandemic – The Lancet The COVID-19 syndemic is not global: context matter – The Lancet One stillbirth every 16 seconds,

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican, A New Alliance Of Global Business Leaders, Launches Today – PR Newswire Council for Inclusive Capitalism launches

Read Richard Horton’s essay on biopolitics during COVID-19

Vatican says Pope’s comments on same-sex civil unions were taken out of context – CNN Vatican clarifies pope’s comments on homosexual unions – DW Vatican

Investigate Dr. Sybrand de Vaal with regards to promoting harmful psychiatric practices with respect to Trans (including non-binary) children. This includes: * Examine his competency

Proposition Number Year Author Party Federative Unit PL 478/2020 478 2007 Luis Bassuma PT BA PL 3406/2019 3406 2019 Eduardo Girão PODE CE

Contributions to the List of Issues Prior to Reporting of the review of Brazil by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

CONGRESS Proposition Number Year Author Party Federative Unit PEC 164/2012 164 2012 Eduardo Cunha and others PMDB RJ PEC 181/2015 181 2015 Aécio Neves PSDB

Proposition Number Year Author Party Federative Unit Object INC 443/2020 443 2020 Chris Tonietto PSL RJ Recommends the Supreme Court to dismiss the bill that

AlyneCASE CEDAW AD HOC report  

The SPW is pleased to offer the part-time report produced by civil society regarding the country’s assessment in the UN Universal Periodic Review 2017. The

Majority says winner of presidential election should nominate next Supreme Court justice, Post-ABC poll finds – Washington Post Trump’s Selection of Amy Coney Barrett for

We have updated our position to align with evolving international human rights law and standards, to make it as inclusive as possible, and to ensure it addresses the full range of barriers that impede access to safe abortion and the full range of human rights violations due to criminalization of abortion.

Thirty years ago, the philosopher Judith Butler*, now 64, published a book that revolutionised popular attitudes on gender. Gender Trouble, the work she is perhaps best known for, introduced ideas of gender as performance. It asked how we define “the category of women” and, as a consequence, who it is that feminism purports to fight for. Today, it is a foundational text on any gender studies reading list, and its arguments have long crossed over from the academy to popular culture. 

  Sylvia Tamale, author of Decolonization and Afro-Feminism, will be discussing her new book with Charmaine Pereira, writer and feminist scholar in Abuja, Nigeria. Host:

The Institute of Public Health Bengaluru invites all for the IPH Annual Oration Day Series. On Friday, August 28th, Prof. Gita Sen will deliver a

  Global Public Health Special Issue: (Re)imagining Research, Activism, and Rights at the Intersections of Sexuality, Health, and Social Justice Guest Editors: Debolina Dutta, Laura Murray,

Rio de Janeiro,  August 21st,  2020 Open Letter addressed to Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng as the new United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone

July, 2019  Isabela Kalil: Políticas de direita criam ‘Bolsonaro protetor de mulheres’, diz estudiosa – Universa  Isabela Kalil: ‘O bolsonarismo é maior que Bolsonaro’: projeto

In May 2020, Katherine Cuellar Bravo, a young Colombian researcher from the public health field, has passed away. She was responsible for the Colombian case

Giorgio Agamben: The Plague was Already Present – Critical Legal Thinking Giorgio Agamben: Contagion – Enough 14 COVID-19 and the neoliberal state of exception –

“Conversion therapy” practices Key findings  PDF: English | Spanish | Portuguese Full Report PDF: English

A summary of the article “Corona protests: The cross front for trivialization” authored by Nils Markwardt and published at Die Zeit in May 2020. By

PROTECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTI PEOPLE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC – Amnesty International LGBTQ Inequality and Vulnerability in the Pandemic – HRW COVID-19 pandemic

US Supreme Court LGBT worker ruling has a giant loophole – Al Jazeera Devil in the detail of SCOTUS ruling on workplace bias puts LGBTQ

North America US The Coronavirus Crisis Inside Prisons Won’t Stay Behind Bars – NY Times Stop Unnecessary Arrests to Slow Coronavirus Spread – NY Times

As part of DAWN’s webinar series DAWN Talks on COVID-19, Sonia Corrêa shares a piece she wrote especially for DAWN on COVID-19 biopolitics from a

Ventura Profana (which can be translated as Profane Fortune) is a singer, writer, composer, performer, and visual artist from Bahia, in the Northeast Region in

Logistics Firms Have Used the Pandemic to Boost Profits and Make Workers More Precarious – Jacobin The real cost of Amazon – Vox Explosive resignation

Six ways capitalism spreads the crisis – Corporate Watch Precarity in Times of Pandemic:Covid-19 and the crisis in India’s informal labor markets – Bot Populi

World Indigenous groups in Canada, Australia, Brazil brace for coronavirus – Washington Post US Why has Navajo Nation been hit so hard by the coronavirus?

The need for universal basic income – UNDP Sailing through a perfect storm of COVID-19 with universal basic income for Indonesia – The Conversation Could

Yuval Noah Harari: ‘Will coronavirus change our attitudes to death? Quite the opposite’ – The Guardian Yuval Noah Harari on COVID-19: ‘The biggest danger is

What’s Really Behind the Gender Gap in Covid-19 Deaths? – New York Times India’s coronavirus pandemic shines a light on the curse of caste –

EUROPE Crisis and Resistance at the Periphery: Bosnian responses to COVID -19 –  Critical Legal Thinking Coronavirus: Hungary bid to end emergency powers ‘an optical

Sex workers must not be left behind in the response to COVID-19 – Unaids ‘Sex workers say they’re at risk, have been left out of

By David Patternote (Université libre de Bruxelles)[1] On 13 February 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “on experiencing a backlash in women’s rights and gender equality

By Dr. Debjyoti Ghosh* “That’s the problem with drinking, I thought, as I poured myself a drink. If something bad happens you drink in an

On 5 June 2020, the Interim Minister of Health, General Eduardo Pazuello, dismissed Flávia Andrade Nunes Fialho, Coordinator of Women’s Health, and Danilo Campos da

 GENDER UNDER ATTACK Europe Romania International Call Against the Teaching of Gender Ban in Romania – The Gender International Controversies Over Law Banning Any Reference

MAY / JUNE EUROPE Germany Germany unveils first national strategy for gender equality – DW Germany is 5th country to ban conversion therapy for minors

US stocks surge as NYSE trading floor reopens – Al Jazeera Latin America’s Virus Villains: Corrupt Officials Collude With Price Gougers for Body Bags and

English Black Lives Matter The Souls of White Folk – Verso Books Illiberal Racisms, Extremism and the Discursive Reconstruction of the Far Right – Verso

English Germany Politicians worry about radicalization at anti-lockdown protests – Deutsche Welle US Tea Party 2.0: What the Reopen Protest have in common with the

Covid-19 Backlash Targets LGBT People in South Korea – HRW Authorities warn against homophobia hindering virus containment efforts – The Korea Herald ‘No one wants

Indonesia Indonesia’s Intelligence Service is Coming Out to Counter COVID-19 – The Diplomat Myanmar In Myanmar, the Coronavirus Gives Nationalists an Opening – Foreign Policy

MAY / JUNE  Domestic violence It is ‘all men’, to varying degrees: men’s violence against women is a systemic crisis – The Guardian Can domestic

MAY / JUNE English Laid Off and Locked Up: Virus Traps Domestic Workers in Arab States – NY Times A FAMILY SEPARATED BETWEEN EL SALVADOR

Anna Dumitriu is a British artist who works with BioArt, sculpture, installation and digital media to explore our relationship with infectious diseases, synthetic biology and

Preamble 1. We, the undersigning individuals and organizations, have gathered from all over Latin America in joint work to accompany people and communities of faith

MAY / JUNE Global report: South Africa records biggest jump in Covid-19 cases since pandemic hit – The Guardian African countries are struggling to keep

Gaza/Palestine Domestic Violence in COVID-19 Lockdown: Palestinian Women Are Dying at an Alarming Rate – Egyptian Streets COVID-19 in Palestine: Living between hope and fear

MAY / JUNE Hospital’s COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns – Truthout Denied beds, pain relief and contact with their babies: the

English Trump, Bannon y Cañizares: los lobbies ultrarreligiosos alimentan la teoría de la conspiración abortista del coronavirus – el diario The Coronavirus Is Cutting Off

English Securing Data and Labor Rights in the Post-Covid Digital Era – Bot Populi Big Tech Is Using the Pandemic to Push Dangerous New Forms

The Agamben Debates Giorgio Agamben: Contagion – Enough 14 Philosophy and Pandemic in the Postdigital Era: Foucault, Agamben, Žižek –  Post Digital Science and Education

Prostitution Policy Watch, IPPUR, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Authors: Soraya Silveira Simões, Laura Murray, Patrícia de Moura e Silva Toledo, Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette,

Prostitution is recognized as a profession by the Ministry of Labor in Brazil. It is a foundational economy for thousands of families and red light

Use of UAPA Against Journalists is Last Nail in Coffin for Press Freedom in Kashmir – The Wire ‘Third World Region of a Third World

English Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women – UN Interim Guidance – Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when COVID-19 is suspected

English States must combat domestic violence in the context of COVID-19 lockdowns – UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, endorsed by other UN rights

Mena countries COVID-19: Impact on MENA Countries – Arab Reform Initiative COVID-19 in the Middle East: Is this pandemic a health crisis or a war?

English COVID-19: States should not abuse emergency measures to suppress human rights – UN experts COVID-19: Who is protecting the people with disabilities? – Special

English COVID-19 fears should not be exploited to attack and exclude minorities – UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues “Unacceptable”: UN expert urges better protection of

Delhi Progrom Victims Getting No Treatment Due to COVID-19 – National Herald FIR against Scroll’s Supriya Sharma for story on Varanasi woman’s lockdown ‘misery’ –

Iran ‘Armageddon’: When coronavirus struck a Tehran hospital – Middle East Eye Iran’s corona-diplomacy – Brookings Politics in the Time of Corona: Tehran (Hosted by

Hungary Hungary rolls back legal protections, puts trans and intersex people at risk – Ilga Europe Hungary votes to end legal recognition of trans people

March – April The fragile existence of sex workers during the pandemic – New Yorker Can the world’s oldest profession survive the age of social

MAY / JUNE Contesting science and misinformation Ofcom: Christian TV network aired Covid-19 conspiracies – The Guardian Nigerian pastor spread covid-19 conspiracies and disinformation –

MAY / JUNE Hunger, infection and repression: Venezuela’s coronavirus calamity – New Yorker Contact-Tracing Apps: No Substitute for Public Healthcare Interventions – Bot Populi Spread

MAY / JUNE LGBTQ Inequality and Vulnerability in the Pandemic – HRW LGBT: Covid-19 forced me back home where I’m ‘unwanted’ – BBC LGBT Nonprofits

Politics in the Time of Corona: Anti-Asian Racism: A Feature of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Hosted by Jadaliyya Co-Editors Noura Erakat and Bassam Haddad) – Jadaliyya

Navigating the Heteronormative Household: Rabenmutter, Racism and Covid-19 – Feminist Review ‘Calamitous’: domestic violence set to soar by 20% during global lockdown – The Guardian

HIV/Aids What Lessons Does the AIDS Crisis Offer for the Coronavirus Pandemic? – Masha Gessen – The New Yorker Larry Kramer had the courage to

MAY / JUNE English Information warfare: COVID-19’s other battleground in the Middle East – Global Voices Nearly half of all tweets on coronavirus likely came

MAY / JUNE Precarity in Times of Pandemic:Covid-19 and the crisis in India’s informal labor markets – Bot Populi Pandemic Meets Precarity: The Case of

For some time now, many Polish municipalities, provinces and regions have been approving a series of resolutions which, more or less explicitly, aim to target

Abortion Your Questions About Reproductive Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Answered – Rewire Abortion and COVID-19: why we need to support women’s right to abortion

Despite passed 400 days of JMB’s ruling, Brazil’s carnival has shown the strength of popular festivities in producing laugh and scorn. Viradouro samba school was

International Women’s Day – a spotlight on gender and development – IDS Why I’ll be striking for International Women’s Day – OpenDemocracy In Kazakhstan, women

Special Issue Intersex & Sexuality Education Intersex variations comprise atypical sex characteristics: be these chromosomal, hormonal or anatomical. They represent a challenge to traditional binary

This Smart Person’s Guide is a tool to support sex workers and their allies in advocating for the recognition of sex workers’ expertise. Sex workers’

India’s New Laws Hurt Women Most of All – Foreign Policy We Are Seeing, for the First Time, a Sustained Countrywide Movement Led by Women

Full Coverage: Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty of Rape – New York Times ABC’s coverage of Weinstein affair  We Didn’t Expect Weinstein to Be Convicted,

“The violence unleashed against Muslims in Delhi by armed Hindu mobs during President Donald Trump’s visit to India is a portent and a lesson. […] More than an echo of the past, the recent violence in Delhi is a lesson”. Read SPW’s compilation.

Rafael Evangelista Laboratory of Advanced Studies on Journalism (Labjor), State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, rae@unicamp.br Fernanda Bruno Communication and culture, Federal University of Rio

International Conference on Population & Development+25 – International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion Conservative protests against global development conference in Kenya fail to

Brazilian outlet AzMina faces criminal complaints, online harassment over abortion article – CPJ Jornalistas são alvos de ataques em redes sociais após publicação de reportagem

Bolsonaro Threatens Brazil’s Central Film Fund with Censorship or Closure – Variety Bolsonaro: ‘Não posso admitir filmes como Bruna Surfistinha com dinheiro público’ – O

The Resentful and the Damned – Jacobin The Dangers of Detoxification – Jacobin Nigel Farage’s Populist Brexit Party Wins Big in European Parliament Elections –

‘Criminalizar não é solução’, escreve Jean Wyllys sobre homofobia – O Globo A HOMOFOBIA PODE VIRAR CRIME. E ISSO É UM TIRO NO PÉ. –

Transgender Rights Bill India’s transgender rights Bill faces ‘unanimous opposition’ from trans people – RNZ India’s Trans Community Faces Continued Discrimination – The Diplomat Regressive,

Angola Decriminalizes Same-Sex Conduct – Human Rigths Watch As Angola decriminalizes homosexuality, where does the African continent stand? – DW Angola: Decriminalising same sex relations

India’s protests against citizenship law – Al Jazeera Why are so many Indians protesting against the citizenship law? – Al Jazeera As Protests Rage on

On December 3rd, sociologist Jacqueline Pitanguy became the target of a serious accusation by the Brazilian Minister of Family Women and Human Rights, Damares Alves,

Editorial Moving the ICPD agenda forward: challenging the backlash Gita Sen, Eszter Kismödi, Anneka Knutsson Commentaries  The battle for sexual and reproductive health and rights

Indian police have shot dead four men suspected of raping and killing a young female vet in Hyderabad last week. The men were in police

“I am delighted to let you know that as part of our Human Rights Day celebrations, we have just published the December 2019 issue of

Nairobi, November 14th, 2019. Gathered at the Nairobi Summit to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the International Conference in Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), the

The world has undergone several changes in recent decades, such as declining population growth, aging populations, increased external and internal migratory movements, epidemiological transition, rising

This conversation was recorded on Sunday 24 June 2018 as part of the closing plenary of the symposium ‘Planetary Utopias: Hope, Desire and Imaginaries in

Due to a historically progressive human-rights based approach to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, Brazil has globally been deemed an important standard-bearer of the HIV/AIDS response

All states must ensure access to safe and legal abortion as a matter of human rights, say UN experts – OHCHR Demanding Reproductive Rights on

Historic Second Annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom – US Department of State Pence Praises Alliance Defending Freedom for Being with Trump ‘Every Step of

SPW has the pleasure to present the work of Pará born (Brazil) artist Berna Reale. Berna is one of the finalists of the 2019 Pipa

Damares in Wonderland – Folha de São Paulo Civil society criticizes gap of government human rights report to UN – Câmara dos Deputados

Text by Pedro Calvi, originally published at Comissão de Direitos Humanos, Minorias e Igualdade Racial, Câmara dos Deputados. In September, Brazil is due to submit

Report from Brazil to the United Nations describes a country that does not exist 213 pages. This is the extent of the report published this

Leaked documents show Brazil’s Bolsonaro has grave planes for Amazon rainforest – openDemocracy The Amazon Fire Isn’t Just Climate Change—It’s Political Violence – Bitch Media

May 2018 Monthly briefing Sexual politics in May 2018 – SPW Original articles Political mythology on abortion and trans men | Blas Radi – SPW

Itamaraty instructs diplomats to stress that gender is only biological sex – Folha de São Paulo Eleonora Menicucci: Women will not bow to the delay of

‘People of faith against LGBTphobia’ in São Paulo Pride The group of Freaks in the São Paulo pride Millions celebrate LGBTQ pride in New York

Vatican Issues Document During Pride Month Denying Concept Of Gender Identity – NPR LGBTQ Catholics denounce Vatican’s document on gender identity – PBS Vatican rejects

Download here

IWHC Statement on Universal Health Coverage  at WHA72 – IWHC Snakebites and kissing bugs among surprise items on World Health agenda – NPR Opinion: Gender

Euro-election results 2019: a wake-up call to traditional parties – openDemocracy The path to electoral victory in Salvini’s Italy: Open opposition to the pope –

The right to education is a fundamental right of citizens in all countries. Educational institutions play an essential role in shaping the attitudes of individuals

Buenos Aires, July 31th, 2019 Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and good afternoon to all. We very much celebrate this space and hail the

Walking toward the cliff – Inside Higher Ed Bolsonaro’s budget cuts in Universities – Inside Higher Ed In Brazil, a Hostility to Academe – Inside

by Marcelo Knobel* By making what the minister considers a “very small cut”, it will be impossible for universities to conduct daily operations at even

Rainbow wave: record number of LGBTs running for office in India – The Times of India Riding the rainbow: first Lok Sabha elections since Section

Alabama’s abortion ban is about keeping poor women down – The Guardian Trump fulfills his promises on abortion, and to Evangelicals – The New York

The recent measures against sociology and philosophy in public universities that have been announced by the minister of education, and supported by the president, clarify

Caster Semenya ruling ‘tramples on dignity’ of athletes, South Africa says – The Guardian Statement on the CAS/IAAF discriminatory ruling against Caster Semenya – IRANTI

– What do humans have to do not to have regret at that last second before we die? That is one of Elizabeth Streb’s moving

By Larissa Arroyo Navarrete* The 25 April 2019 was a historical day for sexual and reproductives rights in Costa Rica. On this date, the Ministry

India chief justice Ranjan Gogoi’s accuser quits sexual harassment inquiry – BBC Woman who alleged sexual harassment by CJI Ranjan Gogoi withdraws from committee proceedings

Une disposition qui pourrait aboutir à la criminalisation totale de l’avortement gagne du terrain au sein du Sénat brésilien. Un nouveau combat, essentiel à la

A provision that may lead to the complete criminalization of abortion is moving forward in the Brazilian Senate. Another major battle to preserve our rights

The National Association of Postgraduate Studies in Philosophy (ANPOF) and associations hereby signed vehemently repudiate declarations made by the President and the  Minister of Education

The associations hereby signed manifest their indignation and extreme concern with the recent statements made by the  President and Ministry of Education with regard to

Brazil’s National Council of Christian Churches (CONIC) expresses solidarity with young Christian Evangelical Camila Montovani who, after a series of threats, will have to leave

Full text Pope vs. Pope: How Francis and Benedict’s Simmering Conflict Could Split the Catholic Church – Vanity Fair Pope Francis Under Siege by Bannon,

Will second Arab Spring go away first? – National Interest What revolutionaries in the Middle East have learned since the Arab Spring? – Counter Punch

About the publication The right to found a family is a fundamental right recognized by many international treaties and conventions. This is an evolving right, indicating

The Sultan of Brunei: opulence, power and hard-line Islam – The New York Times Will Brunei’s anti-LGBT Sharia law spread across Southeast Asia? – CNN

Christian right summit in Verona draws massive protest – The Guardian Women cross borders to confront the far right in Italy – openDemocracy International anti-LGBT,

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro meets with Donald Trump to consolidate their far-right alliance – The Intercept Right-wing movements merge as Bolsonaro visits Trump – Politico Trump

GIFTS Statement on the World Congress of Families – Politesse Feminist resistance against the 2019 WCF: compilation World Congress of Families in Verona: An international

What happened in New Zealand is no coincidence – openDemocracy Jacinda Arden is leading by following no one – The New York Times The Myth of

Police Stop Women’s Action against Domestic Violence in Baku, Azerbaijan. March in Istanbul, Turkey Amnesty International praised the Ukrainian police efforts in seven cities across

In the March issue of SPW’s Sexuality & Art, we feature the works of American black artist Mickalene Thomas. She invites us to decolonizing look

We Can’t Let the Trump Administration Dismantle Women’s Rights Around the World – Rewire Trump Administration Fails to Roll Back Support for Landmark Women’s Rights

It has come to our attention that the facilitator of Agreed Conclusions for the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW),

Recife, 15 March 2019. We are in a political moment marked by setbacks and by obscurantism against universities, which attack their finest traits: critical thinking,

This article was originally published in ProPublica. A pro-life license plate on a car in Montgomery, Ala. (William Widmer, special to ProPublica) 1973 U.S. Supreme Court

  In Tokyo, Japan during the Women’s March Source: Elika Takimoto on Twitter In Brasilia Source: Mídia Ninja In Natal, RN Source: @jptrindaade on Twitter

On Friday 8 March, millions of people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, paying tribute to women’s achievements in the ongoing fight for equality.

The President and the Golden Shower – New York Times Bolsonaro Tweets Explicit Video To Criticize Brazilian Carnaval – Folha de São Paulo Brazil’s Bolsonaro

The teratology of the contemporary political imagination – plentiful enough: Trump, Le Pen, Salvini, Orbán, Kaczyński, ogres galore – has acquired a new monster. Rising above

On February 25th, Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders has delivered his report on the situation of human rights defenders. The

This map brings together information on laws which affect sex workers through the criminalisation of the sale and purchase of sexual services, and the facilitation, management or organisation of sex work, as well as other laws used to regulate sex work such as mandatory health checks and travel restrictions

SPW has compiled news, articles and assessments on the first two months of Brazilian far-right new administration and its setbacks and worrying moves, in various fronts such as Education, Foreign Affairs, Health, Human Rights and corruption scandals.

Sexual Scandals Sexual abuse summit Pope Francis describes feminism as ‘machismo with a skirt’ – The Irish Times Pope Francis Disappoints Sex Abuse Victims With

The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay.

Dear Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, We were very glad to learn that the WHO Maternal and Perinatal Health &

In this special issue of Signs, the contributors address the complex and powerful relationship between gender and the rise of the global Right. This discussion demonstrates how, in transnational terms, the Right has become a significant player in gender politics.

Supreme Court Halts Closure of Abortion Clinics in Louisiana – Center for Reproductive Rights We Can Thank Kavanaugh for Roberts’ Decision to Temporarily Block Louisiana’s

Supreme Court Allows Challenges to Trump’s Transgender Military Ban to Continue in Lower Courts – National Center for Lesbian Rights Supreme Court Declines Transgender Military

Call for Papers for a session at the Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society with Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG), London 28-30 August

Compiled and edited by Petrus Liu and Lisa Rofel. Originally published at The Center For Emerging Worlds (UC Santa Cruz). Available here. In recent years,

In November 2015, on the trail of the “feminist occupations”, we published for the first time the work of the black painter Rosana Paulino, whose

SPW has the pleasure of promoting the Global Public Health Journal call for papers for the Special Issue — The Contested Global Politics of Pleasure

More than 200 women accuse Brazil ‘spiritual healer’ of sex abuse – MSN Famed Brazilian medium accused of sex abuse surrenders – Channel News Asia

Researchers: María Angélica Peñas Defago, José Manuel Morán Faúndes, Juan Marco Vaggione Guest Experts: Gordan Bosanac, Kapya Kaoma Research Assistance: Violeta Cánaves Download the report

3rd Abortion & Reproductive Justice Conference: The Unfinished Revolution | Decriminalisation of Abortion, Medical Abortion and Advocacy for Change At Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa, 9-12

A report produced by Sonke Gender Justice and South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council. Download here. “We need to unpack the term of ‘absent father’

Thousands march in Taiwan gay pride parade for referendum vote – Al Jazeera Anti-gay marriage groups win Taiwan referendum battle – Yahoo Same-sex marriage advocates

As SPW has been reporting monthly on how the Nicaraguan crisis develops, we report another sad event that targets feminist activists on 23 November. Activities

On 14 November 2018, the Human Rights Council Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice issued a statement sharing

SPW gladly presents the ethnographic research work of Isabela Oliveira Kalil and her team at FESPSP on Bolsonaro and his different types of supporters. These

This fact sheet present figures of the results of the second round of the 2018 Brazilian presidential elections. The data comes from different sources: Items

A specter of Dictatorship in Brazil – NACLA Brazil’s election of far-right Bolsonaro leaves researchers reeling – Chemistry World Bolsonaro poses a serious threat to

Download FESPSP’s Núcleo de Etnografia Urbana magazine – Center for Urban Ethnography Vol.1 Issue Dec. 2017 Gender education protests

In a time of mourning, processing and making our best to re-exist in the glooming post-electoral atmosphere in Brazil, SPW brings back to our screens

Statement of the German Sociological Association We are not an empty line – Statement from the University of Gothenburg faculty Statement from ELTE CEU Reiterates

We share GATE’s Mauro Cabral personal note on this historic achievement: “Today, for the first time since the gender identity law in Argentina was passed

As done in other similar occasions, such as in the 2016 Trump elections, SPW has collected and selected the largest possible number of news, opinions

The exhibition at MIMA Museum entitled “May ’68 and protest movements in posters” recollects legendary posters used as protesting political vehicles from the sixties. The

Articles Escalating global effort for safe legal abortion – HRW Joint Letter read at the 39th Session of the Human Rights Council – AWID How To

Kavanaugh and #MeToo – The Economist McConnell and Grassley Have Prevented Proper Scrutiny of Kavanaugh. That Has to End, Now. – The Nation Grassley Knows

Text originally published at Artememoria. Available here. Curator Gaudêncio Fidelis on Queermuseum, his exhibition that was closed down because of pressure from the far-right. INTERVIEW

Friday, 3 August 2018 Morning session, from 8:20 am to 1:30 pm 08:30 am Ministry of Health Dra. Maria de Fátima Marinho de Souza Dra.

After the Pennsylvania Report release Faithful Catholics Respond After Abuse Scandals: Commitments to Change and Belief in Pope Francis – The New York Times Why Changes

I Worked With Avital Ronell. I Believe Her Accuser. – The Chronicle of Higher Education Another professor backs off earlier defense of feminist prof who

José Miguel Nieto Olivar* ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to understand feminine and indigenous forms of agency, especially that of the young women

Global Philanthropy Project and Funders for LGBTQ Issues are pleased to present the 2015-2016 Global Resources Report: Philanthropic & Government Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,

On August 14, after much debate, controversy and anti-Islamic accusations by the conservative sectors of Algerian society, the 2018 Health Act finally came into force

PRESS RELEASE 9 August 2018 – Argentina: no turning back By International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion  Argentina’s Senate voted last night –

By Sonia Corrêa Last year, in London, I saw a superb retrospective of Bhupen Khakar the Indian painter who died in 2003. I was fascinated.

We, the undersigned, members of the academic community and civil society organizations, denounce the persecution suffered by advocates of the LGBTI+ community and demonstrate our

Supreme Court judgement – Supreme Court of India Supreme Court Refuses to Delay Section 377 Hearing – The Wire Indian Supreme Court Considers Decriminalizing Homosexuality

July 27 is Pride Day in Iran. It’s been the 9th following year that the 4th Friday of July (1st Fri of Mordad in Persian

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, introduced in 2016 by the Minister for Women and Child Development and approved in February 2018 by

4 ways Pedro Sánchez is copying the Trudeau playbook – Politico Spain: Pedro Sanchez promises to remove Franco’s remains from Valley of the Fallen mausoleum

Trump ‘Very Close’ to Supreme Court Decision, but May Wait Till Final Hours – The New York Times In Making His Second Supreme Court Pick,

Pope Calls Abortion ‘White Glove’ Equivalent of Nazi Crimes – The New York Times Argentina’s top bishop says abortion is ‘not a right, but a tragedy’

The World Health Organization will stop classifying transgender people as mentally ill – CNN Being Transgender Is No Longer Considered A Mental Disorder By World

The World Health Organization has just announced the completion of the ICD-11 and released the official online version. The announcement does not mark the end

New York’s Sex Workers rally to take back International Whores Day: ‘Let us survive’ – The Daily Beast Puta Dei in NYC and New Jersey

Several hundred people danced, marched and raised slogans on the Chennai 10th Rainbow Pride March with banners and flags celebrating the date on June 24.

Transnational anti-gender movements in Europe and Latin America create unlikely alliances by Sonia Corrêa, David Patternote and Roman Kuhar This is a paper originally published

New Global Health Guidelines a Victory for Transgender People – Human Rights Watch

On the eve of the 2018 International AIDS Conference that takes place in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in July, the Global Public Health Journal, one of the

“Decisions about your body, your health and your life belong to you, they are your rights, make them true.” These were the slogans of the

Repeal Of Abortion Ban In Ireland Sets Off Calls For Change In Northern Ireland – National Public Radio As Ireland Joins Europe’s Sprint From Catholic

IDAHO Event Country Map Charter – DayAgainstHomophobia.org Brazil Establishes National Pact Against LGBT Violence on IDAHOTB eve Same-sex couples tie the knot in Cambodia in a

Español Articles in the news Informe preliminar CIDH, documenta el uso desproporcionado de la fuerza durante las manifestaciones de abril 2018, en Nicaragua – Iniciativa Mesoamericana

After the “feminist occupations” of 2015, SPW began highlighting the artwork of young Brazilian artists that carry strong imprints of Brazilian contemporary feminisms. One of these artists

SPW has the pleasure to announce the recently published book Anti-Gender Campaigns in Europe: Mobilizing against Equality, edited by Roman Kuhar and David Paternotte. Description

Wendy Brown University of California, Berkeley Neoliberalism and neoconservatism are two distinct political rationalities in the contemporary United States. They have few overlapping formal characteristics,

In Italy too, academic freedom is under threat, and democracy along with it. Barely has the extreme right assumed power that its effects are already

Originally posted at BBC on May 15, 2018.  “Abortion is the prime cause of femicide in the world,” declare the black-and-white posters that have appeared

Authors The initiative Mawjoudin for equality is a Tunisian association that fights for equality and the rights of LGBTIQ people. Damj The Tunisian Association for

Pro-Lifers Dismiss Pope’s Declaration that Protecting Migrants Is Just as Important as Abortion – Slate Pro-life leader: Pope Francis’ new exhortation ‘causes confusion’ on gravity

Author: Richard Miskolci Abstract: The persecution of philosopher Judith Butler during her visit to Brazil in late 2017 revealed the power of the ghost of

Since 2010’s political battles around gender have mushroomed globally involving a varied gamut of religious and secular forces. These frays became particularly frequent and vicious

On 11 December 2017, Intersex South Africa, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Foundation for Human Rights and Iranti joined activists and members of

Papers and articles Just as U.S. Media Does With MLK, Brazil’s Media Is Trying to Whitewash and Exploit Marielle Franco’s Political Radicalism – The Intercept

English Costa Rica Election Hands Presidency to Governing Party Stalwart – The New York Times Costa Rica’s Election Day: They all thought they’d win, and so

I once asked a Guatemalan public defender how she knew when a woman’s murder was the result of gender-based violence and not a simple homicide.

The first half of 2017 has been a busy and growthful time for the SRJC. We have been storming, norming and forming a working team

On March 8, the International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) promoted its publication entitled Intersectional Activism Toolkit for Sex Workers and

On Wednesday, February 14, Parkland suffered a violent episode of mass shooting at the Stoneman Douglas High School depicted by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who was

Ex-Miss Febem is the avatar of Aleta Valente, a Brazilian artist who lives in the peripheric neighborhood Bangu in Rio de Janeiro, where many correctional

Authors: Gabriela Arguedas Ramírez and Lynn M. Morgan Reference: Feminist Studies 43, no. 2. 2017 by Feminist Studies, Inc. Download the article here.

On the completion of Egon Schiele’s 100th birthday, Vienna’s Tourist Board started a campaign to promote art exhibitions in honour of Schiele’s work all over

Sex Abuse Case Shadows Pope Francis’ Visit to Peru – The New York Times Pope Francis arrives in crisis-hit Peru – BBC News Why Pope

Argentine Women Demand Legalization of Abortion at Congress – TeleSur Argentine Protesters Demand Free, Legal and Safe Abortions – TeleSur Argentina president urges Congress to

Sexual Harassment in the Academia – What the Hitlist Misses: Debaditya Bhattacharya and Rina Ramdev – Kafila #MeTooInChina Media Highlights – Feminism for China #MeToo

On February 15, Oxfam entered the role of sexual abuse scandals after the #MeToo movement swept over Hollywood and other organizations, reaching further spheres, such

On February 5 of 2018, Senator Magno Malta (PR) proposed to archive the draft bill (SUG) N. 15/2014 on the Commission of Human Rights and

“Reject RKUHP that Criminalizes Women, Children, Indigenous Peoples and Marginalized Groups”  We are women, housewives, workers, students, students, activists, and survivors of sexual violence who

Repression and marginalisation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Queer (LGBTQ) people across the world have limited safe opportunities for LGBTQ people to meet up but

Changing Faces Changing Spaces (CFCS) is a biennial pan African activist-led and planned conference facilitated by UHAI. It is a platform for African LGBTIQ and sex

From the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Trans people (REDLACTRANS) we reject the transphobic violent attack suffered by the national coordinator of Barbados, Alexa

In the 10th anniversary of the first issue of the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, UNESCO launches a revised edition. “Based on the latest

LETTER TO THE READERS Since beginning to prepare the 26th edition of the Sur International Journal on Human Rights, which Conectas is grateful to have

In the occasion of a workshop promoted by The Center for Emerging Worlds in Beijing, China, we gladly the share the conference outcome in the form

One year ago, in the preamble of March 8 when we celebrate International Women’s Day and women around the world historically articulate and promote strikes,

Montevideo (Uruguay) was the stage of the 14th Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Gathering (EFLAC in Spanish), where women gathered from the 23 to 25 of

The #MeToo movement erupted in October 2017  after several sexual harassment accusations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein became public. It is worth noting, however, that

Crackdowns have been reported in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan and, once again, in Egypt. In India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government presented the

December 15, 2017.   GATE released the publication Gender is not an illness. How pathologization violates human rights law. This paper was conceived and produced as a contribution

Nan Goldin is an American photographer known for her deeply personal and candid portraiture. Nan Goldin’s richly colored snapshots capture a world that is universally human

BRUSSELS, 24 November – The EPF Executive Committee has written to the Parliament of Brazil expressing its strong concern at a proposed constitutional amendment which

Brazilian male MPs chant ‘abortion no’ after voting to ban terminations for pregnant rape victims – The Independent Brazilian Congressional committee votes to ban all abortions –

This letter was read at the closing session of the Special Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in

Philosopher Judith Butler visited Brazil to launch two books and participate in the International Colloquium on the Ends of Democracy at SESC Vila Mariana in

Turkey introduced a draft bill allowing religious leaders to perform civil marriage ceremonies. Women’s rights activists claim it will only make it harder to monitor the ceremonies

The IE SOGI mandate was created through UN Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/32/2 in June of last year and was confirmed through six separate votes

Below you will find the summary for the report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,

Table of Contents Special Section: Abortion and Human Rights GUEST EDITORS Alicia Ely Yamin, Paola Bergallo, and Marge Berer EDITORIAL Narratives of Essentialism and Exceptionalism:

The Trans Health Survey is the result of the work of Transgender Europe (TGEU) and its partner organisations Women’s Initiative Supportive Group (WISG), Trans-Fuzja, Daniela

Originally published at Amnesty International, on Oct 10, 2017. Available here. The recent Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Science resolution banning the dissemination and use

On September 2017, we proudly present you the project What you don’t see: prostitution through our own eyes, developed as part of the project “The

Update: 7 arrested for ‘promoting sexual deviancy’ after raising rainbow flag at Mashrou’ Leila gig – Mada Masr – September, 26 At least 22 arrested

Joint Statement on Access to Safe and Legal abortion globally – HRC36: General Debate Item 8 September 28, 2017 Theme: Resist & Persist! Our Bodies, Our Abortions, Our Rights

The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) invites its members, partners, allies, friends and fellow feminists to participate in a conversation on Abortion & Autonomy: Demanding full

September 28 has been a regional campaign for the decriminalization of abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean for over twenty years before being taken

MANUAL ON PROVISION OF MEDICAL AND SOCIAL CARE FOR TRANSGENDER, TRANSSEXUAL AND GENDER NONCONFORMING PEOPLE FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS OF ALL LEVELS OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Originally published at Pan Africa ILGA – International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. The right to freedom of association under threat: 20 arrested

Zika has disappeared from the headlines. Soon after the World Health Organization’s decision to declare the end of the global public health emergency in November 2016,

The new report for the UN General Assembly on fundamentalism, extremism and the cultural rights of women by the Special Rapporteur Karima Bennoune is now out in all language versions.

Call for Papers for the V. 14, n. 1, April-July 2018 Journalism and Gender Studies Editors: Cláudia Lago (School of Communications and Arts, University of

This information sheet has been prepared for parents and families of children born with intersex variations. The tendency to categorize all people as either ‘female’

This information sheet provides some helpful tips for people wanting to communicate in constructive ways about marriage equality and related issues like gender diversity, sexual

  Stonewall’s new report LGBT in Britain: Hate Crime and Discrimination is out now and reveals high levels of hate crime and discrimination in the

The Chinese version of the Advancing the Human Rights and Inclusion of LGBT People: A Handbook for Parliamentarians has been jointly produced by the United Nations Development

The report of the APF-UNDP Conference on Yogyakarta Principles: What have we learnt and where to now? held in Bangkok from 25-26 April 2017 has been launched.

By Sonia Corrêa Anna Kahn is a Brazilian photographer who lives in Rio. In  2007, she made public the series Stray Bullet  in which she

NHRI Guidelines for Mainstreaming Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Work: APF resource sets out the practical steps NHRIs can take to ensure there

Inquiry into the Commonwealth Government’s Exposure Draft of the Marriage Amendment (Same-Sex Marriage) Bill – Australian Human Rights Comission Marriage Equality around the world –

In Chile, the processing of a bill aimed at legalizing abortion in three cases — when the woman’s life is at risk, when the fetus

The Supreme Court decision expanded the interpretation of the right to privacy to also address cultural diversity, plurality and more importantly, to recognize it as

Montevideo, Uruguay ─ Fifty experts from 20 countries in Africa, the Americas and Europe, gathered at the first international convening on conscientious objection to abortion have concluded

By Arnika Fuhrmann Through an examination of post-1997 Thai cinema and video art Arnika Fuhrmann shows how vernacular Buddhist tenets, stories, and images combine with sexual politics

The 26th issue of Sexuality, Health and Society – Latin American Journal, organized by the Latin American Center of Sexuality and Human Rights (CLAM/IMS/UERJ) is out

Originally posted at Human Rights Watch, on August 21, 2017. Available here. August 17, 2017 Malawi Human Rights Commission Off Paul Kagame Road Private Bag

“We, Key Affected Populations living with or affected by HIV, proclaim that we are more than just numbers. We have essential needs that must be

Recognising 28 September as the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights is

Gendered, racist, classist, homophobic, and transphobic violence haunts the world of sex work. Sex workers speak. Who listens? addresses that violence, but it does so from the

Here you can find the MPH prospectus, which gives a detailed overview of the programme with its leading global faculty and public health practitioners, experiential

The law on violence against women, including domestic violence, approved by the Tunisian parliament on July 26, 2017, is a landmark step for women’s rights,

Brazil: New Amnesty campaign will fight back as Congress considers legal changes that flagrantly attack human rights Amnesty International defending rights at risk in Brazil

The report “They said that I’m not a human, that I am nothing. That I should rather be a terrorist, than a fagot” is based on

Illicit Financial Flows: Why we should claim these resources for gender, economic and social justice Click here to download the brief The growing dominance of

In SPW Newsletter nº8 (2010), we registered Zanele Muholi’s artwork about queer identities in South Africa. By that time, the Minister of Arts and Culture

By all accounts, photographer Alice Austen was an extraordinary woman. Born into an affluent family on Staten Island in 1866, she challenged oppressive Victorian conventions

France’s newly elected president, Emmanuel Macron, when asked in a press conference at the G20 summit in Hamburg why there was no Marshall plan for

Around 50 experts on legislation, academics, health professionals and activists around the world will gather at the international convening on “Conscientious Objection to Abortion; Strategies

Patrick Alley, Global Witness Guest Editor Oliver Hudson, Sur Journal Managing Editor Source: Conectas Five years ago, on 26 April 2012, Chut Wutty, a courageous

Birthright begins with trauma. The Deavers, a married couple living in Nebraska, were excited to expand their family, but a medical emergency ruined their happy

Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the US military in any capacity, reversing a policy put in

The research found that LGBTIQ people are often represented in the news media inaccurately, stereotypically, or without a clear understanding of SOGIE. The study recommends that a professional code of conduct on reporting SOGIESC issues be developed. The study was developed in partnership between the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Burapha University and UNDP.

Psychology of sexual and gender identity Volume 10, Issue 1, 2017 (click here to access it) Certainly, many significant and important strides in achieving equality

Reproductive Health Matters is pleased to publish its 50th journal issue! Over the past 25 years, RHM has supported new thinking about sexual and reproductive

A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions launched last weeek at the United Nations in New York the report “Spotlight on Sustainable

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) has launched its first report, Rights at Risk. The report maps a complex global anti-rights lobby targeting

In his performances, Francisco Camacho – Portuguese contemporary dancer and choreographer — proposes a thought-movement centered on gender, which, until quite recently, has been ignored

German Parliament Approves Same-Sex Marriage – New York Times At long last, Germany’s bells are ringing for same-sex marriage – The Guardian All of Germany’s

How Cardinal Pell Rose to Power, Trailed by a Cloud of Scandal – New York Times Australian Cardinal and Aide to Pope Is Charged With

Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, the Independent Expert Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity the first report of the mandate to the Human Rights

Calling Queers with creative juices and a political edge…for a collaborative visual arts project Is the strong desire for Modi amongst his bhakts ‘erotic’? (Why)

WHO/HRP and the Population Division of the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs launched the Global Abortion Policies Database this morning at the 30th

Rainbow Fundraising offers LGBTQ organisations in the Western Balkans a comprehensive training package on resource development and mobilisation. Drawing on our long-term experience of trainings

The Smart Sex Workers’ Guide to the Global Fund Strategy 2017-2022: “Investing to End Epidemics” is a resource for sex workers to better understand the purpose and the goals of the Global Fund. This Guide describes the key points of the Global Fund Strategy, looks at what they mean for sex workers, and explores the opportunities for sex work organisations to use the strategy to strengthen sex workers’ capacity to engage in Global Fund processes and influence sex worker programmes funded through the Global Fund.

Originally posted at Open Society, on April, 2017. Available here. Who are sex workers? Sex workers are female, male, or transgender adults who receive money

Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER) has launched its second issue of Empower newsletter. “We are hoping that our work will be a challenge

The world is seeing a resurgence of religious extremism at national, regional, and global levels, which renews the threat to many of the rights that

Anti-occupation LGBTQ activists block Tel Aviv pride parade – 972 The Latest: Tear Gas, Checkpoints Greet LGBT Pride in Turkey – U.S News The Baltic

This paper examines the translation of human rights norms into discourses on abortion in Northern Ireland, a region where abortion is highly restricted, with extensive contemporary public debate into potential liberalization of abortion law. This paper emanates from research examining political debates on abortion in Northern Ireland and contrasts findings with recent civil society developments, identifying competing narratives of human rights with regard to abortion at the macro- and micro-political level.

Once  again we bring attention to Ana Lira, a photographer and artist from Recife, in the Brazilian State of Pernambuco. Lira has has moved from civil engineering

Text by Josh Jackman originally published at Pink News on May 05, 2017. Available here. Same-sex marriage is now permitted in Bermuda after a gay

Taiwan’s constitutional court this week paved the way for marriage equality in the country by striking down the legal definition of marriage as “between a man and a woman.”

Text by Marlise Richter* originally published at Daily Maverick on May 29, 2017. Available here.  I am writing to you now that my fingers can

In May 2017, Sexuality&Art featured Paola Paredes, an Ecuadorian photographer engaged in groundbreaking work centered on ‘disclosure’.  Her last photo series, titled  Until you Change 

Operation Car Wash: Is this the biggest corruption scandal in history? – The Guardian  The Guardian view on Brazilian corruption: the public deserve a voice

The past ten years have witnessed tremendous advances for HIV and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) rights globally, including the creation of an Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) mandate at the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Donald Trump is dramatically expanding the federal government’s support for healthcare organisations that agree to not provide abortion services. Read more on the Independent. The

News and Events By Country -Idahot Committee Chapter Four Uganda Statement on IDAHOT 2017 African Men for Sexual Health and Rights – IDAHOT Press Release

LAGOS – The biennial survey poll commissioned by The initiative for Equal Rights and conducted by NOI Polls, to map the perception and awareness of LGBT

The past ten years have witnessed tremendous advances for HIV and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) rights globally, including the creation of an Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) mandate at the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Ecuadorian artist Paola Paredes has created a photo series, titled “Until You Change“, to protest against the existence of underground centers intended to “cure” homosexuality in Ecuador.

The number of countries criminalising consensual, private same-sex sexual activity between adults has decreased to 72, while the variety of law relevant to sexual orientation continues to expand steadily

Pan Africa ILGA will be conducting a training for African LGBTI Activists on Human Rights Mechanisms from the 27th – 29th July 2017 in Accra,

An advance edited version of the 1st report (A/HRC/35/36) by the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

Post by Sarah Ather* originally published at Kafila on May 05, 2017. Available here. My life has revolved around the concept of God. I have

They Have Long Arms and They Can Find Me’: Anti-Gay Purge by Local Authorities in Russia’s Chechen Republic – Human RIghts Watch report News Update:

Habemus Gender! The Catholic Church and ‘Gender Ideology’ – Volume 6 – Issue 2 – 2016 Guest editors: Sarah Bracke and David Paternotte You can

How do we create new men in Africa? A process of consciousness raising, or the journey of men increasing their self-awareness of patriarchy or male domination, is required. The new man should be able to experience empathy, to care for others, show compassion and to discuss their emotions openly.

Summerschool on Health Law and Ethics 2017 28 June – 7 July 2017 The Erasmus Observatory on Health Law / Institute of Health Policy &

Resource for Teaching & Learning about anti-Muslim Racism in the United States Home #IslamophobiaIsRacism Syllabus Race, Empire, Islam The Production and Reproduction of Anti-Muslim Racism

Sex workers and their allies face significant obstacles in the fight to improve the health and wellbeing of sex workers globally. In the Smart Sex

In March and early April, two grave cases of crackdowns against women’s rights activists have been registered worldwide. In Jamaica, activist Latoya Nugent was detained

In February, in Curitiba,  a woman was arrested when searching for care for incomplete abortion in an Evangelical hospital. In early March, in Pauí, a

LBT Women’s Economic Empowerment: Reflections on the Successes and Struggles from the CSW – ARC International CSW 61 marred by US travel bans – AWID

The Nigerian feminist and writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was plunged into a noisy row after remarks that distinguish experiences of transgender women from those who are

Turkish artist Güneş Terkol challenges feminine imaginaries. She departs from personal or collective histories shared by women at workshops organized in the context of her

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

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,

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

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.

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

Text by Marge Berer, originally published at International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion on Mar 3, 2017. Available here. The story to date

Text by Kyle Knight published at Human Rights Watch, on February 16, 2017. Available here. More than 600 transgender people applied for civil service jobs

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

Originally posted at International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, on Mar 3, 2017. Available here. A judge in the city of Mercedes, Soriano, has

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Text by Essar Batool [1] published at AWID, on Feb 22, 2017. Available here. In 2016, the Indian-occupied state of Kashmir once again erupted in

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

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.

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

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.

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

Article authored by Rebekah Thomas, Frank Pega, Rajat Khosla, Annette Verster, Tommy Hanaa & Lale Sayc. Published at Bull World Health Organ. Click here to

Originally posted at TGEU, on Feb 8, 2017. Available here. This is a review of some of the European editions of the National Geographic Special

Originally posted at Guttmacher Institute Feb 14, 2017. Available here. An estimated 314,300 Ugandan women had abortions in 2013, according to a new study conducted

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

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

Transgender Europe (TGEU), launching the revised edition of the Legal Gender Recognition toolkit hope it can inspire more change across Europe in the area of

As we resist Trump’s potential anti-LGBTQ orders, it’s important to remember that even though Trump is himself transphobic and homophobic, he can get on the side of LGBTQ rights when it’s convenient.

Originally published at Institute of Development Studies (IDS) by Priliantina Bebasari, on February 6, 2017. Available here.  I attended an event by UN Women Indonesia

Transgender Europe (TGEU) calls on the National Geographic to publish a response[1] to the European trans community who has been negatively affected by the translation,

This initiative proves that, even where abortion is legally restricted and socially stigmatized, community-based organizations can publicly and openly share information about misoprostol and refer it to women by using innovative and effective strategies, without political backlash

The arts hold great sway on how sexuality is viewed, represented, and understood. Does art imitate life, or life, art? Or can it be tossed away as an inscrutable mix of the two influencing each other?

Center for Reproductive Rights Statement on Nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court Trump Nominates Birth Control Benefit Foe Neil Gorsuch to

A Lebanese judge challenged the legal basis of the arrest of men for same-sex conduct, declaring in a Metn court ruling last week that “homosexuality is a personal choice, not a criminal offence”.

My own sense is that Trump unleashed a rage that has several objects and several causes, and we should probably be skeptical of those who claim to know the true cause and the exclusive object. The condition of economic devastation and disappointment, the loss of hope in the face of an economic future brought on by economic

By Sonia Corrêa In November, 2016, SPW section on Art&Sexuality featured the work of Kátia Sepúlveda, one of the 46 women selected for the 32th

By Sonia Corrêa Searching for works of art that would reflect the dystopian state of world affairs in January 2017, I recalled walking over the

Massive and global women’s protest raged through the world and stormed the headlines in a historical action to protest and mark a clear standpoint against

Supreme Court on Monday issued a verdict requesting to provide citizenship to gender and sexual minority under the Others (O) category. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already begun providing citizenship on the basis of identity but there are still obstacles in the districts.

In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump has reinstated a federal ban on U.S. funding for international health organizations that counsel women

Once more, Happy New Year! There have been so many things we have been working on during the last months of 2016 that we want

When it comes to Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who was sentenced to prison after leaking a trove of classified government data to

The Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its new General Comment on Adolescents. Among other advancements, the new general comment: Recognizes that states

SC allows abortion of 24-week foetus, but why should women go to court in the first place? The Supreme Court on Monday permitted a woman

his study on trans-women living in Pakistan uncovers an in-depth review of their socio-economic situation and the challenges/barriers they face as well as the support systems available to them.

Barbaros Şansal, a Turkish fashion designer and LGBTI activist, is being held in pre-trial detention, as his request of appeal has been rejected. According to Amnesty International, which has launched an urgent action appeal, he is accused of ‘inciting the public to hatred or hostility’ for a video message and tweet he shared on social media on New Year’s Eve. In this clip, Şansal reportedly criticized people for celebrating the New Year at a time of large scale detention of journalists and widespread corruption.

The International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS) opens the Call for Applications for its XI Biennual Conference, to be held

We still have a period taboo. We acknowledge that they happen       but it’s vulgar to talk about them in public. A natural process

Compiled by Arcus Foundation (special thanks to Garrett Sander), January 2017. The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive and fluid list of

“Not dancing to their music” is a report by Bisi Alimi Foundation, in which 446 LGBT Nigerians completed an online survey that uncovered disturbing stories

After every major LGBT rights group in America campaigned in support of Donald Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton, it came as little surprise that Trump won

Text by Fida Hussnain, originally publish at The Nation, on Jan 10, 2017. Available here.  LAHORE –  The Lahore High Court yesterday allowed a petition

The preparation of this report was led by Sarah Gammage and Lisa McGowan.  They are sincerely grateful to the other drafting committee members, Vanessa Pillay,

The 24th issue of Sexualidad, Salud y Sociedad marks its eighth year of systematic publication and presents an expressive illustration of its central themes and objectives.

What are the relationships and interdependencies influencing the promises of being online: voice, visibility, and power? This ARROW for Change (AFC) issue on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the internet documents some of these dynamics.

Newspapers and web-based news sites have carried a flurry of responses to the new abortion bill in Malawi, and has led the country’s president to deny

Sex workers are routinely subject to human rights violations by local authorities. State-sanctioned violations of human rights (such as the right to life, dignity, equality,

Yesterday, the European Parliament adopted a new comprehensive report on fundamental rights in the EU. The report assesses how fundamental rights are implemented in the

Andrew Mroczek and Juan José Barboza-Gubo created a series of photographs called “Canon.” It’s a symbolic name — a way of re-writing traditional laws in Peru to

The African Population and Health Research Centre in Kenya has put together a free online database of more than 600 publications related to abortion in

Text by Nadje Al-Ali, Zahra Ali and Isabel Marler, originally published by Jadaliyya, on Dec 9, 2016. Avaliable here. After a long delay, the United

In 2006, a Polish woman named Justyna heard a rumor about a new abortion pill. The thirty-year-old mother of three was eleven weeks along in a

As part of its celebrations of the Human Rights Day, Mesahat Foundation for Sexual and Gender Diversity is pleased to launch its publication “LGBT Voices from Sudan,” which documents violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity against sexual and gender minorities in Sudan.

Authored by Susan Wood, Lilián Abracinskas, Sonia Corrêa and Mario Pecheny, this article – based on a descriptive study of the context and political processes

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

“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

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.

The 32nd São Paulo Bienal, which ends in December, features works by 81 artists from 33 countries, among which 46 are women. This strong presence

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,

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.

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

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.

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.

Text by Stephen Wood, Lukas Berredo and Carla LaGata published at Institute of Development Studies on Nov 18, 2016. Available here. In the three months following the

Originally posted at International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, on Nov 17, 20116. Available here. Women denied the right to an abortion are

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.

Originally published at Human Rights Watch on Oct 10, 2016. Available here: Human Rights Watch (Banjul) – Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 (SSMPA)

Donald Trump, after defeating Hillary Clinton in an extremely polarized election, will be the  45th President of the United States. This result prompted visceral and

The United Nations has chosen Wonder Woman as its honorary ambassador for “the empowerment of women and girls” on the 75th anniversary of her first

Portrait photography is a work of collaboration. These women are posing as they want to be seen—wearing furs or prized clothes, smiling with a pet dog, lying like one of Henri Matisse’s odalisques, or playing cards. The images are considered and composed. Other than that, we know very little about E. J. Bellocq and the women he photographed.

In fact, “gender ideology” is an invention of the right. It’s a hodgepodge of disparate ideas developed by a diverse group of thinkers over the past 50 years, linked mainly in the minds of its opponents. It doesn’t really exist beyond its creators’ manifestos and protest banners, but it’s already helped them score some very real victories.

Kerala is an enigma. With its high social indices of literacy, sex ratio and low female infanticides, it projects the image of a progressive state, one way ahead of the others. But ask the women who actually live there and they will have a different story to tell.

Originally posted by the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion on 02/11/2016. Available at: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/unsafe-abortion-prevention-and-care-a-practical-guideline-for-health-workers-in-lao-pdr/. The following statement was made by Prof Dr

Originally posted by the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion on 02/11/2016. Available at: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/changes-in-the-law-on-abortion-statement-by-the-womens-resource-center-armenia/  A number of changes were made in the

The question of whether and how authoritarian regimes may use gender politics to preserve their rule has attracted insufficient academic attention so far. Research on state feminism shows that non‐democratic regimes often enact women‐friendly policies for the purpose of maintaining power. However, this finding has not been linked to the broader research on authoritarian resilience.

On the 21 March 2016, Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM) in collaboration with the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) held a policy discussion on “The Legal and Policy Environment of Safe Abortion in Malaysia”.

This research study was carried out by the Moroccan Family Planning Association (MFPA) in partnership with the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Malaysia, to generate evidence on the nature and consequences of unsafe abortions in Morocco and how religious fundamentalism (in the case of Islam) prevents adequate policies and practices for safe abortion services.

Within South Africa, more than 20 years post democracy, the legal provisions on reproductive health and sexual orientation have been recognisable gains. It is a challenge though that these legal rights are not well realised and the struggles of many girls, young women and gender queer people remain unrealised in reproductive justice.

This article offers an overview of the turn toward more liberal rules and the resolution of abortion disputes by reference to national constitutions. First, the main legal changes of abortion laws in the last decade are surveyed. Landmark decisions of the high courts of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico are then analyzed. We show that courts have accepted the need to balance interests and competing rights to ground less restrictive laws. In doing so, they have articulated limits to protection of fetal interests, and basic ideas of women’s dignity, autonomy, and equality.

During the peace plebiscite campaign, opposition to the so-called gender ideology became pivotal in uniting the extreme right, various Christian organizations and some sectors behind

Originally posted at the Cerebral Palsy Guidance. Available at: https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/living/lgbt/ Having cerebral palsy (CP) and being gay appears to be a double-edged sword for numerous

To celebrate both International Day of Action for Trans Depathologisation (22 October) and Intersex Awareness Day (26 October), SPW shares articles, news and campaigns aimed at

This timely book, authored by Hakan Seckinelgin (London School of Economics and Political Science), looks critically at the policy response to AIDS and its institutionalization over

The current law, called the Mother and Child Health Act, permits abortions only if the woman or her spouse has a genetic mental or physical disorder; the woman has an infectious disease; the pregnancy is the result of rape, quasi-rape, or incest; or when the pregnancy is seriously detrimental to the woman’s health.

Source: Frida Fund Are you a young, feminist group from the Global South? Are you working towards creating a more gender-just world? We would love

This workshop will bring together key scholars working across different disciplines in order to examine how gender is constructed in new wars and the consequences and/or advantages of new gender relations. It seeks to bring together emerging work on the formation, contestation and transformation of gender relations in new wars.

How relevant is BRICS today? – AlJazeera BRICS fantasies and unintended revelations – Pambazuka

Here is the latest edition (Vol. 9 (IV) July- August 2016) of our bi-monthly newsletter – covering significant UN updates, international events, national judgments and policy related developments relating to gender, sexuality and culture that took place in the months of July and August.

Psychologists drew historically from theories of social Darwinism and eugenics to espouse the hierarchical categorisation of people into race groups. African people were posited as the least human of all.

A long-established conservative media frames the terms of abortion politics in Ireland. The pro-choice activism challenges dominant discourses with the inclusivity and diversity of the movement exemplifying how to put intersectionality into practice.

Originally published at Kaos GL The book Situation of LGBTI Rights in Turkey and Recommendations including the articles of six experts major in different disciplines

There might be many reasons, but the main one is the unconditional defense of the radicalization of democracy and the promotion of human rights, both in Brazil and abroad. What does that have to do with BRICS?

Originally posted at the Sexual Rights Initiative’s website in 2016. Human Rights Council adopts resolution on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights in the

The government said that protests against the bill had given ministers “food for thought”. Poland already has among the tightest abortion laws in Europe, and

Read the full article on American Quarterly When thousands of Colombians protested on August 10 to demand the resignation of the country’s openly gay education

Listening carefully to the at times homophobic and hateful commentary about homosexuality among Africans, a social critique of the international community and the local elite is heard. Dislike of homosexuality is used to protest at the levels of inequality and how corrupt African leaders continue to be supported by the West. The white savior complex ruins rather than helps the cause of LGBTI rights in Africa.

Originally posted by Maneo Mohale at Bitch Media on 19/09/2016. Available at: https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/magic/contradiction-resilience-and-creativity-black-feminism-south-africa Maneo Mohale is the 2016 Bitch Media Writing Fellow in Global Feminism.

Originally posted by Srilatha Batliwala, Geetanjali Misra and Nafisa Ferdous at Open Demoracy on 03/10/2016. Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/to-build-feminist-futures-suspend-judgment/ As feminist thinkers and activists, we must

In Mexico and in Latin America the intersex community faces similar problems to those faced by intersex people elsewhere in the world, with some local quirks. Medical protocols still include genital mutilation, and these practices are justified as necessary to “normalize” genital appearance and so avoid problems in social interactions.

Originally posted by Clare Coultas at the LSE blog on 14/09/2016. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2016/09/14/subverting-love-stories/  LSE’s Clare Coultas questions the portrayal of love in global sexual

Originally from Prostitution Policy Watch ——————- Once again, Rio de Janeiro has hosted a sporting mega-event, this time the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. And once

In an effort to ensure that ARASA partner civil society organisations (CSOs) have improved capacity to advocate and strengthen capacities of other CSOs, ARASA implements

To celebrate the Global Day for Safe and Legal Abortion, SPW has collected news, analysis and actions from around the globe. Reflections from Our Countries

Mujeres Creando is a Bolivian feminist collective devoted to political street art interventions. They do not define themselves as artists but as political activists. Their

Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (WHER) has launched its first issue of Empower newsletter, aimed at promoting a deeper conceptual understanding of gender and

The International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe (ICRSE) has launched its 2015 report that offers detailed description about its campaigns, resources,

The new issue of GLQ Journal, by Duke University Press, brings the theme “The child now” and features Paul Amar’s article “The Street, the Sponge,

Feminist and queer art was part of the 13th International AWID Forum in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia Sep 8th-11th , 2016). Gabrielle Le Roux was

Talking about migration would be talking about what happens with the crossing of boundaries. Boundaries of culture and climate, and boundaries of visibility, where a change in semantics can come to render what was invisible visible (an accent, perhaps a way of dressing, one’s values and ideas, the experience of being surveilled as an alien), while also allowing the migrant certain new freedoms to be invisible (anonymity where ‘nobody knows your name’, and certain kinds of agency one may not have enjoyed back home).

The study findings point to the need for a nuanced understanding of gender among medical educators and students. The introduction of gender could pave the way for an opening up of medicine to delve deeper into how signifiers such as class, caste, gender etc. have a bearing on health. The medical curriculum and training must undergo fundamental changes to integrate gender so as to ensure the creation of a gender-sensitive and socially-relevant medical force in the country.

The six case studies presented in this publication—in Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, South Africa, and Zimbabwe—offer a look at real-life sex worker–led programming that has reduced police abuse, health risks, and other adverse impacts of bad laws and law enforcement on sex workers

The volume 134 (August 2016) of the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics brings the special issue “Reducing Maternal Mortality by Preventing Unsafe Abortion: The

China’s interactions with the global South have been the subject of much attention and study from both inside and outside the country. Yet issues of gender and sexuality have been largely ignored.

Visioning Feminist Futures: Opening Plenary at the 13th AWID Forum – Awid Building Alliances to End Gender-Based Violence at Work – Awid Glass ceilings and

The defining event of the 32nd Session of the Human Rights Council was the passing of the resolution appointing an Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

From sex to race, classification is a tool of oppression. Particularly examining abuse directed at Caster Semenya, this article looks ahead this week’s AWID International Forum’s theme ‘Bodily Integrity and Freedoms’.

Originally posted by Laurent Ribabeau Dimas at Francetvinfo on 19/08/2016, translated to English by SPW.’s team  Tunisia is the only Arab country to authorize the

Guest-edited by Tactical Tech, the 2016 AFC bulletin includes contributions from 16 sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and tech activists, researchers, and writers, who explore the relationships and interdependencies influencing the promises of being online: voice, visibility, and power; and look at the possibilities offered by technologies to SRHR work, amidst challenges related to access, the corporatisation of the internet, collusion between governments and technology companies, censorship, violations of privacy, sexism, and violence, amongst others.

Originally published at the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion’s website on 30/08/2016 Available at: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/supported-by-anis-anadep-files-petition-to-the-brazilian-supreme-court-for-protection-of-rights-violated-during-the-zika-virus-public-health-emergency/ A judicial constitutional review was filed before the

by Sonia Corrêa When, in 1998, the proposal to legalize abortion in Portugal was defeated in a first referendum, the acclaimed painter Paula Rego produced

  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]

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

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.

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.

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’.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Originally by Human Rights Watch, posted on 10/08/2016. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/11/indonesia-lgbt-crisis-exposed-official-bias (Jakarta) – The Indonesian government stoked an unprecedented attack on the security and rights

Originally by Human Rights Watch, posted on 15/08/2016. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/15/sri-lanka-challenging-gender-norms-brings-abuse  (New York) – Transgender people and others who do not conform to social expectations about

NAZ Pakistan is committed to working with youth who identify as sexual and gender minorities. As a first step to establish a baseline, the technical

The IACHR just launched the English version of the report “Violence Against LGBTI Persons”.  In this Report, the Commission focuses on violence against LGBT persons

A law in Belize criminalizing same-sex intimacy was ruled unconstitutional by the country’s Supreme Court. The challenge to Section 53 of the Belize Criminal Code, which banned “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and disproportionately affected gay men, was brought by Caleb Orozco

This book sets out the ethical arguments for a woman’s right to choose. Drawing on the traditions of sociological thinking and moral philosophy, it maintains that there is a strong moral case for recognizing autonomy in personal decision-making about reproductive intentions. More than this, it argues that to prevent a woman from making her own choice to continue or end her pregnancy is to undermine the essence of her humanity.

The last days of the government of Hosni Mubarak and the turbulent revolution that followed were tense, occasionally gut-wrenching times for many in Egypt. But

Originally posted at the RHM (Reproductive Health Matters)Journal in 2016:  The forthcoming issue of RHM, which is produced in partnership with CREA, and co-edited with

While the international media were busy highlighting the Stanford rape and Brazil gang-rape cases, another gang-rape, followed by murder, of a 14 year-old girl named Yuyun happened in Indonesia. It was an atrocity as severe, despite the lack of international coverage.

The Women’s Legal Centre has published their report on Police Abuse of Sex Workers in South Africa. Their report shows that 414 sex workers reported various types of violence perpetrated by police between 2011 and 2015. Of those, 13 were sexually assaulted, 71 were physically assaulted, 152 were verbally assaulted, 192 were harassed, and 254 experienced some other form of abuse.

Ending AIDS by 2030 is redundant rhetoric. It is meaningless without investment in community participation. Code red for action.

Women, girls and femme-presenting people are more than flamenco dancers and brides. And thanks to a a new update by Apple and a freshly-approved emoji proposal from Google, they may finally

The most recent issue of differences, “Transatlantic Gender Crossings,” edited by Anne Emmanuelle Berger and Éric Fassin, addresses French and US feminism, gender, and queer

Originally posted by Caroline Reilly at Bitch Media on 21/07/2016.  by Caroline Reilly Published on July 21, 2016 at 11:21am We explored this topic—in part—because

Originally posted at the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion‘s website on 08/08/2016. Available at: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/cedaw-calls-on-philippines-to-provide-contraception-and-allow-safe-abortion-in-some-circumstances-then-president-duterte-announces-full-implementation-of-2012-rh-law/ Philippines President Duterte has announced the full implementation

The “Save the Women” Civic Committee has tabled a draft law in the Sejm, lower house of the Polish parliament, liberalizing the anti-abortion legislation in force in Poland since 1993. The draft law allows abortion on request until the 12th week of pregnancy, and improves access to contraception and sexuality education, After that abortion would be permissible along the same rules as those in effect today.

Trans organisations signing this letter, and the activist networks they represent, celebrate the Resolution [on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and

France is the 1st ever country to be reprimanded for IGM by 3 different UN treaty bodies, having previously been reprimanded by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in February 2016, and by the Committee against Torture (CAT) in May.

There’s a global push to remove “gender identity disorder” from the list of mental illnesses. But many transgender people in Japan aren’t on board with the idea. J. Lester Feder reports from Osaka.

Pride Uganda raided by police as LGBT activists arrested – Pink News Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) Statement on State-Sanctioned Disruptions of Pride

The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) is the national umbrella body for SOGIE organizations representing various lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex voices

A Pride event in Uganda has been broken up by police as at least two LGBT+ activists are arrested. Pride Uganda tweeted that the small gathering in Kampala had been raided by police, as prominent LGBT+ activist Frank Mugisha also tweeted that he had been arrested.

From the start of the coup attempt by military officials on Friday through to the government’s crackdown in response, women’s voices have been almost entirely absent. Images

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice has launched the report We Are Real: The Growing Movement Advancing the Human Rights of Intersex People.  Available in English,

Originally posted by Susana T. Freid at Open Demoracy on 22/07/2016. Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/crosstalk-linking-across-areas-of-criminalization/  In a moment of global attacks on civil society, an intersectional

The on-going political conservative trends that has brought us the Brazilian “soft coup”, BREXIT and the candidacy of Donald Trump has also resulted in an increase in reactionary politics across the political spectrum, even among “radicals” and “progressives”. In Brazil, this has been recently manifest in attacks against

Presentation by Alejandro Brito from Letra S (México) at the pre IAC seminar organized by Ford Foundation Seminar in Durban on Challenging Criminalization Globally. The

Originally posted by the Government of the Netherlands on 14/07/16. Available at: https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2016/07/14/international-coalition-launched-for-lgbti-equal-rights  In Uruguay on Wednesday an international coalition was launched for equal rights

The problem is ‘criminal law’ by Sonia Corrêa Using media and legal services for the defense of LGBT rights in Mexico   by Alejandro Brito Crosstalk:

Gabriel Hoosain Khan, an LGBT activist from South Africa muses about the distance of UN bodies in Geneva from the realities of the world that we (or at least some of us) live in or know about. He says – “In Geneva it might be possible

by Maria Eugenia Matricardi Translation: Matheus Opa, reviewed by Sonia Corrêa A white butterfly flies over the humid foam that floats next to the waterfall.

Most photographs and paintings of women of color in the 19th century US — as well as in other slave economies of the period –

Maria Eugenia Matricardi is a visual artist and a Doctorate student in Contemporary Poetics at the University of Brasília – UnB.  She lives in the

Originally posted by at the Youth Coalition’s website. Available at: https://www.youthcoalition.org/abortion-rights/call-for-submissions-global-day-of-action-for-access-to-safe-and-legal-abortion-watchdog/  Recognizing 28 September as the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and

Resurj, a global alliance of feminists advocating for sexual, reproductive and gender justice from across the globe, met in New York on April 16-17 2016

CHANGE has released its brand new report “All Women, All Rights, Sex Workers Included: U.S. Foreign Assistance and the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

In discussions around why young Syrian men join armed groups (such as ISIS or Jabhat al-Nusra) in Syria, it often boils down to two main theories: that of sectarianism, the ancient, seemingly perpetual divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, or that of Islam being a ‘religion of violence’.

A senior Iranian health official warned Wednesday that sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS was on the rise, in part because of taboos about discussing sex. As part of its efforts against HIV/AIDS, the government has for the first time set up centres to provide assistance to prostitutes, including checks for sexually transmitted diseases, education on prevention and free contraceptives.

Originally posted at the OAS’ website on 25/07/2016. Available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2016/097.asp  Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the recent creation

Originally posted by ЛГБТ Аман түүх at lgbtamantuukh on 04/07/2016. Available at: https://lgbtamantuukh.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/welcome-to-the-lgbt-oral-histories-of-mongolia-project/  Sponsored by the LGBT Centre (Mongolia)’s Youth Leadership Program, Batchimeg S. and

Crosstalk: HIV and linking across areas of criminalisation – Susana T. Fried – openDemocracy

Originally posted by Melissa Fischer at Open Democracy on 20/07/2016. Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/performing-beyond-gendered-zombie-economy/ Contemporary performance can provide a way of understanding as well as re-imagining

The Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) released today (20/07) “Myth vs. Reality: evaluating the Brazilian response to HIV in 2016”. The publication was showed in

The June 2017 issue of Health and Human Rights includes a special section on the intersections between abortion and human rights, and in particular the use of legal mobilization

Source: Dangerous Minds Sex, Satan and the single girl: Bewitching vintage occult-themed ‘men’s interest’ magazines Black Magic magazine, Volume three, Number two. The rise of

Gates, who is worth $80 billion, specialises in top-down technicist quick-fixes, which often backfire on the economic shooting range of extreme corporate influence and neoliberal policies. On Sunday, Gates will get even richer, in terms of the moral legitimacy bestowed by the Mandela Lecture.

Originally posted by Mic Jordyn Taylor at Business Insider on 18/07/2016. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/researchers-calculated-the-economic-cost-of-homophobia-2016-7 DURBAN, South Africa — Homophobia exacts a devastating emotional toll. But

The UN Human Rights Committee has released a report slamming the state of abortion rights in Argentina and criticizing President Mauricio Macri’s decision to strike down key articles of the Broadcast Media Law and its subsequent effects on freedom of expression on 15 July.

Twenty-one members of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) in El Salvador submitted a motion on 11 July to the parliament for debate on 14 July to reform Article 133 of the Penal Code, increasing the penalty for women who cause or consent to an abortion from up to eight years in prison to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 50 years.

“The Road to Partnerships” was commissioned by GPP in fulfillment of a commitment made during the Conference to Advance the Human Rights of and Promote Inclusive

Going beyond the dichotomy of victims and savages entails a nuanced understanding of violence. Such an understanding perceives mainstream violence as indivisible from other paradigms of large-scale oppression – hegemony, socioeconomic injustice, institutionalization, neoliberalism, occupation… It also accounts for the normalized violence we live on a daily basis, in silent acts of coercion, harassment, bullying, and self-damage, and the ways in which they are informed by macro instances of violence, and vice versa.

Between May 2015 and September 2016, Sexuality Policy Watch has produced monthly brief reports on the Brazilian politics of abortion and sexuality in its connections

On the 20th of May in Brantford, Ontario (Canada), a report was released by Dr. Stacey Hannem and the organisation REAL that assesses the needs

Njideka Akunyili Crosby is a Nigerian born artist who moved to the United States in 1999. Her main medium is collage and her works are

Maria Teresa was Colombian actress who became a visual art performer. She died of cancer in 2008. Her art directly dialogued  with the impacts of

Against the backdrop of the EU referendum campaign, London-based Romanian women sex workers are using EU law to challenge the police and fight for their rights.

 Under Operation Nexus, the Met are monitoring Romanian sex workers, rounding them up and ordering them to leave the country because they claim that sex work doesn’t count as legitimate employment.

Originally posted by Peter Sarosi at the Drug Reporter on 01/07/2016. Available at: https://drogriporter.hu/en/pride-and-prejudice-sex-workers-are-excluded-from-budapest-pride/  The Pride movement is about fighting social exclusion and discrimination –

Victorian sexuality is often considered synonymous with prudishness, conjuring images of covered up piano legs and dark ankle-length skirts. Historian Matthew Green uncovers a quite different scene in the sordid story of Holywell St, 19th-century London’s epicentre of erotica and smut.

On June 30th the Human Rights Council, after a complex and difficult negotiation has voted a resolution that establishes the mandate of and Independent Expert

Source: http://www.genderjustice.org.za/news-item/applications-mati-2016-now-open/

In what was described as a dramatic milestone by human rights activists working on the promotion and protection of human rights on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, members of the United Nations at the 32 session of the Human Rights Council voted a resolution that provides a new mandate for an independent expert that will be responsible for reporting violence suffered by people on the grounds of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, globally.

Originally posted at GATE’s website on 04/07/20216. Available at: http://gate.ngo/gate-statement-on-the-un-sogi-mandate/  On June 30, 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council approved a historic resolution creating

Originally posted at https://lgbt-ep.eu/press-releases/un-body-votes-for-independent-expert-on-lgbt-discrimination/ In a 23 against 18 vote (6 abstentions)*, the United Nations Human Rights council voted in favour of a resolution condemning

Utilizing data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which includes representative state-level surveys, Williams Institute scholars provide up-to-date estimates of the percentage and number of adults who identify as transgender in the United States. Approximately 0.6% of adults in the United States, or 1.4 million individuals, identify as transgender.

A Development Agenda for Sexual and Gender Minorities, by Andrew Park, International Program Director, The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law is grounded in current research literature regarding important development outcomes for sexual and gender minorities, such as health, employment, family formation, education and civil participation.

The past three decades brought important developments to the area of women’s access to abortion, especially with the advent of medical abortion methods. However, the

With Assisted Reproductive Technologies, science has managed to use technology to prise apart previous associations between reproduction and sex. With gender, class and queer theory, the social sciences have prised apart previous associations between gender and sex. We have found that knowledge through science, like knowledge of sexuality, can’t be pinned down to absolutes. “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know,” said Aristotle. While science may value the systematic and objective, it cannot escape the baffling convolutions of lived experience. How does life influence knowledge, and knowledge influence life?

The ‘natural’ separation of men and women in these spaces arose less than 200 years ago, as part of a pervasive ideology of separation and dominance.

In a defining vote, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on “Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation, and gender identity”, to mandate the appointment of an Independent Expert on the subject.

The person appointed to this new role will be responsible for monitoring “violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

In this issue, we are proud to feature a collection of innovative and rigorous contributions. Two exceptional articles tackle archives as a historical and conceptual

The Supreme Court Wednesday declined to examine all over again a plea filed against validity of IPC Section 377, which makes homosexuality a criminal offence punishable with a sentence up to life term. The joint petition has been filed by some prominent gay personalities — celebrity chef and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and dancer N S Johar, among others.

This issue of East Asia Forum Quarterly brings together prominent scholars of gender studies from various countries and disciplines to explore the diversity and complexity of issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary Asia. The essays touch on major developments that have caused shifts in gender relations. They illustrate the tensions between structural violence against women and women’s own agency in coping with male-dominant social arrangements.

“Do you live with your husband, too?” the second-year medical student asked, innocently enough. It was our first visit with this patient, a healthy middle-aged African American woman. We were just chatting, trying to get to know her, and I had picked up on little clues in our conversation that had already led me to conclude that there was no husband in the picture. The medical student, though, didn’t seem to have picked up on this and, I thought, was trying to get at her sexual history by asking, instead, about her husband.

A Major Victory for Abortion Rights – New York Times The Facts Win Out on Abortion – Linda Greenhouse – New York Times The Supreme

The Passport Administration at Cairo International Airport banned this morning feminist activist and woman human rights defender (WHRD) Mozn Hassan from traveling during completion of her departure procedures from Cairo to Beirut, and she was informed verbally that the travel ban had been issued by the Egyptian General Prosecutor based on the request of the investigative judge.

GPP and Funders for LGBTQ Issues have partnered to release a new Global LGBTI Resources Report, the most comprehensive report to date on the state

As we all know, the news is filled with discussions regarding the Zika virus, microcephaly, access to abortion, and women’s sexual and reproductive rights—sometimes from

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is calling for international application for the academic year of 2017-18. In January 2005, James P Grant School of Public

We are delighted to request your help in developing a ‘story’ about your movement – the story of its history, vision, strategies, and achievements for

The Feminist Principles of the Internet arose from the first Imagine a Feminist Internet meeting in 2014 in Malaysia. The meeting brought together 52 women’s rights, sexual rights and internet rights activists from six continents to discuss one question: “As feminists, what kind of internet do we want, and what will it take for us to achieve it?”

If we really want to clean up sexual expression among adults, let’s adopt a new standard: consent.

On 13 June over 150 feminist activists mourned the murder and erasure of artist Ana Mendieta. We were there for our sisters who did not survive.

Solidarity with the LGBTQI community – Frida Mourning Orlando’s Loss from Kabul – Open Society India vigils in memory of Orlando shooting victims – Orinam

Early reports suggest that Mateen pledged allegiance to “Islamic State” while launching his shooting spree. We will know more in the days to come. I am grateful to those who are righteously rushing in to defend Muslims from the inevitable backlash and deplorable discrimination in the shell-shocked wake of this massacre. However, I would also ask them not to do so by downplaying the harsh realities of Islamist political ideology and the way it purveys hatred against many groups, including gays.

The drumbeats have started. Almost immediately after a mass shooting that left over fifty people dead on Latin night in a Florida gay nightclub, Pulse, the news shifted to the identity of the shooter himself. As soon as his name and the fact that his father immigrated (long ago) from Afghanistan was announced, the narrative began unfolding as Naeem Mohaiemen put it, on cue: This must be a terrorist attack.

The mass shooting at the Pulse, the nightclub in Orlando, took over the media screens and pages on the third week of June 2016.  The

By Orinam Jun 13 2016 A makeshift memorial with flowers and handprints rests in a parking lot near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. source:

This is a late chronicle for several reasons. The obvious one is that it has already been more than 10 days since May 17, the International Day against Transphobia (and other wrongly called ‘phobias’ as they have nothing to do with personal pathologies but rather are social devices to preserve privileges).

Originally posted at the SRI’s website on 2016. Available at: https://www.sexualrightsinitative.org/2016/hrc/sri-calls-for-political-and-legal-framing-that-recognizes-full-range-of-sexual-rights/  The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) is a coalition of organizations from Canada, Poland, India,

When rape and sexual violence invaded the public debate in Brazil, SPW brings, once again,  attention to the work of Luiza Jesus Prado.This Brazilian artist

The fourth issue of Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research is calling for papers to be published in December 2016. In addition to

In  a seminar at the University of Washington in Seattle, in May 2016, I met Yu Yin, a Chinese student. Yin had in her cell

Two different protests, two different countries, but the same continent and the same cause: violence against women in “macho” Latin America.

New double issue of Brasiliana, edited by Paul Amar, is out. It addresses the politics of violence and securitization in Rio de Janeiro. Click here

In Indonesia, where abortion is illegal, many women undergo unsafe abortions putting their lives at risk. Other times, they are forced by doctors to engage in sexual intercourse in exchange for an abortion.

This report, by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, summarises the rationale, methods and findings of an in-depth appraisal of targeted HIV prevention and

To the development community on International Day of Action for Women’s Health: don’t curtail our rights by legitimising conservative religious ideologies.

Nauru’s government has updated its archaic criminal code, striking same-sex relations and suicide off the list of crimes.

Mainstream activism engaging with the politics of gender and sexual-identity tends more often than not to be labelled LGBT, homosexual, gay or queer activism. This

Amnesty International has published its policy on protecting sex workers from human rights violations and abuses, along with four research reports on these issues in Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Norway and Argentina.

In June 2011, the South African government, with support from Brazil and Norway, led in the adoption of a historic resolution on sexual orientation and

This essay looks at the complex relationship between the personal and the political in queer/LGBTIA+ organizing in Africa. It considers how current modes of organizing impact the connection between professional activism and grassroots participation and explores some of the consequences of these two intersecting factors for activist praxis.

DAWN is happy to make available these Regional Advocacy Tools on sexual and reproductive health and rights that have been part of our contribution to feminist mobilization for the 20th year review of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). We engaged in this important review process at regional and global levels, through analysis and advocacy, and working with partners and colleagues in civil society and governments.

Originally from the OAS’s website. Posted on 23/05/2016. Available at: https://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2016/069.asp Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is going through a

On the eve of the giant annual anti-abortion protest on Parliament Hill, the Justin Trudeau government has quietly removed a restriction that prevented federal foreign aid dollars being used for abortion services in other countries.

Seychelles’ National Assembly has passed an amendment to the penal code that decriminalizes the act of sodomy. Out of 28 members present for the vote, 14 voted in favour while the other half abstained. Four members were not present for the vote.

Jack Drescher and colleagues (March, 2016)1 highlight two controversies surrounding gender incongruent children below puberty. One controversy concerns how one helps these children.

Originally from TGEU’s website, posted on 17/05/2016. Available at: https://tgeu.org/idahot2016statement/ On this International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) [1], with a special focus on

The Sex Worker Zine Project features work that was produced by 24 men, women and transgender participants who live and sell sex in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa. The project involved collaboration with the Sisonke Sex Worker Movement and the MoVE Project.

In this interview with STATUS/الوضع host Katty Alhayek, journalist and author Rafia Zakaria discusses her articles on ISIS and women, and the challenges that she faces when sharing her perspective on these issues with a wider audience.

This anthology is the first time that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) migrants and refugees in South Africa have shared their stories and

Originally posted on 13/05/2016 on the INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN’S RIGHT TO SAFE ABORTION’s website. Available at: https://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/news/ansirh-in-their-own-words-experiences-of-women-denied-abortions/  Even in countries with legal abortion, many

Feminism and trans activism don’t have to be mutually exclusive, argue the contributors to “Trans/Feminisms,” the most recent issue of TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly.

Malta is for now the EU’s last country where abortion is banned in all cases. While some are beginning to call for a public debate on women’s reproductive rights, the topic of abortion remains a highly sensitive issue in the archipelago.

As the world federation of LGBTI organisations, we strongly believe that gender diversity is not – and should never be – a pathology.

The Community Guide to the Global Fund’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (SOGI) Strategy has important human rights components that are essential for an effective response to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, at all levels.

Very soon after Professor Rezaul Karim Siddque of Rajshahi Univeristy was hacked to death in the morning of April 23, 2016, I wrote my feelings, my frustrations, my concerns and my fears. From all the information we received, Professor Karim appeared to be a quiet man, a man who was of a peaceful nature, a lover of music and a committed teacher.

Fernanda Doz Costa, researcher on the Americas, reports from a protest outside a court in Argentina where “Belen” returns after being sentenced to eight years following a miscarriage.

Belén’s troubling abortion case in Tucumán, Argentina, demonstrates how institutions meant to care for and protect us instead regularly violate our rights—including the right to health, confidentiality, and due process.

Cindy Sherman is an internationally recognized North American photograph and  artist. Her  extensive works  thematize  gender impersonations.  Sherman photographs herself impersonating  a  wide variety of

Community sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are well placed to deliver abortion assessment services and early medical abortion (EMA), but comparative data on safety and acceptability from both settings are important for future service planning.

Originally from: https://lgbt-ep.eu/press-releases/european-parliament-speaks-out-against-online-homo-and-transphobic-hate-speech/ In a report adopted yesterday, the European Parliament expresses its concern over online homo- and transphobic hate speech, and calls for strong

The Colombian Constitutional Court ended years of uncertainty for same-sex couples and bolstered the rights of LGBT people when it upheld the validity of same-sex marriage on April 28, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today.

The stories in this book are based upon the writings of intersex participants at the First Intersex National Meeting in Nepal, held on 8-9 February 2016 in Kathmandu. The meeting took place with support from the UNDP as part of the “Being LGBTI in Asia” program.

Brazil has one of the most restrictive legislations in the world on abortion. Since 1940, abortion is only allowed in Brazil in cases involving either risk to the woman’s life or rape, and in cases of fetal anencephaly. Yet abortion is common despite these legal restrictions.

In Bangladesh, two LGBT rights activists, including the editor of Roopbaan, the country’s first LGBT magazine, were hacked to death this morning in a flat in the country’s capital, Dhaka.

rganization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM), a leading international non-profit organization devoted to advocating on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, has released a first-of-its-kind glossary of terminology to assist humanitarian professionals to communicate with people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

Source: http://endabortionstigma.org/en/Blog/2016/March/QualitativeSynthesis.aspx We are excited to share “Abortion Stigma Around the Globe”: A Qualitative Synthesis. After a review of literature and available resources, we discovered

This guide is a resource for advocates, trainers, project managers and technical advisors who design programs and workshops to engage police on abortion issues. Drawing

In an interview a few years back, Canadian feminist and pro-choice activist Joyce Arthur drew a convincing parallel between the movement for women’s right to access safe and legal abortion and sex workers’ movements for their rights and decriminalisation of sex work.

The Sexual Rights Initiative is delighted to announce that the National Sexual Rights Law and Policy Database is now live. The database is designed as a dynamic tool regularly updated by our team of researchers and validated by experts in-country. Help us keep the information up-to-date by contacting us when a law or policy has changed, volunteer to be a validator of baseline data or refer our team to an expert in your country that can help.

Police in Dhaka, Bangladesh, today arrested four LGBT rights activists taking part in a traditional procession to celebrate the Bengali New Year.

A YEAR AFTER RETURNING from exile, Honduran gay rights activist Donny Reyes still fears a murderous attack at any minute.

The longstanding provider-patient confidentiality relationship is quietly eroding as an alarming number of medical staff across Latin America are reporting women and girls to the

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) aims to monitor, analyze, and share information on initiatives that misuse religion, culture, and tradition to undermine

Sexual Diversity in Africa: Politics, Theory, and Citizenship. Edited by S.N. Nyeck and Marc Epprecht. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2013. Click here to learn more

Across the globe, religion plays a critical role in shaping attitudes about gender norms and sexuality, which in turn have a profound effect on people’s everyday lives. A new Faith, Gender & Sexuality Toolkit launched today seeks to build knowledge and provide crucial support for faith communities and leaders working to promote social justice in relation to gender and sexuality.

Read New Yorker‘s article, authored by James Carroll, on Pope Francis’s latest apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”).

The Paternalistic Fallacy of the “Nordic Model” of Prostitution – Huffington Post France passes law making it illegal to pay for sex – The Guardian

Alma López is a queer Chicana artist who lives in California. Her work has many varied expressions. But most principally it elaborates and re-signify the

The world is talking about tax this week, so here’s another tax story for you. Asana Abugre has a small shop in Accra, Ghana where she makes and sells batiks and tie-dyed textiles. Asana pays her taxes regularly. Women like her, working in markets across the city, sometimes pay up to 37% of their income in tax.

Poland considers complete ban on abortion – The Independent Polish women walk out of church service in protest against abortion ban – video – The

Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of global maternal mortality and morbidity. Zambia has among the most liberal abortion laws in sub-Saharan Africa, however this alone does not guarantee access to safe abortion, and 30% of maternal mortality is attributable to unsafe procedures.

Originally posted at the Guttmacher’s Institute on 31/03/2016. Available at: https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2016/unsafe-abortion-common-tanzania-and-major-cause-maternal-death In the first nationally representative study of the incidence of abortion and the provision

Moving Walls is an annual documentary photography exhibition produced by the Open Society Foundations Documentary Photography Project. This year exhibitions presents Shahria Sharmin’s portrait series on

This tool contains practical advice on implementing HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) programmes with transgender people. It is based on recommendations in the Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, published in 2014 by the World Health Organization.

South Korean activist prostitutes said on Thursday they would appeal to the United Nations to win back their right to work after the Constitutional Court rejected a petition to overturn a law that punishes sex workers.

Colombia’s highest court on Thursday ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry.Colombia’s constitutional court issued its 6-3 ruling nearly nine months after it held a hearing on whether to extend nuptials to gays and lesbians.

Arabic media training position is a 12- month, part-time staff position, with the possibility of renewal of contract for another year and/or increase in work hours. The position is responsible for leading OutRight’s Arabic media sensitivity program, which aims at reaching out to Arabic media outlets and journalists to provide them with a better understanding around sexual orientation, gender identity, and LGBTI rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa.

Today the Equal Rights Trust has published volume sixteen of its biannual Equal Rights Review, an interdisciplinary journal offering analysis, insight and ideas to those promoting equality. This issue has a special focus on intersectionality.

To fight Zika we must fight poverty and powerlessness and ensure that women enjoy their rights.

Originally posted on 31/03/2016 at GATE. Available at: http://gate.ngo/2016/03/31/gate-statement-on-the-international-trans-day-of-visibility-2016/ Today, March 31st, Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE) calls for collective and critical reflection as

Originally posted at The Perchy Bird on 01/04/2016. Available at: https://theperchybird.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/same-sex-weddings-begin-in-greenland-today/ Greenland’s same-sex marriage law went into effect today (April 1st). The marriage bill, which

Originally posted at Transrespect on 31/03/2016. Available at: https://transrespect.org/en/tdov-2016-tmm-update/ On occasion of the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) [1] held on the 31st of

The rise of Zika and its troubling possible link to head deformities in babies have certainly reignited the debate over Brazil’s abortion law.

Our sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are not only negatively affected by climate change but opportunities to realise SRHR offer a way to help mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change.

On Wednesday, I became illegal in my home state. I can’t go home to see my mother or my sister or my uncle or my friends from high school. I can’t go back to my favorite restaurant. Because the systematic eradication of transgender people from North Carolina is now the law of the land.

Even Western babies can be nurtured in the bellies of foreign women — each one paid to endure pregnancy and the pangs of childbirth. Those arrangements, facilitated by the global surrogacy industry, have boomed in the past decade.
But there are signs that this trade in surrogate services is up against a formidable backlash.

Queer Wars explores the growing international polarization over sexual rights, and the creative responses from social movements and activists, some of whom face murder, imprisonment or rape because of their perceived sexuality or gender expression.

“Area Impossible: The Geopolitics of Queer Studies” is the latest issue of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. Edited by Anjali Arondekar and Geeta Patel, “Area Impossible” stages a much-needed conversation between two often-segregated fields: queer studies and area studies.

Dozens of transgender women, including asylum seekers who have come to the United States seeking protection from abuse in their home countries, are locked up in jails or prison-like immigration detention centers across the country at any point in time, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Many have been subjected to sexual assault and ill-treatment in detention, while others are held in indefinite solitary confinement.

In the most comprehensive study to date of contraceptive failure rates in the developing world, researchers found that overall, failure rates are lowest for users of longer-acting contraceptive methods (IUDs, implants or injectables), intermediate for users of shorter-acting methods (oral contraceptive pills or male condoms) and highest for users of traditional methods (withdrawal or calendar rhythm).

The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) recognises the universality of same-sex expression, across cultures. It holds the position that a same-sex sexual orientation per se does not imply objective psychological dysfunction or impairment in judgement, stability, or vocational capabilities.

Eyes gouged out for insolence, moms selling daughters to pimps, girls showered with maggots — if it happened in a Cambodian brothel, the story is never too shocking for Westerners to believe.

Originally published by Amnesty International on 18/03/2016. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2016/03/norway-historic-breakthrough-for-transgender-rights/ Key legal reforms proposed by the Norwegian Ministry of Health today mark an important breakthrough

In recent weeks, the Egyptian authorities have summoned human rights workers for questioning, banned them from travel and attempted to freeze their personal funds and

Originally posted at SIGNS. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society invites submissions for a special issue titled “Displacement,” slated for publication in spring

Marina” got pregnant at the age of 20 when she was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Abortion is illegal in the country, except in rare circumstances, but she knew she had to terminate. “I was young and ambitious,” said the now-31-year-old, who describes herself as upper middle-class. “I had so many career and travel plans. I couldn’t just become a mother at that point.”

Originally posted on Open Democracy by Susana T Fried and Alice Welbourn on 29/02/2016. Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/confinement-of-eve-resolving-ebola-zika-and-hiv-with-women-s-bodi/ There are parallels between three major newsworthy viruses,

It’s not just young girls and big bad wolves. Lies and misconceptions about sex work can hurt women and keep negative stereotypes alive.

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is proud to announce a new call for proposals for the second cycle of the Intersex Human Rights Fund,

Norway’s healthcare ministry on Friday proposed allowing people to legally change their gender without the need for any surgery, hormone treatment or sterilisation, a move hailed by Amnesty International

Rightwing groups surrounded hotel in Lviv where about 70 participants in the equality festival had gathered.

Originally posted on QZ on 15/03/2016. Available at: https://qz.com/africa/639763/nigerian-lawmakers-voted-down-a-women-equality-bill-citing-the-bible-and-sharia-law Nigerian lawmakers on Tuesday (Mar.15), voted against a gender and equal opportunities bill (pdf). The bill,

In a new report launched in the European Parliament today, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) highlights that prevailing negative attitudes towards LGBT people endanger their fundamental rights and hamper efforts to counter discrimination and hate crime.

The government of Uganda should stop impeding access to medical abortion and reproductive health services, according to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights—a regional body charged with ensuring African states comply with their human rights obligations under regional and international human rights treaties.

Originally published on ReproHealthLaw Blog on 10/03/2016. Available at: https://reprohealthlaw.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/guyana-midwives-nurses-pharmacists-can-provide-abortion-pill/ In Guyana, Madam Justice Roxane George has interpreted its Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of

Yesterday, 17 March, the House of Deputies of the Chilean Congress passed the abortion law reform bill tabled by President Michelle Bachelet and her coalition colleagues over one year ago, following a heated debate.

The Zika virus outbreak and the increase of babies being born with birth defects seemingly linked to the mosquito-transmitted disease have generated a series of prescriptions from governments of the most affected countries about what people need to do and not do. These include asking women to delay pregnancies—until 2018 in El Salvador, for example.

Every month RESURJ – a global alliance of feminists – members share and reflect on some news highlights affecting sexual and reproductive, environmental and economic

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has published this week two General Comments: General Comment 22 on sexual and reproductive health and

When I think about LGBT rights in Lebanon, a swinging pendulum comes to mind. Slow progress met with backlash and arbitrary detention. Article 534 of the penal code, a remnant from French colonization, criminalizes same-sex relationship; similar laws of indecency also criminalize transgender populations.

The State has a responsibility for protecting the LGBTI community from violence, a UN expert said on Wednesday, adding that he hopes that the Supreme Court of India makes an “enlightened” and “progressive” decision on the matter.

Originally published on HRW on 08/03/2016. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/03/08/dispatches-life-and-death-papua-new-guinea Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a dangerous place to be pregnant. It has one of the

Originally published on IDS. Available at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/connecting-perspectives-on-women-s-empowerment Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement. And we have much to celebrate

These bills would limit access to single-sex restrooms and locker rooms at schools and in public places; limit protections based on gender identity; permit individuals and businesses to discriminate against transgender people based on religious and moral beliefs.

Originally published on: https://lgbt-ep.eu/recent-news/european-parliament-demands-protection-lgbti-refugees-also-from-safe-countries/ Today, the European Parliament adopted a report on the situation of women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU, paying particular

GENEVA (8 March 2016) – The right to sexual and reproductive health is not only an integral part of the general right to health but fundamentally linked to the enjoyment of many other human rights, including the rights to education, work and equality, as well as the rights to life, privacy and freedom from torture, and individual autonomy, UN experts have said in an authoritative new legal commentary.

Article available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296683386_Gender_incongruence_of_childhood_in_the_ICD-11_Controversies_proposal_and_rationale As part of the development of the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), WHO appointed a Working Group

Originally published on Mamba online on 03/03/2016. Available at: https://www.mambaonline.com/2016/03/03/sa-minister-justice-calls-africa-accept-lgbti-people/ South Africa’s Minister of Justice has called on African nations to accept the human rights

Indonesian Psychiatrists Classify LGBT People As Mentally Ill In Order To ‘Treat’ Them – Think Progress The Next Big LGBT “Propaganda” Ban Is Being Written

The present report, by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 29/22.

Though funding for LGBTQ activism in West Africa has historically focused on gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), the scan shows that more broad-based LGBTQ organizations are emerging. Several of these nascent groups are led by queer-identified women and gender non-conforming people.

This article asks if and why sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights should connect to a human rights framework. To answer that question it begins by addressing how we understand what makes human rights resonate or not resonate and if addressing a contentious issue such as sexual orientation or gender identity from within a human rights frame advances or detracts from such resonance.

The Boston Globe’s investigation busted open a massive Catholic Church scandal in the United States 14 years ago. But in remote parts of South America, GlobalPost discovered that the church practice of reassigning child abusers to another parish, instead of defrocking them, has continued.

This Collection offers multiple routes to sexuality and gender justice and numerous suggestions of what sexuality and gender justice could be in a plurality of contexts. It also suggests that there are many potential pitfalls and barriers to justice or progress. What this Collection highlights, however, is that by listening carefully to each other and by paying careful attention to the needs of those working on the ground, we give ourselves the best chances of success, individually and collectively.

Among the first of its kind, this book is composed of works by writers from different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, including first and second-generation Africans

The human rights of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) people have reached centre stage. Curative petitions have been referred to a Constitution Bench with observations by Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S. Thakur that “the issues sought to be raised are of considerable importance and public interest …”.

After careful consideration, AWID’s Board of Directors has decided to postpone the AWID Forum due to current uncertainty around the Zika virus situation in Brazil.

This report focuses on ‘civil society’ in just one of the many senses in which the term is used: the sense summarised by Edwards (2009) as referring to ‘the world of associational life’ (rather than alternative conceptualisations of civil society as ‘the good society’ or ‘the public sphere’).

YZ  is an Anglo-Guadeloupean artist engaged in a search of Guadeloupean and African diasporic roots have taken her to Senegal. This path led her to

Cheryl Donegan is a prolific feminist performer and visual artist, whose work is currently being exposed at the New Museum in New York . Donegan’s

Originally published on IciHaiti on 02/02/2016. Available at: https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16494-icihaiti-justice-abortion-legalized-in-the-new-penal-code.html During a restitution workshop of the draft of the new Code of Criminal Procedure which will

This article argues that strong policy frameworks are required to support the health and well-being of sex workers, disabled people, and disabled sex workers. Through an examination of the context of sex work in Canada, it articulates the flaws of sex work criminalization and the persistent barriers that criminalization creates.

Retrieved from: http://www.lgbt-ep.eu/press-releases/strasbourg-court-family-reunification-rights-also-count-for-same-sex-couples/ Yesterday, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that refusing same-sex couples residence permits with the purpose of family reunification

Read the article by Piyapa Praditpan and Kamheang Chaturachinda examining the situation of Thai women who, despite abortion being legal since the 1950s, continue to die from unsafe abortion.

Because of Nigeria’s low contraceptive prevalence, a substantial number of women have unintended pregnancies, many of which are resolved through clandestine abortion, despite the country’s restrictive abortion law. Up-to-date estimates of abortion incidence are needed.

The book, by Andrew Park, is about the American political context, so the audience is mostly in the US.  It advocates using international human development

Same-sex couples will soon be able to adopt children in Portugal after lawmakers voted to overturn a presidential veto, with parliament also removing some abortion restrictions Wednesday.

Writing for the first time about being a sex worker, the author says the industry has taught her feminism and empowerment.

Chilean health officials on Thursday for the first time expressed their opposition to so-called conversion therapy. Agence France-Presse reported the Chilean Ministry of Health made the statement to the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, an LGBT advocacy group in the South American country.

Originally published on AWID. Available at: http://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/lohana-berkins-travesti-rage-always#sthash.NHwWZ69A.dpuf Argentinean trans* activist, Lohana Berkins, died in Buenos Aires on February 5, 2016. AWID joins the voices and hearts remembering Lohana,

The LGBTQ community in Argentina, and the region at large continues to mourn the loss of one of its most vocal and compassionate leaders. Lohana Berkins, founding president of The Association for the Fight for Travesti and Transexual Identity (ALITT) passed away last week after a long period of hospitalization.

It dawns. She leaves behind a dominant world angered by her smile, an enemy world that is not ours, a passage from silence to speech; lives crossed, names and identities that no longer pay with their bodies, under a sky that heals as it challenges us. It is dawning in tears and, accompanied, Lohana Berkins dies in Buenos Aires.

Laughter, solidarity, and conviviality were in the air at a quietly remarkable event in a Nairobi hotel on February 12. Yet the subject matter discussed at the event was anything but light: depression and suicide, public stripping and rape. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) was presenting its new report, “Research on the Lived Realities of Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Women in Kenya.”

Originally published on 76 crimes on 23/02/2016. Available at: https://76crimes.com/2016/02/23/victory-in-tunisia-activist-group-shams-wins-in-court/# Shams, the Tunisian group pushing for the decriminalization of homosexuality, has won its legal challenge

Originally posted on The Nation. Available at: https://www.thenation.com/article/visible-and-invisible-women-pairing-picasso-mfa/ Sleeping Nude (Marie-Thérèse Walter), 1932, Pablo Picasso, private collection. The woman’s body is the unspoken subject of

Originally posted by the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion on 15/02/2016. Available at: https://us12.campaign-archive.com/?u=c02a095d6213ac4bd2aed2e81&id=29c2a05981&e=869b0d4585 WHO predicts up to four million cases of

Originally published on Catholics for Choice. Available at: https://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2016/PopeandPatriarchMisrepresent.asp On his way to Mexico, Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic church, met with Russian

South Dakota has moved one step closer to becoming the first US state to bar transgender youth from the bathrooms where they are safe and comfortable.

The article examines the issue of gender inequity in the exercise of the right of access to information by exploring the legislative framework underpinning the right for women, detailing the value of information for women, describing the principal obstacles that propagate information asymmetries, and exploring potential responses to advance a more universal right to information.

Originally published on IDS’s website. Available at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/new-ids-research-reveals-impact-of-militarism-on-violence-against-women-in-gaza This year’s 16 Days Against Gender-based Violence campaign focuses specifically on the relationship between militarism and the

The Lancet Zika virus resource centre brings together the best evidence from across The Lancet family of journals—offered with free access—to assist researchers, policy makers,

Originally published on The Guardian on 11/02/2016. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/feb/11/guatemala-feminist-lesbian-sandra-moran Sandra Moran, the first openly gay member of Congress in Guatemala, says LGBT rights don’t

Originally published in The Guardian on 10/02/2016. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/feb/10/intersex-human-rights-lgbti-chile-argentina-uganda-costa-rica A landmark directive in Chile last month said doctors should stop ‘normalisation’ surgery, but tackling

With a growing number of older people in the world, it is time for Reproductive Health Matters to look more closely at the sexual and reproductive health of people in this different stage of life.

 Employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people is a prevalent but silent issue in Thailand, said experts at a national level meeting to discuss issues related to discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression (SOGIE) or intersex status.

Conservative estimates would place us at 2% of any population. In India that’s a delightful 2.5 crores who are potentially criminal for indulging in sexual intercourse with other adults of the same sex, as per the perverse Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

Sex is complex. Humans are simultaneously more similar in their sex development, and more diverse, than is commonly appreciated or understood. Females and males are

New medication to prevent HIV, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), could provide protection where condoms are not used. Integrating it into HIV and sexual health programming for various communities has become a focus of researchers and health and development agencies. However, PrEP raises important challenges in the context of female sex work.

The country’s Ministry of Health recommended last week that women should avoid becoming pregnant until 2018. But local feminist groups say this guidance doesn’t reflect the needs of Salvadoran women, especially where reproductive health is concerned.

Today, Brazil’s attention is focused on a different type of birth defect: microcephaly, in which a child is born with an abnormally small skull. Microcephaly, which can severely impact a child’s development, is being linked to a massive outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness first discovered in Africa in the 1940s.

On Jan. 18, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) launched a continental campaign for the decriminalization of abortion in Africa to bring attention to unsafe abortion which significantly threatens women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights.

A new report indicates transgender women in Central America remain particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence.

The North American black artist Nona Faustini has recently developed a remarkable photography project. She staged a series of nude photographs in urban locations across

In late 2015, a highly regressive ‘Statute on the Family’ was approved by a Special Committee of the Brazilian Congress. Around that same time, the

In searching for English written information on the Brazilian photographer Ana Lira, we have accidentally found the remarkable work of another artist-designer whose art also

The Zika Virus Could Force Women To Have Unsafe Abortions – Huffington Post El Salvador’s Advice on Zika Virus: Don’t Have Babies – New York

Last week in Jakarta, I met leaders of the Support Group and Resource Center on Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Indonesia, who were brimming with confidence about their work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

When Mozambique’s human rights record was reviewed before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, the government’s inconsistency on homosexuality was in full view.

Planned Parenthood has been cleared of accusations of selling human tissue, after covert videos released last year prompted the investigation. A Houston grand jury instead

This article is based on some of the research that I have conducted over the past two years on women’s activism in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, from independence until the Arab uprisings. I collected over one hundred personal narratives from middle class women activists of different generations.

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights.

Women were at the forefront of the pro-democracy protests in Libya in 2011, which, after escalating into civil war, culminated in the ousting of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. But in the years that have followed, as state institutions have crumbled and insecurity prevails, women have struggled to have their voices heard.

Are you a women’s human rights defender?  Do you want to increase your understanding of women’s human rights, and learn how to use the UN

A new report published by the Equal Rights Trust exposes the extent of discrimination and inequality experienced by groups including women; persons with disabilities; lesbian, gay and bisexual persons; and persons living with HIV in Solomon Islands.

The first openly LGBT person elected to Guatemala’s Congress took office last week. Sandra Morán, a lesbian woman who is a member of Convergencia, a left-leaning political movement that advocates on behalf of indigenous Guatemalans and other underrepresented groups in the Central American country, was sworn in on Jan. 14.

While LGBT people in California appear to be doing better than LGBT people nationwide, there is as much disparity within the state as throughout the

The issue 46 of Reproductive Health Matters focuses on the theme “Sexuality, sexual rights and sexual politics” and brings articles offering “a wide range of

Horrifying images posted on social media for all the world to see show men accused of homosexuality thrown off high buildings, stoned to death, or shot in the head by extremist groups, including the Islamic State (known as ISIS) in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

The Chilean Ministry of Health has issued instructions to its national health sector to stop “normalising” medical interventions on intersex infants and children. This guidance is a global first: the first time that a health ministry has shown leadership in taking this step without legislation or legal action.

Originally published by the UN on 18/01/2016. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2016/01/peru-compensates-woman-historic-un-human-rights-abortion-case In 2001, a 17-year-old Peruvian girl, named K.L., was 14 weeks pregnant when doctors at

The Organisation Soleterre – Strategie di Pace ONLUS, in collaboration with East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP), has produced a publication

In the last several months, there have been a number of rape allegations involving sex workers in the news. Most recently, a number of sex workers accused porn star James Deen of rape. Several websites have since dropped Deen, including Kink.com. Also, Jonathan “War Machine” Koppenhaver is facing 34 counts of rape, kidnapping, and attempted murder (among others) against his ex-girlfriend and porn star Christy Mack, which reportedly left her with 18 broken bones and a ruptured liver, and her friend, Corey Thomas.

International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion’s roundup from 2015.

Originally published by Michael K Lavers on 20/12/2015 on Washington Blade. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/20/slovenian-voters-reject-same-sex-marriage-law/ Slovenian voters on Sunday rejected a law that extended marriage rights

This tribute is to Fatema Mernissi: mentor, insightful teacher, organic intellectual, incisive feminist, powerful voice, charismatic presence, craftswoman, generous host, and friend.

Around 40 percent of women in the West Bank have had abortions, though the procedure remains illegal in Palestine. So guess where they go.

authoritarianism Deadline: March 1, 2016 Decolonial and postcolonial approaches have long informed and animated feminist scholarship and activism, but often not at once nor in

The second issue of Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research is out. Kohl serves as an alternative platform of knowledge production. It tackles feminisms,

Butler’s insight into the lives and deaths of transgender women in 2015 penetrates beyond the surface details of their deaths. Her perspective illustrates a startling reality about the real cause of violence against trans women, and the fatal importance of an intersectional approach to the liberation of transgender people.

Partners for Law in Development have compiled the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April

I will critically discuss the campaign for (full) criminalisation of marital rape to call attention to ways by which this campaign reduces a potentially tranformatory agenda on gender, sexuality and marriage, to one of law, crime and punishment.

The 13th AWID International Forum (Bahia, Brazil) will be a historic global gathering of women’s rights and social justice activists and movements. Click here for registration.

Originally published on Washington Blade on 10/12/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/10/puerto-rico-court-issues-historic-adoption-ruling/ A Puerto Rico court on Wednesday ruled for the first time that a same-sex couple

Below is an edited excerpt from Manu S.Pillai’s forthcoming book from Harper Collins, The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore. The book throws interesting light on gender and political power in the matrilineal royal houses, and offers tantalizing hints about the pre-colonial roots of brahminical patriarchy in the region.

Today in Sierra Leone, the country’s parliament voted unanimously in favor of a new abortion law that will make safe abortion legal. According to the World Health Organization, Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, including significant contribution from unsafe abortion.

When a local politician from Tokyo’s Ebisu district last week condemned media coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights issues and called gay people “abnormal” on Twitter, it came as a reminder of times past. It was just five years ago when Tokyo’s governor publicly called gay people “deficient.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights today is publishing a regional report on the violence perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) persons or those perceived as LGBTI.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” from the second edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This resulted

NI attorney general considers appealing against judgment that could see women being allowed terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities, rape and incestt. Read more

 In the trails of the “feminist occupations’ of 2015 SPW expands further the space for young Brazilian feminists artists whose works reflect the spirit of

One of the main NGOs in the country and engaged in fighting HIV / AIDS for 28 years, the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association – (ABIA)/

The rights of intersex persons gained visibility between October 26th (Day of Intersex Awareness) and November 8th (Intersex International Day). During this period a number

Originally published at Intersex Day. Available at: https://intersexday.org/en/mauro-cabral-marks-bodies/ Mauro Cabral draws a line between the marks on his flesh and the words that clinicians use

Originally from: https://morgancarpenter.com/intersex-rights-freedoms/ Published in the UNSW Law Society journal “Court of Conscience” issue 9, 2015, on “rights and freedoms”, this paper considers what it

Civilians, Police Injured in Shooting Near Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood (Updated) – Reality Check Anti-Choice Leaders’ Response to Colorado Violence Reveals Tension Between Rhetoric and

Ana Mendieta was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1948, and died in 1985. Her early death, in 1985, in New York, triggered was highly controversial,

This Orchid image drawn by Brigitte Ritcher was used in the materials of Inter Visibilidad, Visibilidad Intersex Forum, held at the Human Rights Commission of the

The authors of this edited volume use a queer perspective to address colonialism as localized in the Global South, to analyse how the queer can

I have absolutely no problems with flag filters on Facebook. Or for that matter, profile-picture revolutions that happen all too often. I’m not, in the least bit indignant about such a competitive exhibitionism of feeling – indexed through a currency of memes and emoticons. In an age of such mass-production of violence (‘terroristic’ or ‘humanitarian’), it is no surprise that the event of mourning must become a symptom of the incompatibility between ‘act’ and ‘response’.

In the end of October, seven million young people had to sit and think about the persistence of violence against women in Brazil. This was the essay theme of the National High School Exam (ENEM) — a Brazilian standardized test that is mandatory to compete for a place in the country’s public universities.

Read Aljazeera‘s article highlighting the ongoing discussion within the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), the largest academic feminist organisation in North America, about a resolution

The Partners for Law in Development has launched the Feminist Law Archives (FLA) to celebrate the rich and vibrant history of feminist engagement with law in India.

Transgender women living with HIV in Los Angeles County face a variety of legal needs that have a significant impact on their access to resources such as income, health care and housing, but most do not receive any legal assistance, according to a new analysis by researchers at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

A new abortion bill proposed by an ultraconservative Brazilian lawmaker would unravel decades of hard-fought reproductive rights gains by women in this country, activists say.

In 2014, Rihanna, a 22 year-old transgender woman living in Kampala, Uganda was arrested and jailed under Section 145 of the Ugandan Penal Code Act for having “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” — or simply put, for being LGBTQ.

Originally published by TGEU at http://tgeu.org/how-many-trans-people-need-to-die-for-europe-to-take-action/ Every year on November 20, the trans community remembers and mourns those trans people who lost their lives to

2005–2015: reflecting on ten years of Sex workers’ rights in Europe Monday 30 November 2015 · 15:00 – 17:00 European Parliament · Paul Henri Spaak

Originally published at Verso Books on 16/11/2015. Available at: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/news/2337-mourning-becomes-the-law-judith-butler-from-paris Letter from Judith Butler, Paris, Saturday 14th November I am in Paris and passed near

Originally published at Washington Blade on 16/11/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/11/16/same-sex-marriage-becomes-legal-in-ireland/#sthash.RwkaAUmE.dpuf   Ireland on Monday became the latest country to officially extend marriage rights to same-sex

In this article I ask why leading institutions of global capitalism have begun to take activist stances against homophobia, and why they have done so now. I want to understand the terms on which the figure of the queer has come to be adopted as an object of concern for the development industry.

AWID, as IM-Defensoras Steering Group member, has launched the Second Regional Report on the Situation of WHRDs in Mexico and Central America, which includes and compares

AWID spoke with Sergia Galván, Executive Director of Colectiva Mujer y Salud [Women and Health’s Collective] from the Dominican Republic, on the realities faced by women with regard to their sexual rights and reproductive health.

The new issue of Jacobin was released. “Uneven and Combined” takes on questions of development in the Global South, the (less than emancipatory) rise of

Originally published on Today I Found Out in November, 2013. Available at http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/11/first-british-surgeon-perform-successful-c-section-woman-disguised-man/ Today I found out that James Barry, the first British surgeon to

Originally published at The English Collective of Prostitutes. Available at: http://prostitutescollective.net/2009/06/11/summary-of-the-new-zealand-prostitution-reform-act/ The Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) came into operation in New Zealand in June, 2003. 

The data in Coming Out of Concrete Closets sheds light on the ways in which systemic discrimination of LGBTQ communities—particularly low-income communities and communities of color—forms a dragnet of criminalization for the most marginalized. (Shutterstock)

Originally published on The Guardian on 02/11/2015. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/nov/02/myanmar-womens-fight-against-verbal-taboo-symbolises-wider-rights-battle Lack of sex education for women perpetuates gender inequality in Myanmar but activists addressing such

Originally published on The Washington Blade on 02/11/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/11/02/northern-ireland-lawmakers-back-same-sex-marriage/#sthash.uT9vpYIS.dpuf Northern Ireland lawmakers on Monday for the first time voted in favor of marriage

Statements ILGA: ILGA mourns the loss of Diana Sacayán, Argentinian Trans activist Outright – Action International: Argentinian Trans Rights Activist, Diana Sacayan, Found Dead in her

Rodobrás is a work by Virginia de Medeiros, a Brazilian visual artist who, for many years, has portrayed — in photos, videos and installations —

Read New York Times’ article “On Being Queer in the Caribbean“, which reflects on the situation faced by gay and trans people in some Caribbean

The data which has been collected from 190 countries worldwide is separated into 81 maps, to allow website visitors to take a closer look, and compare country situations for the following topics: ‘Legal Situation’, ‘Health Care Situation’, ‘Social Situation’.

Every defendant in the Salvadoran criminal system is guaranteed three fundamental rights by the state. First, every person accused of a crime will be presume innocent until proven guilty, in accordance with the law. Second, in cases of doubt, the judge must find in favour of the defendant.

Originally published in 2015 at: http://gsrc-mena.org/kohl/call-for-papers/ We are pleased to invite submissions for the third issue of Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research,

The Synod on Family has ended in October 24 with a final document produced by the bishops gathered at the Assembly called by Pope Francis

Originally published on Jurist.org on 14/10/2015. Available at: https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2015/10/arvind-narrain-intersex-justice/ JURIST Guest Columnist Arvind Narrain of ARC International discusses the issues with assigning a gender to

Draconian new by-laws came into effect in Indonesia’s Aceh province last week, mandating harsh punishments for gambling and adultery, and the option of 100 lashes for gay people “caught” having sex.

Originally published on HRW on 26/10/2015. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/10/26/dispatches-kenyan-president-stepping-forward-lgbt-rights   Neela Ghoshal Senior Researcher, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program NeelaGhoshal Kenya’s President Uhuru

Originally published by IDS on 22/10/2015. Available at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/crucial-new-insights-on-sexuality-and-the-sustainable-development-goals 22 October 2015 If the global commitment to eradicate inequality for all people is truly unequivocal,

Originally published on: http://www.rhmjournal.org.uk/journal/call-papers/ Reproductive Rights Matters – volume 24   number 47   may/june 2016  In this issue of the journal, we are hoping to

Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE) met with Dainius Pūras, the United Nations  Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the

Originally published on ASTRAEA’s website. Available at: http://www.astraeafoundation.org/news/352/60/Astraea-Launches-the-World-s-First-Intersex-Human-Rights-Fund/d,home-news New York, New York, Oct 25, 2015 In a world where intersex activism has been resourced on

Originally published on NSWP on October 2015. Available at: http://www.nswp.org/news/call-abstracts-research-sex-work Research for Sex Work is a peer-reviewed international journal that incorporates community-led research and lived

The legal status of trans* individuals in India was discussed quite extensively in the 2014 case of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgment by the Supreme Court of India.

Originally published on Equal Rights Trust on 2015. Available at: http://www.equalrightstrust.org/news/call-papers-16th-equal-rights-review-special-focus-intersectionality-promoting-equality The Equal Rights Trust is accepting papers for the sixteenth edition of its Equal

Originally posted on Stop IGM on 23/10/2015. Available at: https://stopigm.org/Intersex-Awareness-Day-2015-Intersex-Protest-outside-Zurich-Parliament/ On 26 October, Intersex People, Survivors, Partners, Families, Friends and Allies around the globe celebrate

Originally published on Reproductive Rights on 19/10/15. Available at: http://www.reproductiverights.org/press-room/iachr-holds-hearing-on-wrongful-imprisonment-of-salvadoran-women-who-miscarry 10.19.15 – (PRESS RELEASE) Reproductive rights advocates testified today in Washington, D.C. about the human rights violations

This Amnesty International’s collection of twelve essays explores the differences and similarities between social justice and human rights, providing divergent perspectives on whether and how

Sexual Rights Initiative presents an overview from the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council. It includes resolutions, panels and discussions, statements and parallel

Originally posted on Washignton Blade on 12/10/2015. Available at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/10/12/gay-couple-seeks-help-from-u-s-officials-in-surrogacy-case/#sthash.2hgFYVjF.dpuf Gordon “Bud” Lake and his husband are unable to take their daughter, Carmen Santos Lake,

The Research Report for Transilience Project on Violence against Transgender Women 2014 offers relevant qualitative data to understand the discrimination and violence faced by transgender community in different parts of South African society.

Edited by David Paternotte, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium and Manon Tremblay, Université d’Ottawa, Canada The Ashgate Research Companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism provides

In SPW Newsletter nº8 (2010), we higlighted Zanele Muholi’s artwork about queer identities in South Africa. By that time, the Minister of Arts and Culture

Originally published on Paper Bird on 28/09/2015. Available at: http://paper-bird.net/2015/09/28/anusbook-forensic-exams-tunisia/ by Scott Long “Tests of shame! Till when?” Campaign by the Tunisian group Damj Join

The 13th issue of NSWP’s quarterly newsletter ‘Sex Work Digest’ covers the period July – September 2015. Features in this issue include: Decriminalisation updates from

Helena Almeida is a Portuguese artist born in Lisbon in 1934. Her work is mostly composed by black and white photographic self-portraits in which she consciously

Originally published on Daily IO on 30/09/2015. Available at: http://www.dailyo.in/politics/modi-us-visit-mark-zuckerberg-silicon-valley-facebook-digital-india-democracy-vhp-rss-branding/story/1/6529.html Shiv Visvanathan @ShivVisvanathan   If Facebook has face value, Modi’s interview with Mark Zuckerberg at

Pope Francis’s meeting with Kim Davis disappointed the liberals he courted – The Guardian Vatican: Pope Francis Barely Knew Who Kim Davis Was When He

The Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality is happy to announce its call for applications to its Social Change Program. The Program aims to develop the

DAWN is excited to announce the forthcoming 5th DAWN Training Institute (DTI) for young feminists working for gender, economic, political and ecological justice. The DTI

On 29 September 2015, 12 UN entities (ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS Secretariat, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, UN Women, WFP and WHO) released an unprecedented

Stonewall Acceptance without Exception has launched the “Christian Role Models for LGBT Equality” Guide, which contains 20 stories from LGBT Christians and allies for LGBT

Join the Youth Health and Rights Coalition and Evidence to Action on Monday, September 28th from 9 am – 10:30 am EDT for a webinar, “Putting

The SDG Series on SDGs and the right to health on the Health and Human Rights Journal is avaialable online. Click below to read the articles.

Originally published on Rewire on 16/09/2015. Available at: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2015/09/16/polling-abortion-rarely-abortion/ by Amanda Marcotte At this point, I’ve given up all hope that anyone will ever construct

Originally published on The BMJ. Available at: http://www.bmj.com/content/women%E2%80%99s-children%E2%80%99s-and-adolescents%E2%80%99-health-0 The year 2015 marks a defining moment for the health of women, children, and adolescents. It is

Originally published on IDS in 2015. Available at: http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/vital-new-resource-on-sex-work-law-will-help-sex-workers-globally-to-realise-their-rights A new Sex Work Law Map, developed by the Sexuality, Poverty and Law Programme at the

When law enforcement targets sex workers and the websites they use, mainstream outlets and organizations tend to give them a pass. But with the raid on Rentboy.com, that script has flipped.

Preamble This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise

UN OHCHR has launched a first fact sheet on intersex, as part of the Free & Equal campaign. It’s a document that details the human

Research and Policy Associate Location: Global | Organization: AIDS-Free World | Deadline: 11 September 2015 You will be responsible for producing written materials on pertinent

With his latest comments, Pope Francis has built a shiny new smokescreen to distract from the grave and immoral harms caused by the Vatican’s opposition to abortion and women’s equality.

After prompting a major flare of global controversies, Amnesty International’s draft policy supporting the decriminalization of sex work was voted and approved at organization’s International

José Miguel Olivar Nieto, the author of the drawing Adriana is a social communicator. He has  a master degree in Latin American Literature from the

Distinguished Committee Members: I wish to thank the Committee for the opportunity to deliver this brief statement on behalf of over fifty human rights organizations

Deadline for applications is 5 October 2015. Click here to learn more about the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies and to

The article Sexual health, human rights, and law, authored by Rajat Khosla, Lale Say, Marleen Temmerman was published at The Lancet, Volume 386, No. 9995.

The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP ) has announced the publication of the 14th issue of Research for Sex Work, ‘Sex Work is

By Yasmin Nair August 25, 2015 Originally published on: http://www.yasminnair.net/content/rentboy-sex-panics-feminism-and-more We woke up to the news that Rentboy, a popular online male escort service, has been

Originally published on IDS. Available at: http://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/being-transgender-in-the-workplace-is-difficult-in-vietnam-or-anywhere The White House’s naming of a transgender person as the new outreach and recruitment director at the Office

Originally published on: http://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/largest-online-male-escort-service-raided on 25/08/2015. A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging the CEO of Rentboy.com, Jeffrey Hurant, and

Tuesday 15 September 2015 16:00 to 18:00 Westminster Kingsway College, Soho Centre, Peter Street, London Register to attend The interaction of law and poverty is

Originally published no Paper Bird on 23/08/2015. Available at: http://paper-bird.net/2015/08/23/the-un-security-council-terrible-idea/ By Scott Long   I. Questions On August 18, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS

Originally published on IDS. Available at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/intersectionality-of-sexuality-inequality-and-poverty I recently had the pleasure (and challenge) of being part of a team of Research Assistants working for

During the month of July 2014, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and United and Strong, in collaboration with Groundation Grenada, Guyana Rainbow

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is preparing a report of practical recommendations on how to create and maintain the space for civil society

The Young Feminist Fund is the only youth-led fund focused exclusively on supporting global young feminist activism to advance social justice movements and agendas. FRIDA

This Table of Cases is an online supplement to the book Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N.

Originally published on DailyIO on 09/08/2015. Available at: https://www.dailyo.in/politics/narendra-modi-porn-ban-yoga-baba-ramdev-homosexuality-valentines-day-5557 Shiv Visvanathan @ShivVisvanathan   Narendra Modi’s economic and technological policies might have limited impact despite the

The Clinical practice handbook for safe abortion care is intended to facilitate the practical application of the clinical recommendations from the second edition of Safe

PORTUGAL: DIARY OF A PARLIAMENTARY SELL-OUT  BY THE RIGHT-WING MAJORITY PARTIES    by Duarte Vilar Executive Director, Associação para o Planeamento da Família (APF), Portugal

Originally published by Center For Reproductive Rights on 05/08/2015. Available at: https://reproductiverights.org/chiles-health-commission-moves-abortion-bill-forward/ 08.05.15 – (PRESS RELEASE) This evening the Health Commission of Chile agreed to advance a

“We speak to this issue from experience and evidence. Having many years of experience between us of work on sexuality-related human rights, we are seized by

The photograph taken by @Confidence — a South African sex worker — guide readers to the article I am someone, like everyone else’: A story

In English Global Advocates Issue a Call to Amnesty International in Open Letter – Coalition Against Traffickin in Women ICRSE, 1100 organisations and individuals ask

by Sebastian Kohn July 28th, 2015, published originally at Open Society.  Amnesty International seems poised to support the decriminalization of sex work—a move that would improve

The issue nº 8 brings articles on religion and development. Click here to access it.

In June 2015, SPW posted a fragment of the large painting by Paul Cézanne that is housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This choice

Exclusive: Hollywood stars have taken offence at Amnesty’s latest proposal to decriminalise sex work, but the human rights organisation tells Radhika Sanghani there’s been a

Of course I cried. I cried because these nine antiquarian arbiters in funeral garb – five of them anyway, each looking about as forward-thinking and progressive as a constipated grandparent – informed me at last that I am part of this Great Community they help to govern.

Everybody on earth knows that last week a deal on Iran’s nuclear program was announced. Everybody also knows that this apparent step toward peace launched a new stage in an old war: of propaganda.

Human Rights Committee Open Hearing on Article 6 – The Right to Life to develop a General Comment Geneva, 14 July 2015 HERE ARE SOME OF THE

Originally posted on Buzzfeed on 24/07/2015. Available at: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jinamoore/abortion-rights-billboard-censored-ahead-of-obamas-kenya-vis#.esP8rrLX6 Reproductive health advocates say they were told Kenyan officials insisted on the removal of the billboard

Originally posted on Maravipost in 2015. Available at: http://www.maravipost.com/national/malawi-news/law-and-order/9316-unpacking-malawi-special-law-commission-final-review%E2%80%99-findings-and-recommendations-on-abortion-law.html The current position of the law is that abortion is illegal in Malawi except where it

Uganda’s infamous 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would institute the death penalty for a new and surreal category of offenses dubbed “aggravated homosexuality,” captured international headlines

The Master of Public Health (MPH/James P Grant School of Public Health) is calling for applications for the academic year of 2016-17. In January 2005,

 Developing creative campaigning strategies Call for Consultancy Objective: Support LGBT organisations, especially in the global South and East to develop and implement innovative public campaigning

Retrieved from www.transactivists.org in 2015. London, July 16th 2015 Dear friends, I am very honored to receive this award, which I accept understanding it as

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has released a collection of eight articles that offer innovative and provocative approaches to advance acceptance

Originally published on Paper Bird on 20/07/2015. Available at: http://paper-bird.net/2015/07/20/gay-hanging-in-iran/ I. Everybody on earth knows that last week a deal on Iran’s nuclear program was announced.

In early July, UN Human Rights Council adopted the resolution concerning the protection of the family, whose text points that the family is the natural and

AWID Women Human Rights Defenders – Program Coordinator This position is primarily responsible for implementation of the WHRD strategy toward AWID’s 2016 International Forum, as

As we know June is always important for LGBT rights. But this year the month has been especially productive in respect to the same marriage

Originally published on Bully Bloggers on 20/06/2015. Available at: https://bullybloggers.wordpress.com/2015/06/20/the-republic-of-love/ By Anne Mulhall On the complex achievement of the same sex marriage referendum in Ireland

The curious case of Rachel Dolezal and the Circassian ladies of yore show just how meaningless the notion of race is. Read Al Jazeera’s article.

The Poland “abortion drone” is causing a splash in the media and excited buzz in the reproductive rights community, but it has also become a source of misinformation and anxiety.

Global AIDS Policy Watch (GAPW) has announced the launching of the article Moving Beyond Biomedicalization in the HIV Response: Implications for Community Involvement and Community

  The WHO Human Reproduction Program has made public this week (June 15-19th, 2015) a new groundbreaking report  titled Sexual Health, Human Rights and Law. 

One political event to be noted as relevant from a gender and sexuality perspective was the electoral defeat of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on

Capturing voices and experiences from around the world, Women and Girls Rising – Progress and resistance around the world, edited by Ellen Chesler and Terry McGovern,

Aswat Collective has condemned the arrest of two Moroccan homossexuals accused of “Homosexuality ” and “breach of public modesty”. Click here to read the Statement.

After living in the shadows, thousands of Nicaraguan sex workers have broken their silence, won support from state institutions and gained new respect for their rights.

Originally published on the Global Post on 12/06/2015. Available at: http://www.globalpost.com/article/6580371/2015/06/12/anti-lgbt-groups-making-inroads-across-east-africa Kenyan gay and lesbian organizations demonstrate outside the Nigerian High Commission in Nairobi on February

Paraguay denies respect to older persons in the Americas The 45th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention on

Originally published on http://trans-fusion.blogspot.com.br/2015/06/terfs-of-times.html   This week’s Sunday Review section of the New York Times has as its headline article an opinion piece by feminist

Originally published on The Global Post on 04/06/2015. Available at:  http://www.globalpost.com/article/6571484/2015/06/04/indonesias-unique-religious-and-political-culture-makes-strange Faisal Riza is a national organizer for the Organisasi Perubahan Sosial Indonesia (the Organization for Social Change,

Originally published on Reality Check on 11/06/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/06/11/abortion-rates-alone-dont-tell-us-need-know-state-reproductive-wellness/ by Steph Herold, Sea Change Program June 11, 2015 – 11:33 am   While a

Originally published on Queerty on 15/06/2015. Available at: http://www.queerty.com/mexico-legalizes-gay-marriage-20150615   Mexico’s Supreme Court has effectively legalized same-sex marriage after finding that state laws restricting marriage

by Dr Nozer Shariar Past Secretary General & Chairperson, MTP Committee, Federation of Obstetric & Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI); Past President,Mumbai Obstetric & Gynecological

Originally published on Morocco World News on 16/06/2015. Available at: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2015/06/160745/moroccan-magazine-under-fire-for-cover-asking-should-we-burn-homosexuals/ Rabat – Weekly magazine Maroc-Hebdo has come under fire after it ran a cover

Since very early in time SPW has included Sexuality and Art as one topic of its Newsletter. In doing so we aimed at making  visibility

Originally published on Jadaliyya in 2015. Available at: http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/21613/new-texts-out-now_kenneth-m.-cuno-modernizing-marr Kenneth M. Cuno, Modernizing Marriage: Family, Ideology, and Law in Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Egypt. Syracuse: Syracuse

The Coalition of African Lesbians [CAL] invites all its members, partners and friends to submit contributions for a publication celebrating ten years of collective feminist

Originally published on Al Jazeera on 10/06/2015. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/people-power/2015/6/10/canadas-lost-women An investigation into the abuse and exploitation of aboriginal women in Canada and the authorities’

Reproductive Health Matters has extended the deadline of the  Call  it has launched for Papers on Sexuality/Sexual Rights/ Sexual Politics.

Originally published in The Advocate on 07/06/2015. Available at: https://www.advocate.com/politics/media/2015/06/07/ugandan-lesbian-covers-time-we-are-here-stay A leading Ugandan activist fighting for LGBT rights takes a powerful stance on the cover

SPW recommend the study Transgender Men Who Experienced Pregnancy After Female-to-Male Gender Transitioning, aimed at conducting a cross-sectional study of trans- gender men who had

Originally published on: http://www.madamasr.com/sections/politics/being-transgender-egypt Aisha* was sleeping when her apartment was raided. She and three other friends had just moved in when the police came by asking

Any critical revisiting of 2015 will inevitably address the tragic episodes of Paris that left behind 17 dead people, including the journalists and cartoonists from

Check the English version of the very first issue of Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research. Kohl serves as an alternative platform of knowledge production. It tackles feminisms,

Wednesday, 13 May 2015 Yesterday, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency launched a focus paper on the fundamental rights situation of intersex* people. The Council of

With panoramic views of both the city and its harbor, the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (OBA), proved to be an ideal place for me to take a break from working at either my home or office at Leiden University.

After decriminalizing abortion last December, Mozambique has once again taken an important step toward sexual rights by decriminalizing same-sexual relations between consenting adults. The change was celebrated by civil society in the African country.

June 3rd marked International Sex Workers Day. In Brazil the date was commemorated in many places. In Belém do Pará it also marked the anniversary

This week General Muhammadu Buhari will be inaugurated as Nigerian’s president, a position he won by campaigning on a platform of change. But will that change include the people on the fringe of society, like lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals?

Originally published on Aljazeera on June/2015. Available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/rules-clothing-label-discrimination-case-150601141831931.html Supreme Court rules in favour of Muslim woman who said clothing label denied her a job

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has launched the report Discrimination and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The new design responds to what readers, writers and the team identified as necessary and desired changes in the look and feel. The primary objective

Abortion is legal in Canada and has been for over 30 years. There are no criminal laws restricting access to abortion or post-abortion care in Canada and it is a recognized essential medical procedure, required to be fully accessible and financially covered by provincial and territorial health insurance plans under the Canada Health Act.

After rounding up the interview, I turned off my voice recorder, thanked Li Yinhe, and asked her what she has been up to since retiring in 2012. She smiles, and without hesitation tells me she is working on some S&M novels. “Do you know what that is?” she asks.

TGEU, together with ARC International, would like to invite you to participate in a 3-day UN training, which will take place in Geneva, in the

This policy brief summarizes the impact of intimate partner and family violence on the HIV vulnerability of men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender

Originally published on Rewire on 28/05/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/05/28/taking-action-combat-state-sanctioned-violence-women-worldwide/ by Leila Hessini, Ipas / Global Fund for Women and Beatriz Galli May 28, 2015 –

This global research effort was undertaken between 2004 and 2006 by DAWN, Development Alternative with Women for a New Era. Coordinated by Sonia Corrêa, it

Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a national vote — a kind of paradoxical feat, considering the Catholic Church’s long-lasting influence on the county’s laws and beliefs.

In 2015, SPW has for the first time featured the work the Indian Artist Baaraan Ijlal. Ijlal, lives and works in New Delhi, India whose

Originally published on Paper Bird on 17/05/2015. Available at: Taken from: http://paper-bird.net/2015/05/17/tweet-for-egypt-on-idahot/ It’s the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOT, for short). Here’s

Taken from: http://labrys.kg/en/news/full/686.html [VIDEO]: https://www.facebook.com/LabrysKG/videos/vb.45614646315/10152771652191316/?type=1&theater May 17, 2015 in Bishkek, representative of the movement “Kalys” and “Kyrk Choro” illegally broke into the event of the LGBT organization

Originally published on Rewire on 14/05/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/05/14/gop-fiddling-uterus-country-burns/ by Jodi Jacobson, Editor in Chief, RH Reality Check May 14, 2015 – 4:06 pm At

Written by Fernando D’Elio of Akahata (with input from Neha Sood of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights) as part of the 2015 ILGA

Check Journal of Gender Studies‘ call for paper for its special edition “Gendering happiness: the power of pleasure”, which will be published in early 2017.

A new Swedish message to Russian submarines: ‘This way if you are gay.’ Late last year, Swedish authorities were perturbed by signs that a foreign

Scott Long writes about icons of sexual politics, revolution and social change read more

Originally published on Outrage Mag. Available at: http://outragemag.com/phl-accountable-for-violations-of-womens-rights-un-cedaw-committee/ The UN CEDAW released its findings on its inquiry on Manila EO 003 and E0 030, finding

Originally published on Feministinf on 07/05/2015. Available at: http://feministing.com/2015/05/07/gay-israeli-men-and-surrogate-babies-evacuated-from-nepal-mothers-left-behind/ After the magnitude 7.9 earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25th, international media has provided what

Originally published on Agence France-Presse, May 8th, 2015. Health Minister El Hossein Louardi came out in support of lifting Morocco’s ban on abortion, saying women

Read the article Women’s Funding Network’s Sex-Trafficking Study Is Junk Science, by Nick Pinto, on study regarding sex trafficking.

By Caribbean News Now. Link to original: http://bit.ly/lJJ2lt The Bahamas supports the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution passed last week that affirms equal rights

The French Army was plunged into a scandal after a UN report came into public in the last few weeks. While French prosecutors announced a criminal investigation to punish peacekeeping troops at Central African Republican accused of raping children and exchanging food for sex, the investigator nominated by the UN to review the case was suspended.

The deadline for applying to the 2016 AWID forum has been postponned to July 3rd, 2015. To submit a proposal to organise a session click

Originally published on Aljazeera on May/2015. Available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/05/sex-food-scandal-central-african-republic-150505071049079.html French soldiers patrol a street in Bangui [AFP] Hisham Aidi* In late March, a report commissioned

Originally published on The Guardian on 07/05/2015. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/07/france-criminal-inquiry-alleged-sex-abuse-french-soldiers-un-central-african-republic Prosecutors announce investigation into claims French soldiers raped children on peacekeeping operation in Central African

In Cape Town, South Africa, where abortion is legal, many women opt for underground procedures to end a pregnancy because of social stigma or lack

A new campaign created by Ogilvy Brazil for the NGO Life Support Group (GIV) spread posters throughout São Paulo carrying an actual HIV positive drop

Scott Long writes about the case involving a Libyan student whom police expelled from Egypt in 2008, after a complaint that he was gay, which

Originally published on Rewire on 30/04/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/04/30/pope-francis-call-equal-pay-equal-work-toothless-promising/ by Erin Matson Sadly, the more Pope Francis speaks, the more things stay the same. (Philip Chidell

In April, 2015 Malta passed the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics (GIGESC) Act, which encompasses, in a new and radical combination, legal recognition,

On April 24th, 2015, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights granted the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) formal observer status. There are many

Originally Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2015. Available at: http://www.dawn.com/news/1178106/sabeen-mahmud-a-profile Maleeha Hamid Siddiqui — Published Apr 25, 2015 06:41am   KARACHI: Peace activist and founder of

This study analyses the experiences of women living in areas of ‪SriLanka‬ that were affected by armed conflict for more than two decades. It is

Originally from A paper bird. Posted on 18 April 2015 So they’re going to deport gay foreigners from Egypt. My phone started ringing a few

Realizing Demographic Dividend in Africa: the Critical Importance of Adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights February 8 – 12, 2016 | Accra,

A comment from GATE on the Maltese Act on Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics. Available at GATE’s website.  In April, 2015 Malta passed

Originally published on The Independent  Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos does not pick the easy battles, nor does he pick the vote-winning ones.    

Originally published by Amnesty International. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2015/04/china-release-on-bail-of-five-womens-rights-activists-an-incomplete-step 13 April 2015, 18:28 UTC The Chinese government must drop all charges against each of the five

SPW recommends Open Society’s report Marriage and Forced Divorce – A Legal Gender Recognition Issue Brief, in which it “explains legal restrictions that affect the recognition of married trans and intersex people and examines case law and addresses key arguments made by those who oppose such recognition”

The era of market reform has created a burgeoning Chinese middle class that craves not only increased consumption of goods and the freedom of self-expression,

Originally from GenderIT.org by Bishakha Datta I’m convinced we’re having the wrong conversation around digital porn. Late last year, the British government banned a bunch

The Norwegian Ministry of Health’s Expert Committee on legal gender recognition presented its conclusions and recommendations in Oslo today. The report proposes legislation based on

Partaking in the effort to make sexual politics visible in the discipline of international relations (IR), Sexualities in World Politics offers ten essays edited by Manuela Lavinas Picq and Markus Thiel addressing how LGBTQ perspectives impact IR as a discipline, practice, and disciplinary practice.

The Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transgender, Transsexual and Intersex Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean (LGBTTTI Coalition) that brings together groups from

Originally published on Key Correspondents   The day the military raided Amina Danait’s* village in Muguru na Nyori will forever remain etched in her mind. Soldiers

The Coalition of African Lesbians, the Gay and Lesbian Archives and the Centre for Indian Studies of the University of Witwatersrand, in partnership with Sexuality

Originally published on Reality Check on 09/04/2015. Available at: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2015/04/09/white-house-takes-stance-reparative-therapy/ A letter posted Wednesday to WhiteHouse.gov thanked visitors for signing a petition in support of banning

Originally published on The New York Times on 05/04/2015. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/world/asia/chinese-womens-rights-activists-fall-afoul-of-officials.html By ANDREW JACOBS APRIL 5, 2015   BEIJING — The young Chinese feminists shaved their

Originally published on Belfast Telegraph on 14/03/2015. Available at: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/battle-over-the-unborn-antiabortion-protester-showed-me-foetus-doll-31066577.html BY PATRICIA DEVLIN – 14 MARCH 2015 Followed down the street and told my unborn

Originally published on Real Screen ok 09/12/2014. Available at: http://realscreen.com/2014/12/09/terror-attack-at-vessel-screening-in-sweden/#ixzz3Wf3Xvm5h Three masked men stormed a screening of SXSW-winning abortion documentary Vessel (pictured) in Sweden on

Dear Colleague, Join more than 1,000 policymakers, activists and practitioners, including young persons, people living with HIV & AIDS, with disabilities, and LGBQTI persons from

                 Applications are due on or before 30 April 2015. Applications will be evaluated and participants will be

Originally published on Standard Media. Available at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000155804/court-nullifies-section-outlawing-reckless-spread-of-hiv By Kamau Muthoni Kenya: The High Court has declared unconstitutional a section of the HIV and Aids

Originally from NYT, published on 15/03/2015. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/world/swedish-prostitution-law-targets-buyers-but-some-say-it-hurts-sellers.html By DAVID CROUCH MARCH 14, 2015 GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Not far from the Sticky Fingers nightclub, three Romanian

SPW recommends Georgetown Law School’s O’Neill Institute study (co-authored by Women’s Link) Conscientious Objection and Abortion: A Global Perspective on the Colombian Experience. Click here

A new study finds that residents in 90% of all surveyed countries have become more accepting of homosexuality over the past 20 years. The study examines

Originally posted on Rewire on 11/03/2015. Available at:  http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/03/11/im-disturbed-screening-intersex-traits-utero/ by Claudia Astorino March 11, 2015 – 1:20 pm As an avid proponent of reproductive rights,

Women’s, Feminists and other civil society NGOs from Latin America and the Caribbean launched a statement criticizing the Political Declaration approved by Members States Monday

Originally published on BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31828123 Draft laws aimed at boosting the birth rate in Iran reduce women to “baby-making machines”, the rights group

In response to An Urgent Calling for Global Action: Protest in Front of Chinese Embassies for Detained Chinese Feminists, we are going to launch a

Organizations of the International Sexual and Reproductive Rights Coalition (ISRRC) launched a statement highlighting that, despite progress achieved toward gender equality and the realization of

Originally published on Rewire on 10/03/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/03/10/women-deserve-know-hiv-prevention-medication/ by Anna Forbes and Manju Chatani and Dázon Dixon Diallo March 10, 2015 – 1:05 pm In

Originally published on The Independent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-majority-of-sex-workers-enjoy-their-job–why-should-we-find-that-surprising-10083175.html Selling sex is not inherently harmful or dangerous. Criminalising it would be Prevalent discourse would have you believe

An Indian Court has banned a movie in which one of the men convicted in the murder of a woman victim of a gan rape

Originally published on Rewire on 03/03/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/03/03/making-affordable-raise-baby-wont-make-abortion-demand-obsolete/ by Amanda Marcotte March 3, 2015 – 9:39 am With their new paper, the Brookings Institution‘s researchers

Originally published on NYT on 26/02/2015. Available at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/health/american-hiv-battle-in-africa-said-to-falter.html?_r=0 By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. FEB. 26, 2015   SEATTLE — The $1.3 billion that the United

Originally published at: http://www.rhmjournal.org.uk/authors/call-for-papers.php Sexuality, sexual rights and sexual politics volume 23   number 46   november 2015 Sexuality is an integral component of human existence.

We are pleased to present this report on women’s reproductive rights in Latin America. In recent decades, women throughout the region have made tremendous strides

Originally published on Jadaliyya on 26/01/2015. Available at: http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/20626/%E2%80%98a-distinctly-french-universalism%E2%80%99_translating-la%C3%AF by Muriam Haleh Davis It was impossible to avoid the discussion, despite my repeated protests. In Lyon,

Originally published on The Guardian on 01/02/2015. Available at:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/01/abortion-in-brazil-a-matter-of-life-and-death The day after Jandyra went for an abortion her body was found mutilated beyond recognition.

Published in the UNSW Law Society journal “Court of Conscience” issue 9, 2015, on “rights and freedoms”, this paper considers what it means to address

Originally published on Paper Bard on 27/01/2015. Available at: http://paper-bird.net/2015/01/27/isis-kills-gays-a-history-of-violence/ Hands shove them forward, bound and blindfolded. Then comes the step when the stone beneath them stops

Originally published on The Huffington Post on 29/01/2015. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/chile-same-sex-civil-unions-_n_6569912.html SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill

Originally published on Rewire on 21/01/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/01/21/pope-francis-remarks-birth-control-methods-offend-pro-choice-catholics/ by Martha Kempner January 21, 2015 – 1:15 pm Pope Francis, on his way home from his

A Cairo court acquitted 26 men of charges of participating in a gay “sex party” at a public bathhouse in December. Click here, here and here

Originally published by The Amnesty International on 22/01/2015. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/articles/news/2015/01/el-salvador-pardon-woman-jailed-miscarriage-triumph-justice/ 22 January 2015, 00:00 UTC A pardon granted by El Salvador’s Parliamentary Assembly to a

Originally published on NYT on 20/01/2015. Available at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/opinion/canadas-flawed-sex-trade-law.html By JULIE KAYE JAN. 20, 2015   Photo   CreditMark Blinch/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press EDMONTON,

Originally published on Paper Bird on 09/01/2015. Available at: http://paper-bird.net/2015/01/09/why-i-am-not-charlie/ There is no “but” about what happened at Charlie Hebdo yesterday. Some people published some cartoons, and some

Unicef has launched a position paper against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Click here to read it..

Originally published on Rewire on 12/01/2015. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/01/12/latest-study-depo-provera-hiv-far-complex-headlines-suggest/ by Emily Bass January 12, 2015 – 5:47 pm A newly published study by Lauren Ralph et

Originally published on World Vietnam in January 2015. Available at: http://wordvietnam.com/news-latest/breaking/same-sex-marriage-now-legal-in-vietnam While Southeast Asia’s Muslim countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, take a dim view of homosexuality,

Originally published on NYT on 05/01/2015. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/opinion/egypts-appalling-crackdown-on-gays.html By THE EDITORIAL BOARD JAN. 5, 2015 Even if they were acquitted on the ludicrous charge of “debauchery,”

Originally published on Rewire on 05/01/2015. Available at:  http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/01/05/anti-abortion-stigma-cultural-force-restricting-reproductive-rights/ by Morgan Meneses-Sheets January 5, 2015 – 10:51 am For too many people in this country,

DECEMBER 4, 2014 tags: Against Capital Punishment in India, Death Penalty, Nithari Case,Surinder Koli by Shuddhabrata Sengupta Taken from: http://kafila.org/2014/12/04/appeal-to-stay-the-execution-of-surinder-koli-concerned-women-individuals-and-groups/ Guest Post by Concerned Women, Womens’

Originally from Buzzfeed BuzzFeed LGBT editor Saeed Jones joins journalists Steven Thrasher and Dave Tuller to discuss sex, gay men, and what we are (and

Originally published on Paper Bird on 08/12/2014. Available at: Taken from: http://paper-bird.net/2014/12/08/dozens-arrested-cairo/ At about 10 PM last night, December 7, police carried out a massive raid on ahammam

Originally from:  http://kelinkenya.org/2014/12/announcement/ Women Living with HIV & their Lawyers Issuing a Press Statement after Filing their Case       Picture By: KELIN/Regina Mwanza 1.0

Published December 2014 in  http://arc-international.net/research-and-analysis/ As part of our commitment to community dialogue, self-reflection and strategic analysis, ARC commissioned two external evaluation reports in 2014:

Originally published on Rewire on 02/12/2014. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/12/02/activists-must-address-hiv-advocacy-using-reproductive-justice-framework/ by Melanie Medalle and Nerissa Irizarry December 2, 2014 – 1:33 pm In the United States,

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society invites submissions for a special issue titled “Pleasure and Danger: Sexual Freedom and Feminism in the Twenty-First

“By now you have probably already heard of the harem of Tunisian sex-warrior slaves heading to Syria in order to give up their young bodies to the appetites of deprived rebels to fulfill jihad al-Nikkah — “Sexual Jihad” — and are coming back to the country with bellies full of Jihadi babies. Unfortunately for what seems to be that blind spot people have when it comes to stories on Muslims and sex, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of Tunisian female warriors going to fight a holy sex war.”

Across Asia, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LBGTI) people continue to face rights violations because of their sexual orientation and gender identity and weak

Read Jadaliyya’s article Sexual Violence, Women’s Bodies, and Israeli Settler Colonialism, which reflects on the violence against Palestinian women

The report The Role of Global-Level Advocacy in Addressing HIV among Key Population, published by Global Network of People living with HIV, examines the role

SPW recommends Transnational LGBT Activism, by Ryan Thoreson, in which the author discusses how the idea of LGBT human rights is defined by international activists

Members of the Indian LGBTQI community issued an open letter to the editors of Bangalore Mirror, after the journal reported the arrest of a married man

Originally published on CLAM on 29/10/2014. Available at: http://www.clam.org.br/EN/destaque/conteudo.asp?cod=11878 Every day women die of unsafe, illegal abortions. Two recent deaths provoked uproar in Brazil.Elisângela Barbosa, a

Originally published on Rewire on 22/10/2014. Available at: http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/10/22/discussing-disabled-sexuality-radical-act/ by s.e. smith October 22, 2014 – 5:27 pm   On September 29, the American Academy of

The submissions are for the fifth volume, which will be published in the spring of 2015. The editorial team is seeking commentaries, research, reviews, art,

The World Association for Sexual Health has published the Declaration of Sexual Rights, in which it reaffirms that sexual rights must be respected, protected and fulfilled.

The meeting report for the Orientations and Identities: Sexuality and Human Rights on the Global Stage Conference, that took place in May, Los Angeles, has

First published on AWID. Available at http://www.awid.org/eng/News-Analysis/Friday-Files/The-Right-To-Autonomy-Over-Our-Bodies-And-Loves-The-Resolution-On-Human-Rights-Sexual-Orientation-And-Gender-Identity-Furthers-Dialogue#.VEGnWpTCCW0.facebook FRIDAY FILE – AWID spoke to Dawn Cavanagh* of the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) in South Africa and Sexual

STP, International Campaign Stop Trans Pathologization The International Day of Action for Trans Depathologization 2014, convened by STP, International Campaign Stop Trans Pathologization1, took place

The new issue of SUR – International Journal on Human Rights celebrates its 10th anniversary with 55 articles on the challenges and sucesses of the

SPW recommends Aziza Ahmed’s article – published on Columbia Journal of Gender and law – “Rugged vaginas” and “vulnerable rectums”: the sexual identity, epidemiology, and

International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) Asia Pacific with the support of Masimanyane Women’s Support Center (South Africa) will be hosting a multi-country CEDAW shadow

Originally published on Political Research, on 06/10/2014. Available at: http://www.politicalresearch.org/2014/10/06/conversion-therapy-a-bigger-threat-to-africa-than-scott-lively/# By Kapya Kaoma, on October 6, 2014 Conversion therapy, also known as ex-gay or reparative therapy,

Originally published on NYT on 05/10/2014. Available at: Taken from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/opinion/pedophilia-a-disorder-not-a-crime.html By MARGO KAPLAN OCT. 5, 2014 CAMDEN, N.J. — THINK back to your first childhood crush.

Originally from Reproductive Rights. Available at: http://www.reproductiverights.org/press-room/oas-links-abortion-restrictions-to-violence-against-women-calls-governments-to-decriminalize-abortion 10.03.14 – (PRESS RELEASE) For the first time ever a committee within the Organization of American States (OAS)—considered to be the United

The ABC on LGBT rights was developed by the Insight public organization with the support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. The publication is a part

Human rights groups are calling for a protest on 18 October 2014 in front of every Egyptian embassy around the world to protest against human

Every year, the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs awards the Human Rights Tulip to a human rights defender who promotes and supports human rights in

Equal Rights Trust published the Volume Thirteen of The Equal Rights Review (ERR), an interdisciplinary biannual journal intended as a forum for the exchange of legal,

By Erin Matson, Editor at Large, RH Reality Check September 24, 2014 – 2:41 pm All over the country, from Denver to Minneapolis and beyond,

By Laurie Essig California’s enacting on Sunday of the “yes means yes” law is a victory for some campus feminist activists but an ill-conceived detour

The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) has published a report called: Lessons From the First Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review: From Commitment to Action on Sexual

By Lucy Jordan September 25, 2014 | 8:05 pm In late August, a 27-year-old woman named Jandira dos Santos Cruz went to a bus station

SPW joins forces with other networks and organizations engaged in the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe Abortion.  We recall that the date

International Campaign for Womens Right to Safe Abortion When abortion is a crime – Center for Reproductive Rights. Take action for the September 28 Campaign

Caso Jandira e aborto no Brasil: crime com pena de morte – Pragmatismo político Coragem para enfrentar o preconceito – Observatório da Imprensa Sobre princípios,

Brazil’s Criminal Abortion Laws Are Killing Women – Reality Check Aborto clandestino en Brasil provoca muertes trágicas – Diário Rotativo (México) Stigma of Brazil abortions

By Suzanne Trimel* The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) today applauded the United Nations’ top human rights body for approving a resolution

The Spanish government has decided to withdraw a bill that would only allow abortion in cases of rape or significant health risk to the mother or fetus. Read

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2014 (IPS) – On the eve of a major U.N. special session on population and development, a delegation of religious leaders

By Marianne Thamm Three years ago South Africa and Brazil co-sponsored a historic resolution encouraging the UN to discuss discrimination and violence based on sexual

The Center for Reproductive Rights has launched The World Abortion Laws Map 2014,  in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the International Conference on Population and

SPW recommends the report written by activists and funders aimed at supporting better coordination and collaboration on trans and intersex funding. Download it here.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has published its September 2014 edition of the Reproductive Rights Rundown, highlighting reproductive rights developments in UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies

Unlawful Arrests Undermine Basic Freedoms, Rule of Law SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities should immediately release seven men arrested on September 6, 2014,

(I had spent a week in Gujarat in February-March,2007 and published two reports in TEHELKA. Reproducing the first part to remind myself that it was

The Observatory of Prostitution has published a report revealing the impacts on prostitution and sex trade arising from Brazilian World Cup during June and July.

By Kathy Bougher September 2, 2014 – 7:24 pm Fundamentalist groups in El Salvador have escalated their media attacks against the “Freedom for the 17”

SPW recommends the article Proposed declassification of disease categories related to sexual orientation in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11),

BRIDGE – development and gender has launched the guide Supporting social movements to advance women’s rights and gender justice – an approach for donors. Read

If you have followed the aftermath of the August 9 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown, then you have most likely seen the image of his

By Ximena Casas, Planned Parenthood Global August 19, 2014 – 9:59 am In 2007, a 13-year-old Peruvian girl became pregnant as the result of being

American groups sent out a fundraising appeal over the weekend claiming LGBT people had been stoned to death. But Ugandan activists say there is no

KARACHI, Pakistan On Feb. 12, 1983, 200 women — activists and lawyers — marched to the Lahore High Court to petition against a law that

The World Health Organization has published its proposals on trans health in the ICD-11 Beta Draft, in which for the first time in history it

Photograph: Cathal Mcnaughton / Getty It sounded like a strawman, until it wasn’t. There is one thing that suicidal rape victims need: immediate assistance.But for

By Anna Forbes and Sarah Elspeth Patterson August 13, 2014 – 3:54 pm During the 2014 International AIDS conference, The Lancet medical journal released a

From legalising abortion to transsexual rights, marginalised groups have united to become a formidable force for change One tiny country has been blazing a liberal

The English version of the Federation for Women and Family Planning (Poland) report summarizing 20 years of Poland’s strict anti-abortion law is now available. It

The Sexual and Reproductive Justice Resource Center provides various country and regional specific resources related to Sexual and Reproductive Justice, developed by our members, partners and

A Ugandan court struck down a punitive antigay law that has strained Uganda’s relations with the West but the court ruled on narrow technical grounds,

At the VI Summit of President of BRICS We, the networks and the feminist movements of the global South, that gathered in Fortaleza, 14-16 July

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has produced a guide to adress the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming employees. It settles some important issues

Press Release 24th July 2014 For Immediate Release Transgender Group in Kenya wins Historic Court Battle Nairobi, Kenya, 24 July, 2014. – In a historic

Stigma and discrimination have always played a major role in the global AIDS epidemic, but they are getting renewed attention this year at the ongoing

Every morning we wake up to an updated butcher’s bill: one hundred, two hundred, four hundred, six hundred Palestinians killed by Israel’s war apparatus as of

Prostitutes are subject to repression, violence and abuse – even at the hands of law enforcement, research shows Prof Chris Beyrer speaks at the International

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) released its latest publication, Dossier 32-33: Sexualities, Culture and Society in Muslim Contexts, available in paperback hard copy and

By Rashika Rakibullah Staff Writer Early last week, Indian authorities began preparations for the country’s 2014 general elections, a nine-phase, month-long event that will break

Alongside the ongoing 26th session of the Council, the Sexual Rights Initiative, in partnership with,Ipas, Amnesty International and UNAIDS, hosted a parallel event examining the

Read the joint statement delivered at the 13th session of the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals on behalf of 58 countries, focusing

The Nation‘s article underlines the gaps between Obama’s administration promises to cut funding to discredited HIV and pregnancy prevention programs in Uganda and the ongoing

At the International Conference on Human Rights (7 to 10 July 2013), the main outcome was the final report, which represents a unique platform to

Staying positivist in the fight against homophobia Rahul Rao* In recent weeks, arguments against homophobia have been made in two paradigmatically positivist registers – science

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing private companies to deny their employees insurance coverage for birth control under the Affordable Care Act’s preventive

Sex workers organizations from Canada are mobilizing supports to battle against a bill aimed at criminalizing prostitution and a wide range of activities related to

Posted on 24 June 2014 Why is the Human Rights Campaign hanging out with the friends of homophobe Gary Bauer? Some background: HRC, the richest US

Amnesty International launched a public statement on the resolution presented by a group of countries at the UN Human Rights Council  aimet at “protecting the

Read New York Times article about a fierce battle raging in Egypt beyond that one between Islamists and military rulers: the battle “between the patriarchy

Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites, from Institute of Commonwealth Studies (University of London), are the editors of the free online book Human Rights, Sexual Orientation

The Cranky Sociologists website publishes an article arguing, according to a global map of gender murders, that homicides are gendered social fact. Here.

Danish parliamentarians passed a law which makes it the first European country where a requirement for ‘Gender Identity Disorder’ diagnosis or any psychological assessment/opinion is

New York Times brings an article on how new Indian government can adress the Section 377, upheld by the Supreme Court in december and which

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has launched a report on violence against LGBT person in Asia. Read it here.

LGBTTTI Coalition celebrates tha approval of the seventh resolution on human rigths, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression at the OAS 44th General Assembly.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) has announced the online publishing of Women’s Charters and Declarations: Building Another World written by Rashida Manjoo, the UN’s

In an article published by New York Times, Laurie Shrage writes about discrimination against people living with HIV. Read it.

Take a look at BuzzFeed‘s article about Zakhele Mbhele, the Africa’s first out gay black MP to join South Africa’s parliament.

As the pace of Brazilian presidential election campaign accelerates once again abortion rights are caught into the eye of the storm. Last week, the Ministry

In Brazil, not surprisingly, abortion has once again flared up in the path towards the next Brazilian presidential election campaign. The presidential candidate of the

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and the National LGBTI Security Committee have been documenting the different cases of violences following the Anti-Homossexuality Bill Approval in 2013.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a statement aimed at contributing to the elimination of forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization. It reaffirms that

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, meeting at its 55 Ordinary Session held in Luanda, Angola, from 28 April to 12 May 2014,

The kidnapping of more than 200 girls by the extremist Islamic group Boko Haram in Nigeria has prompted a worldwide campaign for their release, in

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have reported a surge in human rights violations at Uganda since the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2013.

An article from RH Reality Check shows how fundamentalist christians are reaching space on US state and federal governmemt. Read here.

Read Helen Clark (UNDP) statement highlighting LGBT rights as matter of concern to all working on human development. Click here.

The Vatican was questioned this week at the UN Committee against Torture in relation to cases of sexual abuse and violence that have been reported

Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) has launched a new manual for rights activists facing religious fundamentalist opposition to their work. Click here to

The FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University has launched the 5th Edition of the Health and Human Rights Resource Guide. The

According to World Health Organization, every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. From this total, 99% of the

Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) has launched analysis on the role and coordinated actions that Conservative forces played during the 58th Commission on the

Preliminary list of signatories and the statement in English and Spanish.

Nigerian Senate has passed the HIV Bill 2013, which stipulates that every person living HIV and AIDS shall be assured of freedom from unlawful termination

According to Alternet, Tennessee has become the first state in U.S. to pass a law criminalizing women for their pregnancy outcomes. Click here to learn

Article by Aljazeera highlights the difficult choices Brazilian women are forced to make when trying to end a pregnancy in the country with the largest

Learn more about “The Gathering”, a secretive group that provides funding for many evangelical causes at US, including the anti-LGBT movements abroad. Here.

In an article in Aljazeera America, Silvia Tamale highlights how certain ideas are being used to justifiy laws like the Ugandan one which criminalizes same-sex

According to Human Rights Watch, the Louisiana State House of Representatives voted to repeal a law, enacted in 1805, that punishes and undermines LGBT rights.

S.H.E social, health and empowerment feminist collective of Transgender and Intersex Women of Africa has launched its first newsletter, which brings news about trans activism

Africa Regional Sexuality Resource Centre has published ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Report, which is the culmination of a landmark UN review of progress, gaps, challenges and emerging

Read the final publication of the EROTICS: sex, rights and the Internet project here.

Click here to read it.

The Guardian brings information on the dissemination of rape as a practice used by Egyptian police against arrested dissidents. Read more.

Privacy tips for sex subversives: Ways to protect your information and yourself Read Scott Long’s article about privacy of human rights activists. Click here.

The Nation brings an article about the role of American Christian organizations in triggering anti-LGBT laws. Click here.

SPW gathered news, results and assessments from the 47th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD). Below, some of them released by now. RESURJ

The Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a family planning law but ruled out provisions to punish health workers who do not inform people about

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India allowed a transgender people to identify as a third gender and directed the central and state

Read The Guardian’s article about the case of a Brazilian women taken by police to have a cesarean, despite her will to have a vaginal

Mother Jones brings an article about women’s role in Rwanda, two decades after the genocide that killed 800.000 people. Today, women represent two-thirds of the

Sexual Rights Initiative has gathered news from the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council that took place from March 3 – 28 2014.

Read Reality Check‘s article about the movement by the Koch Brother to support anti-choice organizations in the context of the mid-term congressional elections this year.

Read J. Lester Feder’s article published on Buzz Feed in which the author discusses how “Pope Francis’ softening tone on LGBT issues does not appear to

According to news on the web, a Tanzanian MP is working on a private member’s Bill that seeks to tighten the law against same-sex relationships.

In a ceremony today, the Brazilian government gave monetary reparations to Maria Lourdes da Silva Pimentel, the mother of Alyne—an Afro-Brazilian woman who did not

Reproductive health and human rights advocates testified today in Washington, D.C. on women’s rights issues, including discrimination, violence and reproductive rights violations in the Dominican

Governments at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) ignored evidence of and regional support for key elements of sustainable development in

Read Ryan Richard Thoreson’s article, from Yale Law School, about the debate over Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2009 and 2010, when journalists and activists warned of

Click here to read the statement delivered in the 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) which defends sexual rights, sexual

Uganda, the World Bank, and LGBT rights: Winners and losers SPW recommends Scott Long’s article about World Bank delaying a schedule loan to Uganda aimed

Read NY Times article about some of the findings of a landmark government-sponsored report on the size and structure of the sex economy in USA,

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Approves Monetary Reparations Agreement with Brazilian Government for the Mother of Alyne da Silva

Pambazuka News 667 comes with a special issue on “The struggles for homosexual rights in Africa”, which brings analyzes from a African perspective of the

Mauro Cabral shares the compilation ‘Torture in Healthcare Settings’, which reflects on the report of Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the first

Read New York Times article about China’s harshest anti-vice campaign in years and its effects on the economy of Dongguan, a southern city of more

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, at its recently concluded session, issued a statement on sexual and reproductive health and rights, which

Since December Uganda and Nigeria have approved draconian laws under debate for many years that drastically curtail the freedom and rights of persons whose gender

In mid February, the Chinese government launched  a policy offensive against activities deemed as vices such pornography and prostitution. The operation took place in the

Read Reality Check article that discusses a report from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) about abortion. For the author of the article, “the debate over

In a ruling that marks a significant step forward for women’s rights in the region, Bolivia’s highest court, the Plurinational Constitutional Court, issued a decision

Read The Guardian’s article about Brazilian authorities attempts to sanitise the country’s image by repressing sex-related businesses. Click here.

The ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Report is the culmination of a landmark UN review of progress, gaps, challenges and emerging issues in relation to the

Nigerian LGBT community is organizing a Global Day of Action on the 7th of March 2014 to protest against law that criminalizes same-sex people relationships. Click

SPW recommends Sexualities january edition. It brings articles about gender and sexuality boundaries on evangelical websites; medicalization of women sexuality as well as other interesting

This new issue of The Scholar & Feminist Online, edited by Elizabeth Bernstein and Janet R. Jakobsen, forges new ground by weaving together issues of

UNDP’s HIV, Health & Development Group has launched a Discussion Paper on Transgender Health & Human Rights, prepared by Jack Byrne, an expert on trans

The LGBTTTI Coalition Working at the OAS highlighted the advances achieved in 2013, such as the approval of the Inter-American Conventions Against Racism and Against

Read the article “The Implications of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 on Uganda’s Legal System”, by Adrian Jjuuko and Francis Tumwesige, in which the authors discuss

Read J. Vreer Verkerke’s critical article about the new dutch law on transgender people. Here.

In december, Nigeria’s Senate approved a law that criminalizes displays of affection, people in same-sex marriage (including tourists) and even those who argue in favor

Canada’s highest court struck down the country’s prostitution laws that punish keeping a brothel, living on the avails of prostitution and street soliciting. According to

Read article “Does Pope Francis Have a Woman Problem?”, from the Daily Beast, which points that pope Francis is undoubtedly forward-thinking—except for when it comes

Read “Decoding India’s Proposed Online Porn Ban – I”, that reportes the day-long “Connect Your Rights!” meeting held in Mumbai in November 2013. The meeting

The Program on Global Health & Human Rights, from Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California, has launched the Health and Human

India Supreme Court has decided to re-criminalises same sex sexual activities between consenting adults, bringing the legacy of the British Empire back to life with

CHANGE Presidente Serra Sippel, in article, says that “the long, hard struggle to alter US policy on HIV/AIDS assistance shows that advocacy can deliver a

Reality Check brings Adele M. Stan’s article about how Pope Francis “when it comes to inequality of the sexes, enthusiastically embraces Rome’s status quo, using

Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion in El Salvador, the Feminist Collective for Local Development, CEJIL (Center for Justice and International Law) and Ipas

LGBTTTI Coalition of Organizations working within the framework of the OAS expressed support and appreciation regarding the creation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Between 29 November and 1 December 2013, the Third International Intersex Forum, supported by ILGA and ILGA-Europe, took place in Valletta, Malta. This event brought

Read article “Two Women, Different Outcomes: How U.S. Foreign Assistance Policy Harms Women”, by Elizabeth Maguire in “RH Reality Check”, in which the author tells

France’s Parliament approved a law that punishes clients who buy sexual services from prostitutes. SPW is following the debate. The case has turned a big

The Introduction chapter of Paul Amar book, “The Security Archipelago”, has been published online by Duke University Press, for free access. Feel free to check

New York Times brings an article about the increasing of American gay men who reported having unprotected sex to federal  health investigators . The article remarks that

With great pleasure SPW brings attention to the Human Rights Watch post article by Anna Kirey, who has participated in our Buenos Aires training on

Article published on “The Indenpend”, signed by Jeremy Laurance,  presents  the elaborate strategies adopted to persuade sex workers to practise safe sex through African countries. Click

IDS Sexuality and Development November Newsletter is on the web and brings discussions about heteronormativity and patriarchy as well as other issues. Learn more.

In article on The Guardian, Annmarie Chiarini tells how her ex-boyfriend put nude photos of her on the web and how she reacted. The case

Uganda Police arrested last week, without a warrant, Mr. Samuel K Ganafa, The Executive Director of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives and Board Chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda

In an article published at Journal of the International AIDS Society, Chris Beyrer and Monica Malta highlight setbacks on the Brazilian political and financial commitment

Read article from Buzzfeed about Russia government tactics against LGBT activism. Officials acuse human rights activists of being part of part “Western ‘Homosexualist Invasion’”. Click

Equador faces a double pattern in adressing reproductive and sexual rights: while Presidente Rafael Corrêa makes pression against abortion legalization, his Public Health Ministry leads

In article, New York Times discusses aspects of Rio de Janeiro policy on the organization of Olympic Games: brothles are being captured by an atmosphere

A report on the Situation of Afro-Brazilian Trans Women was presented during a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last week in

In a case that has the potential to break the binary gender norms of male and female in law and administrative practices in India, the

Read RH Reality Check’s article “Anatomy of the War on Women: How the Koch Brothers Are Funding the Anti-Choice Agenda”, where the author criticizes that

The death of Gabriela Leite, on October 10, meant a great loss for the struggle for the rights of prostitutes, and sexual rights brodaly speaking,

Read New Statesman’s article about a German law that lets a birth certificate to be left blank in cases where the child is neither male

Read Zillah Eisenstein’s article about Putin’s homophobic nationalism. The author says that “right-wing rhetoric, demonizing homosexuals and feminists is an attempt to stimulate his waning

SPW recommends the document “LGBTI persons deprived of their liberty: a framework for preventive monitoring”  because it considers very relevant that the Association for Prevention

Anti-sex work group, Equality Now, recently launched an attack on the UN over recommendations to decriminalise sex work in two reports on HIV and Sex

SPW recommends reading the blog “The adventures of cosmic yoruba and her flying machines”, which brings reflections on sexuality in pre-colonial Nigeria. Click here.

The United Nations Secretary-General’s envoy for HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, Dr Edward Greene, has pleaded for the removal of discriminatory immigration laws in

Read article on The Guardian about how a movement that started out as a critique of capitalist exploitation ended up contributing key ideas to its

Article on NY Times describes the case of a american young woman, taked in handcuffs to a cell because of the allegation that she, once

“It has been ten years since New Zealand parliamentarians, after considerable debate and encouragement from sex workers, mainstream women’s organizations, and public health advocates, voted

The Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE) published a statement on the October 19 reaffirming the devasting effects of the patologization of trans identities. Click

Read article from “The Guardian” about the situation in Japan, where the number of young people who doesn’t show interest for sex is growing. Click

Human Rights Watch send a letter to Pope Francis asking that Catholic Church  to “condemn violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)

Check articles (in english) about the LGBTI issue on the All Translation website.  It’s an opportunity to learn more and get a sense of what

UN Women has supported sex workers in response to Equality Now’s anti-sex worker campaign. The statement recognize the rights of sex workers by striving to

African Regional Conference on Population and Development, based at Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia (3 and 4 October 2013), has resulted on a final document called “Africa Regional

“If a person does not fit in a neatly packaged place within the straight-gay binary, some people won’t believe them, a fact that led me

Latin American Center on Sexuality and Human Rights brough interviews with scholars (Sealing Cheng and Thaddeus Blanchette) working on the connections between love, prostitution and

The Constitutional Court of South Africa decided that two sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act are unconstitutional. The measeures were intended to criminalise consensual

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Keith Goddard’s passing and again we reflect and pay tribute to a man whose career followed a number of

The Kuwait Ministry of Health has proposed tightening genetic tests for immigrant workers in order to prevent transgender migrants from entering the GCC job market.

Read The Independen’s news about medical tests that will be conducted by Gulf states to stop homosexual to enter their countries. Click here.

Organizations, associations and activists defending the human and civil law of  trans people denounce generalized extreme violence and murders and impunity that trans people suffer

Cultural Cold Wars: Where “traditional values” came from See Scott Long’s HQ on the place of sexual rights in what he calls “Cultural Cold Wars”.

Read article about the situation of trans people in South Africa and the obstacles that they face regarding the identification country system. Here.

Read the article, by SPW partner Raphael de la Dehesa, in which he discusses Brazilian sexual and reprodutive rights landscape. Although being hailed as a

At the award ceremony in Nuremberg Opera House on 29 September, 2013 Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, LGBTI activist from Uganda, received the award from Lord Mayor

The 6th Asia Pacific Population Conference (APPC) took place at the end of September in Bangkok. The final document brings recommendations on  gender equality and

Read the report of the 24th session of the Human Rights Council which concluded last week. Among the issues discussed, gender integration was one of

DAWN’s new website is now accessible. It brings a better search engine and a new media section. Click here to access it.

Read LGBT activist Igor Yashin’s article (“Russia needs its own Stonewall, not Western sanctions”) about the ways to confront the homophobia that imperils minorities in

The political history of prostitution in Brazil has been winding. In recent years, the hegemony of discourses on sexual exploitation and trafficking for sexual purposes

On this 28 September, the SPW publishes report developed by the International Campaign for Women’s Rights to Safe Abortion in which it shows the effects

The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) has launched a statement on the attacks made by Equality Now on UN recommendation calling for decriminalisation

Read Huffington Post’s article about USA iniciative “Safe from the Start”, designed to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in conflict and crisis and build

“The Gikuyu of Kenya, who had very rigid codes of sexual convention, thought the public displays of affection among Europeans were unspeakably vulgar. Ironically, however,

Read women’s rights lawyer Flavia Agnes’ article about the fate of the woman raped and killed in India last year. “And so she lives on

During his apostolic journey to Rio de Janeiro for the 28th World Youth Day, Pope Francis did not repeat the Vatican’s old rhetoric. Instead, he

In what organisers suggest is a ‘first of its kind’ move, an informal coalition of over 150 trans* and cis feminist activists, academics, writers and

Pope Francis, once more, came with new remarks on issues related to sexual and reproduticve rights. His messages prompted reaction all over the world. What

The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) promote capacity building within organisations in 50 countries by providing training and education through fellowships for professionals. The NFP is

Almost one in four men surveyed in six Asian countries admit to having raped their partners at least once, according to a UN report. Researcher

Read about a New Delhi community organization that offers care and counseling, but also empowers gay, lesbian and transgender people. Here.

Read the article “The Queer Art of Whistle Blowing”, about the place that gender is occupying in the context of the “Manning case”. Click here.

Read the article “Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, the New Dissidents?” about United States machinery that satisfies certain tendencies that are in the genetic code

Read feminist Zillah Eisenstein’s article about the Manning case. “Manning has initiated a rare moment of opportunity that makes mainstream silence a bit more difficult”.

Read the article “Abortion education under pressure in U.S. medical schools”, in which it highlights the battle at the state level in the United States

A new research in the Lancet Global Health, a medical journal, indicates that more than one in ten men surveyed in six Asian countries said

Although mature and vibrant, Latin American scholarship on sexuality still remains largely invisible to a global readership. In this collection of articles translated from Portuguese

In this event to be held at the UN Human Rights Council, the Center for Reproductive Rights will speak about the  Alyne Case in relation

Uganda: Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) happily welcomes the court ruling by US Federal judge on Wednesday August 14, 2013. In the historic ruling the judge

The Universal Access to Female Condom Joint Programs has just published an up-date report on Female Condoms now available in the global market or yet

The Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean ended on August 15, 2013 after country delegates agreed upon a groundbreaking

Read more on Vatican’s financial scandal.

Read some information on the recent Brazilian context on regressions in sexual and reproductive politics.

US: Exodus International announces it’s closing doors. The closure comes less than a day after the organization released a statement apologizing to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for years of undue judgment, by the organization and from the Christian Church as a whole. Read more.

Arcus Foundation announces Capacity-Building Initiative for U.S. LGBT Movement. The deadline to apply for Arcus’ LGBT Leadership Initiative for Executive Directors has been extended to allow time for a few more applicants. The extended deadline is now June 5th, 2013.

Argentina: GLSEN – the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network – and UNESCO host meeting  to create Global Network of Researchers, Advocates Working on LGBT Issues in Education. Read more.

Around 1.8 billion young people worldwide are at risk of having their sexual and reproductive rights ignored in the next round of ICPD review. Amnesty International calls on you to tell world leaders: protect sexual and reproductive rights now and for the next generation! Support My Body, My Rights campaign.

El Salvador: Following an Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ determination, Salvadoran woman who sought abortion delivers baby after a C-section. Read more.

US: NY Archdiocese has been reluctantly paying for health plan that covers birth control. Read more.

Awid’s “Facing Fundamentalisms Newsletters” seek to spark engagement and interaction from readers who are confronting religious fundamentalisms across a diversity of contexts. March edition is focused on Religion, Culture, Tradition and Fundamentalisms at the UN.

Brazil: Sexual assaults in Rio de Janeiro have cast a light on class differences in the city and have raised fears for women’s safety ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Read more.

El Salvador: Supreme Court has denied a sick woman an immediate abortion, despite warnings from doctors that her life is at risk and the foetus is likely to survive only a few hours after birth. Read more.

Read “Bradley Manning, Bayard Rustin, and the perversion of Pride”, an article by Scott Long on A paper bird blog.

United Nations has just released a video stating that LGBT rights are human rights, starring Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.Watch it now.

Check out the new issue of Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, available for purchase at the Online Library.

Read “Rethinking Policing in the Age of AIDS”, an article by Aleksandr Zelichenko and Tan Sri Mohd Zaman Khan.

With the recent release of the US State Department’s Human Rights Reports for 2012, the Council for Global Equality has compiled information from the reports on areas ranging from police/state violence to transgender and lesbian-specific incidents. Download the compendium here.

The International Journal of Middle East Studies just launched a special issue about Queer Affects in its Volume 45 of May, 2013. Copies may be requested here.

The Global Dialogues Video Challenges are an innovative, intercreative approach to making short YouTube films on global social issues. Check out this one about “Young and HIV Positive”.

Show your support to the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia by changing your profile picture on social networks. Click here for some suggestions.

Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Biblical speech opposing homosexual behavior, including in written form, is essentially a hate crime. Read more.

Brazil: The Commission for Human Rights and Minorities in Brazil’s lower house of parliament elected an evangelical pastor from the Christian Social party to be the president. The Congressman Marco Feliciano is accused of homophobia and racism and outcries has spread to street around the country. Read more.

Brazil: Read the “Civil Society follow up on the crisis Brazilian AIDS Response,” published after the Ministry of Health Note of Clarification in opposition to a public note written by Brazilian NGOs with concerns about the funds for AIDS programs.

Read the “Brazilian Ministry of Health Note of Clarification” regarding the Brazlian NGOs note on the funds that had been originally transferred by the Union for the exclusive use of AIDS programs, but were not used until december 2011.

Global: To mark the World AIDS Day 2012, celebrated on 1st December, we present a series of contents , like the special World AIDS Day edition of the Alliance newsletter, a statement from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and more. Read now.

Global: 28th September 2012 is the Day of Decriminalization of Abortion and advocates around the world are organizing events to raise awareness about the need to ensure access to safe, legal abortion. Click and sign an international open letter for the right to abortion, support a campaign and read more.

India: Though sex workers weren’t even permitted to participate, they managed to take a stand at the International AIDS Conference, which took place in USA, in july 2012. Besides, more than 1,000 sex workers from India and other nations convened in Kolkata for the “Sex Worker Freedom Festival”. Read more.

Read the article “Provisional Measure 557 (MP 557) has been archived, but the matter is not resolved,” written by Ana Maria Costa and Luís Bernardo Delgado Bieber, on the creation of the National System of Registration, Tracking and Follow-up of Pregnant and Puerperal Women for the Prevention of Maternal Mortality.

Scott Long published at the blog A paper bird the article Resources for the unbelievers, on aid conditionality and LGBT rights. A series of contents regarding aid conditionality and LGBT rights is presented in this article, including some contents produced by some partners for the SPW Newsletter n.11. Read more.

Global: Gender equality and women’s human rights have continuously been a challenge and sexual and reproductive rights were not included in the Rio+20 document, which was a giant leap backwards. Read a series of contents on this issue.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) will take place in, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 20-22 June 2012. Check more information on the agenda regarding the women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health at the Rio+20 Summit.

Brazil: After awake praises in the international arena and be highlighted as a model, Brazilian National STD/AIDS Program is called to correct its course years. Read more.

Endorse the statement “Rights must be at the Centre of the Family Planning Summit”, prepared by Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), DAWN, the International Women’s Health Coalition and RESURJ regarding the new global family planning initiative led by Gates and DFID, which will be held in London on 11 July 2012. Read more.

Turkey: Prime Minister Erdogan’s statements in the last week of May 2012 have revealed that plans to ban abortion have been underway for some time now. Experience from the global arena illustrates that this lethal attempt, which has no scientific backing, will not reduce abortion rates; instead it will only lead to unsafe abortions and increase maternal mortality. Read more.

Global: Read the IDAHO Committee team balance about the global mobilization worldwide celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, on May 17th. According to IDAHO Commmittee, new countries joining celebrations for the first time.

Argentina: On May 9, 2012 the Senate passed the first ever gender identity law in the country. With 55 votes in favor, 1 abstention and no votes against the law passed is for now the most progressive disposition on transgender people rights in the world. Read the note published by GATE and more.

UK: The Equal Rights Trust and the Human Rights Lawyers Association invite to the panel discussion “Advancing Sexual Rights in the ‘Developing World’: The Politics of Human Rights Interventionism”, which will take place in London, on 10 May 2012. Read more.

Sweden: On 15 April 2012, images above showing Sweden’s Minister of Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, cutting into a cake in the shape of a naked black woman have led to an outcry across the country and online. Read more.

Global: To mark the International Women’s Day and to highlight backs and forwards in terms of women’s current condition, SPW has gathered a series of articles, studies, news and arts in a special bulletin.

Global: On March 7, 2012 the Human Rights Council in Geneva held the first-ever formal UN inter-governmental debate on violence and discrimination against LGBT people. 

The panel was moderated by the Ambassador of South Africa and featured panelists from Brazil, Pakistan, Sweden and the USA. Read more.

ARC International is co-hosting with the ICJ an NGO roundtable to raise awareness of sexual orientation and gender identity issues on next Monday, 5 March, at the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. Titled “LGBT Issues for the Curious: (Almost) Everything you Wanted to Know about Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity but were too Diplomatic to Ask”, the roundtable affords an opportunity for LGBT human rights defenders from all regions to share their perspectives with diplomats. Read more.

Uganda: Exactly one week after the re-tabling of the Anti Homosexuality Bill (2009) by MP David Bahati, a workshop organized by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) human rights defenders was invaded and shut down in Entebbe. The State Minister for Ethics and Integrity in the Office of the President, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo, in the company of an aide and the police, announced that the workshop was illegal and ordered the meeting to close immediately or else force would be used to end the meeting.

Uganda: The COALITION OF AFRICAN LESBIANS (CAL), a pan African network of lesbian, bisexual and gender non-conforming people, organizations and individuals, calls upon every person who believes in the dignity, equality and freedom of every human being, to take note of and act urgently to halt the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which has just been re – tabled in Uganda.

Brazil: Cleides Amorim, a professor at the Federal University of Tocantins, was one of over a dozen LGBT Brazilians murdered in just the first two weeks of 2012. AllOut started a national campaign aimed at Federal Government, inspired in a protest letter from a group of professors of Brazilian universities. Read more.

Interview: Conceição Lemes A protest movement against the Provisional Measure 577 (MP 577) creating the National System of Registration, Tracking and Follow-up of Pregnant and

Brazil: President Dilma Roussef signed an act that regulates the obligatory registration of pregnant women. The text includes language that treats the fetus as a person. Read more.

Endorse the “Our Rights, Our Lives: Women’s Call to Action toward the 20-year review of the Cairo conference in 2014”. It was developed by an inter-generational group of over 30 feminists convened by Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice (RESURJ), International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) and Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN). Read the call.

The Brazilian Association of Studies on Homoculture (ABEH) released the first version of the schedule, the menu of group themes, and the composition of the scientific commission of the VI International Conference of Studies on Sexual and Gender Diversity that is going to take place at UFBA (Federal University of Bahia) in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on August 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2012.

Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW) and the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) were involved in the production of reports on the status of human rights in Brazil for the second Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, which will be held in June 2012. Read the reports.

In the The Equal Rights Review (Volume Seven), it is debated human rights violations. Some people are at higher risk of having their rights violated. When the higher risk is associated with more or less stable personal characteristics such as gender, religion, race, disability, sexual orientation, etc., and materialises in a less favourable treatment or a particular disadvantage, the result may amount to discrimination: a violation of the fundamental right to equality.

Syria: Authorities arrested Syrian blogger, feminist, and activist for free expression Razan Ghazzawi on December 4th, 2011. Read the statement written by human rights activists and defenders.

Read In favor of a real debate in Cameroon, published at CLAM website, presenting an analysis of the African sexuality context, based on an interview with S.N. Nyeck, a Cameroonian-born Ph.D. candidate at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Political Science.

Nigeria: The Senate passed the Same-Gender Marriage Prohibition Bill. Nigerian Human Rights Defenders have condemned the Bill and the Coalition for the Defense of Sexual Rights in Nigeria circulated a call for action. Read more.

Today the Lesbians and Gays of Botswana (LEGABIBO) took part at the World AIDS day commemorations and march which took place in Moshupa a small

December 1st is the World AIDS Day. Despite recent advances on treatment and prevention projects, women are still missing in policies to fight and prevent

Russia: On November 11, 2011, St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly approved a bill to ban the so-called propaganda of “sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism, and pedophilia to minors”. The second reading of the bill has been temporarily postponed until 30 November, 2011. Read more.

More than just talk: the framing of transactional sex and its implications for vulnerability to HIV in Lesotho, Madagascar and South Africa is a cross-country publication generated by the HIV, Globalization and Economic Flows Collaboration, funded by HEARD and IDRC. The publication contributes to better understanding the meaning of transactional sex by focusing on everyday ‘talk’ about transactional sex for both transactional sex participants and observers in three countries-Lesotho, Madagascar and South Africa.

Global: On October 24th, 2011, Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, presented a report before the UN General Assembly, calling on all countries to abolish or suspend any criminal laws that seek to control women’s sexual and reproductive rights. Read the NGO statement supporting the report and more.

In the Volume Six of The Equal Rights Review, The Equal Rights Trust searches for answers to questions like: If equality is understood as a fundamental human right and a basic principle of social justice (this is how it is described in the ERT mission statement), what does it mean in respect to health? How is health equality thinkable? While there is a wealth of literature in political theory, health care policy, economics, social medicine and medical law addressing the central issues of relevance to health equality, an equality and human rights law approach is underdeveloped.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Justice: A Comparative Law Casebook, by the International Commission of Jurists is the first book of its kind. It collects and analyzes judicial decisions from more than 100 courts around the world. The Casebook showcases the role of international and comparative law in litigation seeking to vindicate the human rights of LGBT individuals. It is organized into fourteen chapters, each consisting of an introduction to the main legal issues and arguments followed by detailed case summaries.

USA: A remorseless House of Representatives returns to Capitol Hill, armed with a grim anti-woman agenda, in the form, once again, of the Global Gag Rule, a presidential order that declares that U.S. international family planning funds cannot go to organizations that use non-U.S. funds for abortion services, counseling, or referrals. Read more.

Uganda:A number of violations based on sexual orientation and backlashes are also to be reported in Uganda, starting with the murder of David Kato, in Kampala, in January 2011, and more recently the suspicious ‘burglary’ at FARUG (Freedom and Roam Uganda), which has posed threats to the lives of other Ugandan activists.

Turkey: read a series of news on recent cases of violance against LGBt people in this country.

New public health recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners aim to help policymakers and doctors scale up access to treatment and prevention services for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men and transgender people. The guidelines Prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among men who have sex with men and transgender people: Recommendations for a public health approach are the first global public health guidelines to focus on these specific population groups and provides 21 recommendations for actions to be taken by multiple stakeholders, in close cooperation with men who have sex with men and transgender people.

The UN resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity is available in all 6 UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Read Claiming Rosa Parks: Strategic Secularism and Human Rights in Latin America, a paper by Prof. Lynn M. Morgan about Rosa Parks Prize delivered to anti-choice Argentine senator Liliana Negre de Alonso in 2009. Download PDF.

EU: On 30 June 2011, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights held a hearing on LGBTI rights in the world. Read more.

Argentina: Read the press release written by AMMAR – Sex Workers Argentina repudiating the Presidential Decree that prohibits publicity that promotes sex services.

Global: Read the article published by ARC International on the 17th session of the Human Rights Council (May 30 to June 17 2011).

Ghana: While progressive and exciting things are happening in Geneva, homosexuals could soon be lynched in Ghana – MP warns. Read more.

GENERAL REMARKS BY BRAZIL, L.9/Rev.1 Human Rights Council 17th Regular Session Agenda Item 8 Decisions L.9/Rev.1 Geneva, 17 June 2011 GENERAL REMARKS BY BRAZIL Thank you

> UN endorses gay, transgender rights, Boston.com > Bahamas backs UN resolution on gay rights, Caribbean News Today > Nigeria oppose UN gay rights resolution, Next.com > U.N. rights

United Nations: Human Rights Council passes first-ever Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in a historic decision. Read more.

Global: Women from Toronto started to organize the Slut Walk against all expressions of sexist violence as a response to a policeman statement that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. Brazil, UK, US, Australia and India joined the movement. Read more.

Read the article Egypt after Mubarak, written by Paul Amar and published at The Nation website, about the coalition that has taken action to continue the Egyptian revolution.

Global: The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) was celebrated on May 17th 2011 with hundreds of events taking place all around the world and on every continent. Read more.

Read What are the connections? Overview and Literature Review, launched by Sida. This publication illustrates the necessity for economic policies and poverty reduction efforts to take account of sexuality. If they don’t, they risk exacerbating exclusions and inequalities, and becoming less effective. It is hoped that this paper will support the work of donors, policy makers and activists in the areas of economic policy and poverty reduction, as well as in struggles for sexual and economic justice more broadly.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) launched State-sponsored Homophobia – A world survey of laws criminalising same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults, a research by Eddie Bruce-Jones & Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, Birkbeck College School of London, United Kingdom, which was updated in May 2011.

Sylvia Tamale launched the book African Sexualities – A Reader, a groundbreaking volume which provide a critical mapping of African sexualities, informing readers about the plurality and complexities of sexualities on the continent. Click here to read more.

Read the news report Winds of change on the situation of LGBT in the Middle East, published by the Australian LGBT magazine DNA.

Brazil: Brazilian Supreme Court gives unanimous judgement in favour of the legal recognition of same sex partnerships. Read the ABGLT’s note.

The Queer Bangkok – 21st Century Markets, Media, and Rights, edited by Peter A. Jackson, traces Bangkok’s emergence as a central focus of an expanding regional network linking gay, lesbian, and transgender communities. Read more.

Read Where have India’s baby girls gone?, published recently by The Economist presenting the data from the 2011 Indian census, which shows that there are now 914 girls aged 0-6 years old for every 1,000 boys of the same age.

This document, organized by Amnesty International, identifies how the crimes of rape and sexual violence must, as a requirement of its own statute and a matter of international human rights law, be interpreted and applied with equality between men and women by the International Criminal Court (the Court). The Court has yet to rule on this matter in its jurisprudence. Such incorporation of human rights law and standards in the prosecution of rape and sexual violence should be undertaken by other international courts, as well as national courts, in order to discharge states’ duties under treaty and customary law.

Lesbian Group Kontra and Iskorak – Group for Promotion and Protection of Different Sexual Orientations have just released the 2010 Annual Report on the Status of Human Rights and Gender Minorities in Croatia. Read the publication.

In October 2010, Institut Pelangi Perempuan, the Indonesian Youth Lesbian Center, launched the Yogyakarta Principles comic strip. Read the comic version and an interview published at ILGA’s website with Kamilia, a young feminist and lesbian activist currently the Executive Director of the organization.

Global: Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights has received $1 million over five years from the Community-University Research Alliances program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Read more.

Uganda: Sub committee that has been discussing the “Kill the gays” bill decided to suspend it as most of the provisions in the bill are already catered for in Ugandan penal code. Read more.

USA: Read the statement by the White House’s Press Secretary on Ending Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Watch the series of interviews made by Rachel Maddow with David Bahati, the parliamentarian who proposed the so called “kill the gays” bill in Uganda.

UN – Joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation & gender identity 1. We recall the

Global: Read and follow up on the joint declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, read by Colombia on behalf of 85 member countries during the UN Human Rights Council 16th session.

Read Are Women’s Rights on Obama’s Agenda in Latin America?, an article by Luisa Cabal and Lilian Sepúlveda on RH Reality Check.

USA: After the United Nations evaluation of the United States’ human rights record, the U.S. released a report to the U.N. affirming that “no one should face violence or discrimination in access to public services based on sexual orientation or their status as a person in prostitution.”

Read the short report “The Body and the State: How the State Controls and Protects the Body”, written by Rafael de la Dehesa about the 23rd Social Research Conference, held on February 10-12, 2011 at the New School University, New York City. The text brings a brief description of some of the speeches and presentations at the Conference.

Read “Repoliticizing sexual and reproductive health and rights – Report of a global meeting” held in Langkawi, Malaysia, in August 3-6, 2010.

Read the article Abortion in the United States’ bible belt: organizing for power and empowerment, written by Mary Ann Castle, from the Planing Alternatives for Change.

Read Towards a Future Without Fundamentalisms and Feminists on the Frontline: Case Studies of Resisting and Challenging Fundamentalisms, two reports by AWID.

Read the article The Sudden Rise of a Pro-Gay Foreign Policy in the United States, written by Javier Corrales, analyzing the Obama administration regarding gay rights.

Egypt: In the recent mobilizations for freedom and democracy in the country, the force of organisations consisting of women and youth was decisive. Read the articles Why Egypt’s progressives win, by Paul Amar, Imperial Feminism, Islamophobia, and the Egyptian Revolution, by Nadine Naber, analyzing this Egyptian context, and more.

Read Laura Agustin’s article Sex, Lies and Videotaping, about BBC World Debate programme on Human Trafficking, at the Naked Anthropologist on Migration, Trafficking and Sex blog.

UK: Ugandan lesbian Brenda Namigadde’s request for asylum to be reviewed on February 7th by UK Border Agency. Read more.

Uganda: After the High Court prohibited Rolling Stone local magazine to campaign against LGBTI community, gay activist David Kapo was murdered in his home. Read more.

In A Tale of Two Moralities, published at the New York Times website, Paul Krugman talks about the American political morality and highlights the deep intersection of economic and abortion debates in the USA. Read the article.

Mexico: Susana Chavez, a human rights activist best known for her poetry and actions to help raise awareness of the violence towards women, was murdered in Ciudad Juarez, a gritty border metropolis that has become Mexico’s most violent city. Read more.

Brazil: Brazilian Human Rights and gender equality activists send a manifesto against the way abortion was treated during the last election period in Brazil to the President Dilma Rousseff and Ministers. Read more.

Read The extraordinary life and death of David Burgess, on the death of a brilliant immigration lawyer. Burgess also was Sonia and died under a London tube train in October 2010. In this article, Burgess’s family and friends tell the complicated story of the loving father, brilliant colleague, sensitive woman and courageous person they knew.

Read Developing sexual health programmes – A framework for action, organized by the World Health Organization, pointing to the importance of programming for sexual health across the five domains of laws, policies and human rights; education; society and culture; economics; and health.

Uganda: Uganda’s high court released a ruling permanently prohibiting the tabloid Rolling Stone (no relation to the venerable U.S. publication by the same name) from continuing its public vigilante campaign against that country’s LGBT community.

Global: On 21 December, 2010 the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of restoring reference to “sexual orientation” in a high-profile resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Read more.

Read the article Putting the “Universal” Back in the Universal Declaration, written by John Fisher, Co-Director of ARC International. This short article focuses on the recent developments at the UN, with an overview of both progress and challenges on LGBT issues in the international arena.

Read the issue number 6 of the Sexuality, Health and Society – Latin American publication (contents in Spanish, Portuguese and English), published by the Latin American Center on Sexuality and Human Rights (CLAM). Despite an instigating article on the relations between clients and female prostitutes in Rio de Janeiro, and a reference to other countries (Mexico and Chile) in two of the book reviews, all the other articles and reviews in this issueconcentrate on Argentina. Even if such concentration is due to the random influx of submissions, it is rather timely. With the approval of the so-called Equal Marriage Bill, Argentina has gone, over the past few months, over important transformations in the expansion of civil rights.

Read the article “Operating logic”, written by Mauro Ï Cabral, on medical interventions or mutilation in intersex people.

Brazil: On December 1st, 2010 was celebrated the World AIDS Day and, to mark this date, representatives of Brazilian NGOs, including the SPW’s Co-chairs Richard Parker and Sonia Corrêa, participated in a meeting with an UNAIDS mission that visited Brazil. Read more on it and other HIV/AIDS issues.

The issue Struggle for Equality – Sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights in Africa of the publication Perspectives – Political analysis and commentary from Africa, supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, gathers articles that despite the myriad of challenges and hostile environmen, show that there is an ongoing engagement and growing movement towards equality for LGBTI people throughout the continent. Read the publication.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has just published Behind bars: life stories of people affected by the criminalisation of HIV, an international collection of interviews which exposes the effect criminal laws on HIV transmission are having on people’s working and private lives. Read more and watch a short video highlighting the dimensions and impact of laws that criminalize HIV transmission.

Cuba: Read the statement of SOCUMES and CENESEX on the Cuban vote at the Third Committee of UN General Assembly in support of the amendment which removed the explicitly mention of “sexual orientation” at the periodic resolution condemning the extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions.

Africa: The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights denied observer status to the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL). CAL and other lesbian feminist activists rapidly reacted. Read more.

Egypt: Civil society has warned of adverse social and health consequences after the Egyptian government ordered the removal of content related to male and female anatomy, reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases from the school curriculum.

Click here to read a great editorial piece in which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay denounces homophobia and calls for concerted action to better protect individuals from violence and discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Catholics for Choice and the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception released a new briefing paper entitled Emergency Contraception: Catholics in Favor, Bishops Opposed, detailing how Catholic bishops continue to oppose access to emergency contraception and lead opposition efforts, going against the beliefs of the majority of Catholics. Read the paper.

Uganda: A sex worker conference that would be held from November 18-20, 2010 was under attack by the Government. Read and support a call to action organized by FARUG – Freedom and Roam Uganda.

Jamaica: A recently produced public service announcement focuses attention on the need to respect LGBT individuals and features prominent Jamaicans requesting tolerance of the Jamaican LGBT community. Read more and watch the video.

Regulating Sexuality: Legal Consciousness in Lesbian and Gay Lives, by Rosie Harding, explores the impact that recent seismic shifts in the legal landscape have had for lesbians and gay men. In this study of the interaction between law and society in social justice movements, the author interweaves insights from the new legal pluralism with legal consciousness studies to present a rich and nuanced exploration of the contemporary regulation of sexuality. Read more.

Global: For 79 votes for and 70 votes against the amendment proposed, and 17 countries abstaining, governments remove sexual orientation from UN Resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Read a series of articles on various aspects of unsafe abortion in Africa published at RH Reality Check website in partnership with Ipas.

USA: The recent spate of gay teen suicides has captured the attention of the US nation to confront the issue of anti-gay bullying and the vulnerability of gay adolescents. Barack Obama has released a video to draw attention to the pressures facing gay teenagers. Read more.

Venezuela: The postulation of a transexual lesbian feminist woman, activist of human rights, to become a Judge for the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice Venezuela causes call to mind in Venezuela. Read more.

ARC International (www.arc-international.net) is releasing an “Activist’s Guide to The Yogyakarta Principles”, a tool for those who are working to create change and build on the momentum that has already begun around the Yogyakarta Principles.

Spain: A controversial exhibition titled “Invisible: transgressive nature” (in Spanish, Invisibles: Naturalezas transgresoras) organized by Decide-T at the University of Alicante, Spain, presented Trans Barbie dolls.

Global: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced in September, 14th that former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet will head UN Women, an agency formed in July to pull together four existing U.N. bodies dealing with the advancement and welfare of women.

Since the African Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics will take place next week in Lagos, Nigeria, we have selected a series of articles related to sexuality and gender issues in Africa, published in the last months for the SPW’s newsletter n.9. See below.

If you would like to be kept updated with information from the MDG Summit on sexuality issues, visit IPPF’s MDG Blog – Sex and the Summit.

In 2010, June 19th, Judith Butler refused the Civil Courage Award of the Christopher Street Day Parade in Berlin, Germany, at the award ceremony, arguing that the parade had become too commercial, and was ignoring the problems of racism and the double discrimination suffered by homosexual or transsexual migrants. Read more.

Global: The United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously on July, 2nd to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide, establishing the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — the new gender equality entity at the UN.

Kazakhstan: The leader of the Pearl, an NGO that protects LGBTand conducts work on the prevention of HIV infection, was found dead in his apartment in the center of Karaganda. Read more.

> Judith Butler refuses Berlin Pride Civil Courage Prize 2010 (No Homonationalism) > Judith Butler 1 – Homonationalism 0 (Bully Bloggers) > Judith Buter turns

The UN Special Rapporteur to health, Anand Grover, has dedicated his thematic report at the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council to issues

Malawi: Gay couple Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga walked free after Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned and ordered the release of the men who

Zimbabwe: Two employees of Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) were arrested on Friday May 28, 2010 after a police raid on their offices. Police alleged to have found pornographic material. The activists complained they had been tortured. Read more.

Malawi: A gay couple is facing a possible 14 years in prison with hard labour after becoming the first one to declare their commitment in a public ceremony.

Indonesia: Read a note written by Kamilia, from the Institut Pelangi Perempuan, an Indonesian Youth Lesbian Center, on one more meeting attacked as a result of harassment from some fundamentalist and hard-line Islamic groups.

IDAHO May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Various activities are being planned around the world. On www.dayagainsthomophobia.org > This year, IDAHO will

IDAHO: The International Day Against Homophobia, held on May 17 every year, is a rallying event offering an opportunity for people to get together and reach out to one another. Fondation Émergence promotes the International Day Against Homophobia and encourages organisations and individuals to highlight this event in their environment. Get involved.

Vatican: Read ILGA’s press release on the statement by the spokesperson of the Vatican Press Room, Federico Lombardi, about paedophilia and homosexuality.

Read official ABGLT position on Vatican statements about homosexuality and pedophilia. Avalilable in English and Portuguese.

Indonesia: ILGA through its Co-Secretary General Gloria Careaga provides detailed information on what really transpired in Surabaya, Indonesia and why the Fourth ILGA Asia Regional Conference was canceled. Read more.

Check out The International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) AKIMBO blog. IWHC leads global and local actions to secure every woman’s right to a just and healthy life. The blog Akimbo is where IWHC publishes perspectives on world events and policies affecting women’s health and rights. Visit it now!

Europe: The Secretary General of the Council of Europe welcomes the decision of the Committee of Ministers on Wednesday 31 March, 2010 to adopt a recommendation to member states on measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

> To Sinead O’Connor, the pope’s apology for sex abuse in Ireland seems hollow, by Sinead O’Connor at The Washington Post > Should There Be

Guatemala: United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Anand Grover, visited Guatemala City on March 22 and 23 to participate in the civil society consultation for Central America, Mexico and the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean.

Indonesia: Indonesian police ordered the cancellation of the ILGA Asia conference due to be held from Friday 26 till Monday 29 March, 2010, in Surabaya, East Java’s capital. See the communication from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and read more and see some photos at Fridae’s, the Gay City News’ and the Associated Press’ websites and other news on the episode by clicking here.

During the 54th UN Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York, in March, 2010, Ipas, IPPF and the Government of The Netherlands

USA: On March 21, 2010 the President Barack Obama announced that he will be issuing an executive order after the passage of the health insurance reform law that will reaffirm its consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion. See a series of opinions regarding this issue.

Nicaragua: On 2 February, 2010 a 27-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in Leon, the second largest city in Nicaragua. She was diagnosed with an advanced case of cancer, which had metastasised and may have spread to her breasts, brain and lungs. She was told she couldn’t be prescribed an aggressive chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment because she was pregnant and, under Nicaraguan law, any medical procedure to save the life of a mother is banned if it jeopardises the life of the foetus.

USA: Read about the stand taken by one brave catholic priest against Prop-8, the California referendum on gay marriage.

Australia: On March 8th, 2010, Australia may have made gender history, as the New South Wales government lays claim to being the first in the world to recognise an individual’s sex as officially “not specified”.

France: In February 2010, France became the first country in the world to remove transsexuality from its official list of mental disorders.

Spain: The Spanish Senate voted to ease the country’s restrictions on abortion, rejecting the opposition of the Catholic bishops and the Vatican over access to safe and legal abortion in that country.

Nearly a year ago, Obama lifted the “global gag rule,” which prohibited the US from funding any organizations that provide or “promote” abortions.  This move,

USA: On December 18th 2009, the SPW website posted an article written by Natalie Wittlin about the retention of the ‘prostitution pledge’ in the new proposed US HIV/AIDS policy guidelines announced by the Obama Administration on November 23rd. On December 29th, the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo published an article entitled The United States will provide funds to prostitutes, which the content contradicted SPW’s analysis of PEPFAR.

Malawi: Human rights groups in Malawi have leapt to the defense of two gay men who were arrested after marrying in the country’s first public same-sex ceremony. The men were charged in court. Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, pleaded not guilty before a court in Blantyre to charges of indecency.

Mexico: In 2009, December 21, the Mexican capital became the first in Latin America to allow same-sex marriage with a groundbreaking law which could set a precedent for gay rights across the region.

Honduras: Murder of gay rights activist shows another crisis. Walter Tróchez spent a lot time at Honduras police stations and morgues: he was the HIV-positive gay activist who got the call every time a transgender sex worker was murdered on the streets of Honduras.

USA: Even with Obama, the prostitution pledge remains on place in the case of PEPFAR, the US Funding for HIV/AIDS.

USA: Grave human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity were the focus of a panel discussion organised on Human Rights Day 2009 on December 10, in the United Nations, in New York , defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

The Philippines: Read more about COMELEC’s decision to deny accreditation to Ang Ladlad. > Full resolution by COMELEC, promulgated on November 11, 2009 > Ang

Available on Facebook Immoral, and a threat to the youth. When the 2nd Division of the Commission on Elections rejected Ang Ladlad’s application for accreditation

Uganda: The draft “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” introduced on October 14, 2009 in Uganda’s parliament would violate human rights and should be withdrawn immediately, a group of local and international human rights organizations.

The Philippines: The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) rejected Ang Ladlad (LGBT organization) for registration as a sectoral party for advocating immoral doctrines. Read the article “Drawing the Line between Belief and Bigotry in Asserting the Rights of Filipino LGBTs”, by Malu S. Marin.

USA: A restriction on abortion coverage was added in November 7th, 2009 to the health care bill. The provision would block the use of federal subsidies for insurance that covers elective abortions. The Obama White House is refusing to weigh in on an amendment that represents perhaps the most restrictive anti-abortion measure introduced in a generation. Read more.

USA: President Obama announced in October 30, 2009 the end of a 22-year ban on travel to the United States by people who had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. At a White House ceremony, he announced that a rule canceling the ban would be published in November 2, 2009 and would take effect after a routine 60-day waiting period.

A series of regional meetings has been organized by the United Nations regional commissions — ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA — in preparation for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, from 1-12 March 2010, in New York. See the agenda.

Zimbabwe: The director of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), Keith Goddard has died on October 9th, 2009 after a short illness.

Jamaica: British Honorary Consul John Terry murdered in his bedroom. The content of a note reportedly found at the murder scene suggests he was the victim of a violently homophobic crime.

In a much anticipated decision in the General Assembly (GA), governments agreed in September to move ahead with the process of creating a stronger, more

Hillary Clinton received the Four Freedoms Award from the Roosevelt Foundation on September 11. She gave her acceptance speech and announced a Security Council Resolution

By Ranjani K.Murthy* Independent Researcher, Gender, poverty and health Between 1994 and 2009 several changes have taken place in the health/SRH and global NGO scenario, 

Germany: From 2 to 4 September 2009, it is happening in Berlin, Germany, the NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Development – Investi in Health, Rights and the Future, organized by the Global Partners in Action.

Panama Declaration Meeting of women representing regional Networks in latin America and the Caribbean in the process of Cairo +15 Panama, 3-5 August 2009 The

Sexuality and Human Rights – Discussion Paper was commissioned by the International Council on Human Rights Policy from Alice M. Miller, Lecturer in Residence and

STATEMENT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) ON THE DELHI HIGH COURT’S DECISION ON SECTION 377 OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE July 2, 2009

India: The New Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexual intercourse between consenting adults, by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 377 repealed of the Indian Penal Code Preliminary views, we need to read the judgment carefully: Question 1) Is this judgment only applicable in

UN Human Rights Council – Urging Governments to Support Resolution on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights at the Upcoming session (June 2 – 18).

Anand Grover, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (the Right to Health) was in Poland from May 4 to May 12. Before this meeting, Anand Grover also attended a South American Consultation about the Right to Health in São Paulo, Brazil, where he met 40 representatives of civil society organizations from Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil.

May 17th has become the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) since the WHO Assembly declared as invalid the code 302.0 of the International Diseased Classification, in 1990. Almost 20 years later, IDAHO was celebrated in a wide range of creative ways all over the globe. Some of the initiatives can be seen here.

Afghanistan: Taliban shoot dead Afghan politician who championed women’s rights

Ireland: For decades, thousands of Irish children suffered soul-crushing lives of forced labor, beatings and molestation in institutions run by Roman Catholic religious orders.

The Pink Chaddi Campaign in India has recruited more than 21 thousand people. Read more about the campaign here.

The UN Conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, held in Geneva during April 2009, was a follow up to the Conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, and its Declaration and Plan of Action (DDPA).

This year (2009) marks the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and reminds us of the five years remaining to fulfill the commitments made at Cairo.

USA: The Obama administration formally endorsed a U.N. statement calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality

Turkey: Transgender human rights activist is murdered – the second killing of a member of Lambda Istanbul in the past year

Nigeria: Same Gender Marriage (Prohibition) Bill violates Constitution

Summary of the panel discussion on the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Law in Relation to Issues of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

During the 4th session of the Human Rights Council, one key event was the launching of the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human

Read the third edition of the Knowing Our Rights: Women, family, laws and customs in the Muslim world, organized by Women Living under Muslim Laws

Letter from the US: Nature and Bono conspire against sound HIV/AIDS policy By Melissa Ditmore* Brazil has been an inspiration for me, as an activist

To US Congress Re: PEPFAR January 31, 2008 Dear Member of the US Congress: We are members of non-governmental and community-based organizations from throughout the

Oral Statement By Soha Abdelaty Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Oral Statement by Soha Abdelaty 10 March 2008 Interactive Dialogue, Agenda Item 3 Working Group on

By Daniela Colombo* There are many reasons to consider Italian abortion law a success story. It was passed in 1978, only six years after the

by Susana Fried On July 24-25, 2008, in Kathmandu, Nepal, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Open Society Institute (OSI)

By Angela Collet* On June 8th, the Human Rights Council approved the appointment of Anand Grover as the new Special Rapporteur on the right of

Sent by Airea na and translated by Mulabi FEMALE CABINET MEMBERS IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT WILL WORK AGAINST DISCRIMINATION On Thursday, July 24, Airea na

By Vagner de Almeida* The first For Rainbow Festival of Cinema and Sexual Diversity held in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, is the first

The undersigned organizations wish to express our support for the Brazilian government’s decision to issue a compulsory license for the medicine Efavirenz, whose patent is

Mechanism for the granting of patents known as “pipeline” patents violates the Federal Constitution On November 28th, the National Federation of Pharmacists (FENAFAR), on behalf

Short film “The power of ‘body movements’” Interviewing Angela Collet, Aline Valentim and Valentina Homem During the 11th AWID International Forum, in the workshop The

Global Public Health, a leading peer-reviewed journal distinguished by its global focus and concern for health inequalities and the social and cultural dimensions of health, has dedicated a special supplement to the research that culminated in the publication of SexPolitics. The supplement, entitled The Contested Politics of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, features condensed versions of six of the ten case studies that appear in SexPolitics: Reports from the Front Lines; these include Brazil, India, Peru, South Africa, Vietnam, and the World Bank.

Since March 15th, 2006, when the resolution creating the Human Rights Council was adopted by the UN General Assembly, the Council have met in four sessions. The 5th session of the HRC will take place from June 11th to 18th, 2007, when it is expected that the ongoing HRC institution building process will be completed.

Alejandra López Gómez* The Reproductive Health Policy Law (Law 18.426), finally promulgated by the Executive in Uruguay on November 20th, 2008, was substantially different in

By Alexandre Boer* The headquarter of the Brazilian gay organization SOMOS – Communication, Health & Sexuality, from Porto Alegre – capital of Rio Grande do

Supreme Court, Division Bench Honorable Justice Mr. Balram K.C. Honorable Justice Mr. Pawan Kumar Ojha Order Writ No. 917 of the year 2064 (BS) (2007

Svati Shah* Along with shifts in the global economy and a new presidential administration in the U.S.A., 2008 also brought the possibility of change in

Alejandra Sardá-Chandiramani* The 11th AWID International Forum in Cape Town was my third AWID event, as I had previously attended ones in Guadalajara (2002) and

By Dotty Aken’ova* It has been almost two years since the bill prohibiting same sex marriage in Nigeria was introduced to the national house of

Considerations about the Principles By Mauro Cabral* The Yogyakarta Principles are the outcome of a long and difficult historical process through which the diversity of

Human Rights Council review process: opportunity to advocate for sexual rights Since March 15th, 2006, when the resolution creating the Human Rights Council was adopted

SPW, ABIA and Conectas Human Rights facilitated a South American Consultation on Right to Health called by Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, March 25th and 26th, in São Paulo, Brazil.

Documents for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Second Cycle – Brazil In May 2012, the second cycle of the Brazilian UPR took place at the

NEW! The report The Role of Global-Level Advocacy in Addressing HIV among Key Population details strategies used and outcomes achieved by five constituency-led global network

Read Reality Check‘s article about study that points how stigma makes people reluctant to share with loved ones their abortions. Click here.

The book Development with a Body, edited by Andrea Cornwall, Sonia Corrêa and Susan Jolly and recently published by Zed Books, offers compelling insights into contemporary challenges and transformative possibilities of the struggle for sexual rights. This is one of the results of the Seminar on Sexuality, Development and Human Rights (April, 2006).

SPW launched the Portuguese translation of the IDS Bulletin – Sexuality Matters. The publication is entitled Questões de Sexualidade – Ensaios Transculturais and is also being translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi and Spanish. The Arabic and Spanish translations are already available online.

The X IASSCS Conference, hosted at Dublin City University, Ireland, proposes to investigate the politics, nature, roles and effects of sexual (and gender) literacy in

CSW67 opening statement: Digital rights are women’s rights – UN Women EU statement at the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

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