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In meetings at the Supreme Court, Congress, and Brazilian universities, Reem Alsalem made anti-trans statements and was criticized by feminist and LGBTQIAPN+ organizations. By Dany Avelar (AzMina website), translated by SPW.

This is our second and latest bulletin of 2025. It offers a broad overview of events and trends in gender, sexuality, and abortion policy throughout the year to complement the analysis developed in July that addressed the policies implemented by the Trump’s second administration and the US landscape.

On January 22, Trump’s administrarion announced it was suspending the funding for foreign organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. SPW summarized the main changes, which expand the restrictions set by the Mexico City Policy and will have many ramifications. Check it out below:

The politics of abortion rights in Brazil entered a new chapter in October. Before his voluntary retirement, the last act of Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Luís Roberto Barroso was to cast a vote in favor of lawsuit ADPF 442, which seeks to decriminalize abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

by Sonia Corrêa [1] Anti-gender politics: Why the name and how to define it today? In September 2025, there is little doubt that the relentless

In June 2019, we published a special issue on the first 180 days of the Bolsonaro administration. Six years later, we take on the challenge

As soon as US-born Robert Prevost was chosen to be the new head of the Catholic Church at a conclave held in May 2025, SPW

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

To mark the launch of SPW’s new website, we invited some long-term partners to explore our archive and select a piece of content (a publication,

In 2024, more than 60 countries will have elections at different levels of government. The contests will not only be electoral, but also about the

Introduction Once again, our newsletter brings you news and analysis about the current times, which are more somber than bright: authoritarian trends, the continued expansion

Sonia Corrêa In April 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, the main doctrinal body of the Holy See, published the Declaration Dignitas Infinita. This

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

>> Read in PDF << Part 2 – Continuing anti-gender offensives Gender politics: good news Inevitably, the political situation described in part 1 of this

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

Originally from Jamil Chade,UOL columnist in Geneva.  Translation to English by Giulia de Vito ______________________ Civil society organisations have appealed to the United Nations, asking international

>> Download and read in PDF << First Words This edition of the SPW newsletter covers the main events in sexual politics since July, roughly

>>> Read/download in PDF <<< Opening Words This newsletter describes and seeks to contextualize the developments in sexual politics since February 2023. In times of

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

On April 11th and 12th, the seminar “Mapping and resisting the gender phantasm in Latin America: geographies of ‘anti-gender’ movements” took place in Rio de

>> Read in PDF << First words In 2022, we adjusted our perspective for monitoring and analyzing sexual politics. In the previous two years, our

“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

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

>> Download as PDF << Preface Due to its relevance in Brazil and the rest of the world, we rescheduled the publication of our newsletter

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

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

In early July, we issued the Spanish version of our sexual politics bulletin, published in Portuguese and English in early June.  More complete and updated,

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

See our playlist featuring SPW co-chair Sonia Corrêa dedicated to analysing the roots, meanings and effects from the overturning of the constitutional right to abortion

By Jamil Chade* Dear young girl, While your story was the subject of a dramatic debate in Brazil, I tell you that in a room

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

>>> Read in PDF  First Words Since April 2020, SPW newsletters have been tracking and analyzing sexual politics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

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

>>> Download the PDF version here. First Thoughts The last 2020 SPW special hypothesized that during 2021, because of vaccines, Covid-19 would no longer be

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

In September 2021, the Chinese government released the new policy guideline on women, namely “Program for Women and Development (2021-2030)”. In the area of “Women

By Sonia Corrêa In September, Pope Francis visited Hungary and Slovakia, and in the latter country, in a conversation with a group of Jesuits, he

Since July, when we published our last Special Edition, as you will see in this issue, a lot has happened in the pandemic and in the field of sexual politics. Once again, the pages that follow are quite dense, but we remind you that the sections are relatively autonomous.

Video prepared as a tribute to the launching of the Brazilian version of the book “Our bodies, ourselves”, presented at the book launch event, a

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

First Words  In the last 2020 edition of Sexual Politics in Times of Pandemic Special of 2020, we hypothesized that throughout 2021, with the arrival

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.

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

Preliminary comment In 2020, in order to adjust our lenses to COVID-19 world conditions, we suspended our regular monthly announcements and started a series of

by Thais Rodrigues and Edson Sardinha* Brazilian conservative and extreme-right parliamentarians are planing to take advantage of the new presidency of the House, MP Arthur

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

ANTI-GENDER POLITICS IN LATIN AMERICA Country Case Studies Summaries ABSTRACTS (Download here: https://sxpolitics.org/GPAL/ )   “Gender Ideology”, Catholic Neointegrismo, and Evangelical Fundamentalism: The Anti-Democratic Vocation

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

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

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 –

Editors’ Note We apologize to our readers and partners for the delay in making our last Special Issue on Sexual Politics in the Pandemic available.

By Massimo Prearo* That words such as “revolution”, “change” or “turn” can be attributed to a religious institution like the Catholic Church, or to the

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

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

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.

After six months into the pandemic, a striking feature of the condition under which we are working is that time has not expanded, as initially

SPW dearly congratulates our friend and Steering Committee member, Rosalind Petchesky, for receiving the New Political Science Charles A. McCoy Career Achievement Award, a more

By Sonia Corrêa Since 1940, Brazilian law has permitted abortion in cases of rape,  and sexual intercourse with persons under 14 years old is automatically 

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

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

On Monday, June 15th, anti-gender activist Sara Winter was arrested in Brasilia in a Federal Police operation. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued a

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

Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, SPW has been reporting on the events, trends and dynamics triggred by Sars-Cov-2. In order to

Since January, when the Chinese government adopted extreme confinement measures in Wuhan,  the pandemic sparked the worldwide spread of questionable war semantics.  It also provided

The global scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed since April, but the crisis is still far from over. Only eight countries are listed as

The SPW Announcement for May and early June 2020 will have the same format adopted in March-April 2020, it will organize the newly compiled information

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

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

March and early April 2020 It has been very challenging to prepare the  SPW announcement for March/April 2020 due to the abnormality, risks, and losses

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

SPW begins a series of brief analyses of the Covid-19 crisis in contexts that are generally under-reported by the mainstream press and which are characterized

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’ –

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

Anti- gender politics in Latin America – SPW is pleased to announce the collection Anti-gender Politics in Latin America, which encompasses  nine case studies from

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

The year of 2019 has finished and, as traditionally, SPW offers our readers and followers a compilation of the main facts, trends, setbacks and victories

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

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,

HIGHLIGHTS Latin America: Politics in Trance In the period covered by this newsletter, Latin America has been the scene of three simultaneous elections – in

“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

September 28 – “Abortion is a Health Issue” was the theme of this year’s International Safe Abortion Day, widely celebrated around the world (see compilation).

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

We start this announcement recalling that, before May 2019, two major antigender events have taken place that are worth revisiting because of their potential subsequent

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

#StopTheBans – Thousands of demonstrators marched in more than 500 cities across the US on May, 21th to protect abortion rights after Alabama state house passed,

With great pleasure, SPW offers an assessment of sexuality and gender politics, including abortion rights, in the first (almost) six months of the Jair Messias

By Sonia Corrêa What has been happening, since January,  in the Brazilian Congress regarding abortion rights and gender must be situated in a longer political.

By Rajnia de Vito and Marco Aurélio Prado In a political scene that is thoroughly saturated with sex and gender tropes and memes, Damares Alves,

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

Highlights Algeria and Sudan: A revived Arab Spring? –  Almost six years after the Arab Spring waned under the shadows of the Sissi regime, political

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

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 Christchurch attack In Christchurch, New Zealand, a solitary white male Australian sniper killed fifty people who were praying in two mosques. Prime Minister Jacinda

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),

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

#Hail International Women’s Day 2019: struggle, endurance, resistance! #Eyes on Brazil From an insider´s point of view, observing Brazilian politics after January 1st is like being caught

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

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

As 2018 reaches its end, SPW publishes a recollection of main events, trends, discoveries and challenges as we start 2019 and prepare for all the

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

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

Read Sonia Corrêa’s article on the antecedents, outcomes and meanings of the 2018 Brazilian presidential elections.

The Brazilian perfect storm We apologize for the delay in the circulation of SPW’s October 2018 monthly announcement due to the stormy process and result

September is the key moment of the year in the global struggle for abortion rights, as the 28th marks the International Safe Abortion Day. In

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

#MourningMuseuNacional: As this announcement was being finalized, the Brazilian National Museum burned in flames. A singular and irrecoverable collection of the country’s historical and cultural

By Angela Freitas Feminists, networks and organizations engaged in the struggle for the right to abortion in Brazil had two months to prepare a mobilization

Download Sonia Corrêa’s article on the public hearings for abortion decriminalization in Brazil — a landmark event in the feminist struggle for abortion rights.

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.

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 –

22nd International AIDS Conference:  On July 22, Pedro Villardi, from GTPI-ABIA, participated in the  Challenging Criminalization Globally Pre-Conference, one of the more important satellites events

Main global trends  ICD Reform – On June 18, the Working Group set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) released the final version of

Three Argentinean partners who work on gender, sexuality and abortion matters generously share their views on key undercurrents of the process leading to the partial

By Fábio Grotz and Sonia Corrêa A new chapter of the ongoing institutional debate on abortion rights in Brazil is scheduled for August 3rd and

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’

By Fábio Grotz Since early June, BBC Brazil — possibly with a view to feeding the national debate around ADPF 442/2017 or perhaps as a

“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

Nicaragua:  SPW calls attention to the violent political crisis sweeping through this small Central American country and expresses its solidarity with the Nicaraguan society that

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

Blas Radi (Universidad de Buenos Aires)[1] The sexual and (non) reproductive health of trans men is a challenging issue. In the first place, because it

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

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

We gather here our monthly briefing writing efforts on the international context in regard to the state of the art and developments of abortion rights

On March 14th, 2018, Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were brutally assassinated in a shootout a week after Women’s International Day.  Marielle was

By Victoria Pedrido On March 20, five draft bills to pass the Voluntary Pregnancy Termination law were debated by Commissions in Parliament. Of those, one

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

Main global trends Another mass shooting in Parkland (Florida) shocked the US and the world. Research findings that gained visibility after the tragedy reveal that

By Sonia Corrêa Brazilian abortion and sexual politics continue ensnarled by the uncertainties of the overall political environment. On February 16th, a presidential decree determined

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

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

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

In January of 2018, a fierce transnational feminist controversy erupted on the question of sexual harassment. In the same week of the Golden Globes Award

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

As 2018 begins, SPW highlights the main events and trends as well as tensions and challenges traversing sexual politics worldwide. Trends and Facts January In

In Europe, the rise of the extreme right – which implies both the deepening of racism and a threat to gender and sexuality-related rights –

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

October began with the International Day of the Girl on the 11th when the media attention was towards highlighting how access to education, especially in some

By Rajnia de Vito and Angela de Freitas In order to properly situate sexual politics in Brazil (while paying special attention to abortion), we must

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:

As SPW readers know, for some years now Brazil has been undergoing regressions in gender and sexual politics and, since last year, a full conservative

September is the key moment of the year in regard to abortion rights, as the 28th marks the International Safe Abortion Day worldwide.  As informed

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

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,

Two outstandingly positive news are to be reported in sexual politics worldwide in August 2017. In India, the Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision on

By Carla Batista and Sonia Corrêa* In November 2016, the first bench of the Brazilian Supreme Court, in a judgment of a habeas corpus of

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

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

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

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

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

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

June is LGBTIQ Pride month worldwide. This SPW brief highlights events around the world, prioritizing parades and other demonstrations that are not captured by mainstream radars. In that regard, we also recommend the readers who read Spanish to peruse the new blog Orgullos Críticos which examines trends and traps implied in the growing normalization and pinkwashing of pride parades

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

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.

In April and May, Brazilian crisis has deepened further more, prompting colossal political chaos which reverberated in sexual politics. Sonia Corrêa, SPW co-chair, assess the deep connections within the crisis regarding threats to abortion rights. Celebrations and good news came from around the world. In Bangkok, researchers and activists gathered

As this highly volatile and complex political context was building up, PEC 29/2015, the Constitutional amendment on the right to life from conception — tabled by Senator Magno Malta in 2015 and dormant ever since in the Committee on Constitution and Justice — was re-introduced for rapid processing.

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

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

In March and early April, the abortion frontline in Latin America has been remarkably eventful,  in positive ways. In Bolivia, the proposed revision of abortion

The criminalization of abortion by the 1940 Brazilian Penal Code is incompatible with women’s fundamental rights enshrined in the 1988 Federal Constitution. This premise grounds the petition presented to the Supreme Court (STF), on March 7th 2017

By Sonia Corrêa On March 7, a lawsuit (ADPF 442) was filed at the Brazilian Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Penal Code’s

There are many events to be reported in regard to abortion rights in February and early March 2017. The most important comes from  Brazil where

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

In January, the first and foremost events to be reported are avalanche of draconian and regressive policy measures adopted in the chaotic first two weeks

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

By Sonia Corrêa In the first two weeks of his administration Donald Trump has opened a can of worms spreading around draconian and regressive conservative

With endorsement of the Republican Party, the Trump campaign openly disrespected and insulted more than half of the US population and this led to what can be described as a “pressure cooker effect”. After months of an unprecedented election season when Hillary and all women were mistreated by the candidate — who felt entitled to abuse his position– and sometimes also by the press; after outrageous remarks and threats to attack immigrants, Muslims, Mexican-Americans and the entire American population of African descent, the build up of outrage was steaming from coast to coast.

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

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

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

As 2017 begins, SPW highlights the main events and trends as well as tensions and challenges traversing sexual politics worldwide. January In January, the Zika

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

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

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

November began with a resounding shift in global politics: Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. As the reactions flooded through the world

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

In the midst of the conservative restoration that has swept Brazil in 2016, on November 29th, the First Chamber of the Brazilian Supreme Court – in which five of the eleven judges have a seat – has issued, an unexpected decision arguing in favor of decriminalization of abortion

In the midst of the conservative restoration that swept Brazil in 2016, the First Chamber of the Brazilian Supreme Court, where five of the eleven

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,

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Last month a large number of events took place across the globe to mark September 28th as the Global Day of Action for Access to

September 2016 began under the government of Michel Temer, whose intermediary presidency governed Brazil from May to August while awaiting the results of the impeachment

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

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

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

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

In August, the Rio Olympic Games provided a privileged stage for the critical observing of gender and sexuality performances. Several SPW partners positively and generously

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.

by Franklin Gil Hernández [1]   The implementation of sexual and reproductive rights in Colombia can be described as ”half way done”. In all areas in

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

As soon as the Olympics were over, Rio — the city that projected the global image of a new Mount Olympus of fit and sensual

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

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’.

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 “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.

  Between July 12th and 15th, right before the Durban International AIDS Conference, SPW organized a seminar in Umhlanga, the Northern District of the City.

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

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

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

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.

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

The proposal launched in May by the LAC 5 countries for the creation of a Special Mandate on Human Rights and Sexual Orientation and Gender

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

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

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

As the Brazilian crisis continues unfolding it gets increasingly intricate with gender and sexuality politics. Read Sonia Corrêa and Fábio Grotz report on what happened

It is not exactly to keep track of the Brazilian political development these days. On May 11th, the Brazilian Senate confirmed the admissibility of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, which had been approved by the House on April 17th.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

A new wave of deadly attacks against human rights and secular activists is at play in Bangladesh. In final April, two LGBT activists were hacked

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.

Since our reports of early 2015, SPW has always linked developments in the abortion debate to the on-going Brazilian political and economic crisis. On April 17th, 2016, this crisis reached an initial point of culmination when the House of Representatives voted for and approved the admissibility of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.

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.

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.

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 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

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

We have the great pleasure to inform that our Spanish page has been re-launched. In this opportunity Alejandra Sardá from Akahatá has written an update

During 2015, as previously reported by SPW, Brazilian abortion politics continued to evolve under pressures created by the unsettled intersection of regressive policy trends (which have been gaining strength since the mid 2000’s) and the macro-political crisis which has overtaken the Brazilian res publica.

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

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

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

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,

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.

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

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.

In February, there were good news to report from both Haiti and Europe. In the case of Haiti, the Penal Code reform is underway and

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

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.

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.

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

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,

The global epidemics fueled by the mosquito-born Zika virus, its potential correlation with microcephaly and the connection with abortion rights is one main headline in

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.

If things had gone well, 2014 would have been the perfect year to commemorate the positive developments of sexual and reproductive health and rights in Brazil.

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.

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

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

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

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

As the year heads toward its end, SPW recollects main trends and facts in sexual politics worldwide. January Pope Francis drew global attention after urging

International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion’s roundup from 2015.

Around 40 percent of women in the West Bank have had abortions, though the procedure remains illegal in Palestine. So guess where they go.

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.

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

As we were finalizing the compilation of sexual politics related events that make the headlines in November the screens were taken over by the armed

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

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.

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.

Check the main facts in October 2015. We highlight the Stop Trans Pathologization Campaign 2015; the Synod on the Family’s final statement; Brazilian feminists protests against partially approved legislation that criminalizes providing information and assistance in regard to abortion; and the Indonesian regressive law against sexual freedom.

As it has been systematically reported by SPW in the last few months, Brazil is now a battleground in regard to the right to legal

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 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

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

At the global stage, one even to be highlighted was the launching of the Sex Work Law Map, produced by the Institute of Development Studies.

The front slide image is a detail of Social Fabric, a drawing by the Brazilian artist Rosana Paulino Article by Sonia Corrêa and Fábio Grotz *

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

SPW has the great pleasure to announce the publication of Working Paper nº 11 Emerging Powers, Sexuality and Human Rights: Fumbling around the elephant. Authored

Image: Barbara Kruger By Sonia Corrêa[1] As previously reported by SPW (here and here), for some time now, growing obstacles have been impairing any movement

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.

Pope Francis once more gained global visibility by allowing priests to forgive women who have had an abortion. His speech — delivered on September first

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.

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

In July the hottest topic to be reported on is, undoubtedly, the global controversy that emerged when Amnesty International made public a draft policy defining

Sonia Corrêa The UN Committee on Human Rights is developing a new General Comment on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political

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

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.

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

by Dr Nozer Shariar Past Secretary General & Chairperson, MTP Committee, Federation of Obstetric & Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI); Past President,Mumbai Obstetric & Gynecological

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.

In early May, SPW re-launched its website. Its new architecture allows an easier access to our products, publications and other contents. In particular, we call

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.

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

_______________________________________________________ Relevant meetings The V Conference of ILGA-LAC was held in Curitiba, Brazil, from January 26th to 30th, 2010. Regional highlights > Read these information

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

by By Manuela L. Picq* A debate on abortion suspended the voting on the new penal code in the Ecuadorian Congress this week. Congresswoman Soledad Buendía,

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

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

Read the article Young Women: Analysis of the Public Safety and Justice Systems in Rio de Janeiro, by Carla Gomes and Beatriz Galli.

Fábio Grotz & Sonia Corrêa Abortion is criminalized in Brazil, except in the cases of woman’s life risk, rape and anencephalic mal formation of the

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 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

Women’s, feminists and other civil society NGOs from Latin America and the Caribbean launched a statementcriticizing the Political Declaration approved by Members States Monday 9

On March 23rd and 24th a group of Brazilian feminists, including Sonia Corrêa have met with national authorities in Brasilia to present a petition protesting

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

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

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 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.

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

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 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,

Among the main events in November, we highlight the Men Engage Symposium, held in Delhi, in which SPW was present with the participation of our

In 2007, the Pope’s visit to Brazil mobilized groups in opposition to the Vatican’s moral dogmatism. In support of these groups, SPW, in close collaboration

In October the 10th anniversary of SUR Journal  – International Journal on Human Right was marked by the publication of its 20th issue that comprises

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 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

One main highlight of the period concerns the politics of abortion in Brazil. Despite the tragic deaths of two women caused by illegal and unsafe

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 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

Jandira Cruz and Elisângela Barbosa died after resorting to unsafe clandestine abortion clinics. Their deaths are now inevitably interwoven with the 2014 intense and complex

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

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 co-chair Sonia Corrêa spoke at the panel on sexual and reproductive rights of the Women and Girls Rising Conference, held in New York on

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

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”

In August, the Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW) published the outcomes from the three Regional Dialogues organized in Asia (2009), Latin America (2009) and Africa (2010)

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

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

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

In 2013, Sexuality Policy Watch began a new line of work aimed at critically examining how sexuality, gender and human rights  can be located in

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

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

Brazil In May and early June the Brazilian sexual politics scenario has winessed setbacks and authoritarian measures, particularly with regard to women’s rights. At the

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

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

Preliminary list of signatories and the statement in English and Spanish.

SPW in April 2014 Kasha Jacqueline in Brazil On April 24th, 2014, Amnesty International and Sexuality Policy Watch, in Rio, promoted an open debate with

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

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

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.

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

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

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

During the year of 2013, sexual and reproductive rights were threatened by state decisions in various places around the world. At the year’s end, three

The Program on Global Health & Human Rights, from Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California, has launched the Health and Human

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

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

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

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

In October 2013 our main themes were the following: On October 10, activist Gabriela Leite, who devoted her life to fight for the rights of

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

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

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”.

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

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

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

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

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

Immediately before the 9th IASSCS Conference, a second round of the Sexuality Research and Political Change Training Program was held in Buenos Aires, from August 23rd to 27th, 2013. Check more information and the album of workshop pictures.

SPW Newsletter No. 13 landscapes the implications of the new papacy of Francis the First for the sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America. We invited five SPW partners: Daniel Jones, Diana Maffía and Juan Marco Vaggione, from Argentina; Edgar Ruiz, from Mexico; and Maria José Rosado, from Brazil to share their views on how this political shift at the Vatican will affect sexual politics in the region. We choose three authors from Argentina because we wanted critical assessments made by analysts more closely acquainted with Bergoglio’s trajectory and political style. Edgar Ruiz in his article provides a sweeping view of the new papacy from a wider Latin American perspective, and Maria Jose Rosado’s interview speaks more directly of the Brazilian context including concerns about the papal visit and its potential negative impacts.

Maria José Rosado Sociologist. Teacher at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. She founded the Brazilian NGO Catholics for Free Choice. Her field of

Read some information on the recent Brazilian context on regressions in sexual and reproductive politics.

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.

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.

For the Newsletter N. 12, SPW interviewed Camila Asano, Coordinator of Foreign Policy and Human Rights at Conectas Human Rights, who participated of the second round of the Universal Periodical Review (UPR) of Brazil, at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), in Geneva, in May 2012. In this interview, Ms. Asano analyzed this mechanism for the human rights, explaining how this process works and highlighting recommendations to Brazil, challenges and perspectives. Read more.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Starting with the issue No. 11, SPW Newsletters no longer provide detailed links to posted material, as they will have already been circulated through the announcements of new website postings. The newsletter will mainly focus on one or two pieces of substantive analysis addressing one key debate and, eventually, one key event that we consider to be have been critical in the global sexual politics landscape in the period immediately preceding the publication. Partners and collaborators are invited to share their views on these topics and the Newsletter No 11 is devoted to two key topics: the ongoing debate around the validity of aid conditionality as an instrument to protect LGBT rights and the current state of affairs of abortion reform in Uruguay. Good reading!

For the SPW Newsletter No 11, Lilián Abracinskas, director of Mujer y Salud en Uruguay (MYSU), wrote the article “Abortion law reform in Uruguay: The state of art”, presenting the current state of affairs of abortion reform in Uruguay. 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.

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.

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.

The Sexuality Policy Watch is hosting the Inter-Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Politics prior to its Advisory Group regular meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 26-29, 2011.

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.

Read the “Reflecting on 2011: incomplete notes on how sexual politics intersect with a shifting landscape”, by Sonia Corrêa, published in the Newsletter n.10.

A number of factors hampered our ability to deliver the 10th SPW Newsletter in early 2011, as planned. On the one hand, we regret and apologize for this delay. On the other, it is rather striking to note that how, in such a relatively short period of time, the world scenario has been swept by a sequence of outstanding events and trends, whose meaning and effects can not yet be fully grasped. So, in this issue you can find information on the cycle of “Regional Dialogues on Sexuality and Geopolitics”, that is finalyzing in late September 2011, with an inter-regional meeting which will take place in Rio de Janeiro to share and process the outcomes of the three dialogues and to prepare the foundation for a global publication, planned for 2012. In the section “Around the world”, you can read reflections on how sexual politics intersect with a shifting landscape, as well as on the relevants global meetings in terms of the intersections between sexuality and politics. Find also the sections “Advocacy: keep an eye”, “Sexuality in Art”, “Check it out” and “We Recommend”, with suggestions of publications, resources, papers, articles, and relevant links.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Read a series of articles on various aspects of unsafe abortion in Africa published at RH Reality Check website in partnership with Ipas.

Brazil: Brazilian human rights defenders launched a manifesto against the way the abortion issue is being exploited in the current electoral period in Brazil. Support the online petition and, if you want to know more about this context, read the article Brazil: abortion at front line, written by Sonia Corrêa, SPW’s Co-chair, and a complete coverage (in Portuguese) on this issue. Read more.

In this issue, you find information on the main activities which SPW has been involved in the last months, like the African Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics, that will be held in Lagos, Nigeria from October 4th to 6th, 2010, as part of the series of Regional Dialogues on Sexuality and Geopolitics. We also highlight in “Around the world” a series of global meetings that are relevant in terms of the intersections between sexuality and politics, mainly the Vienna XVIII International AIDS Conference (July). You also can find in this issue other updates on regional highlights and more in the sessions “Advocacy: keep an eye”, “Sexuality in Art”, “Check it out” and “We Recommend”, with suggestions of publications, resources, papers, articles, and relevant links.

In the article “Abortion and Human Rights in Brazil – Part 2” SPW’s Co-chair Sonia Corrêa analizes that the debate on abortion has continued to interweave with the complex political dynamics of the electoral period in Brazil. As she highlighted, even before the campaign was in its full fledge mode after August, abortion had already become one main issue.

By Aziza Ahmed* The International AIDS Conference in 2010 held one of the first plenary sessions dedicated to abortion and HIV. The plenary focused on

Brazil: On May 13th, 2010, President Lula finally signed a new decree altering the text of III National Program for Human Rights (PNDH3), in which the Catholic Church and other conservative voices’ prevailed. Read “The III Brazilian Human Rights Program: a last chapter?”, an analisis by Jandira Queiroz and Sonia Corrêa, members of the SPW team.

Read here the synthesis of presentations and some highlights of the African Dialogue and be informed about the main issues debated during the meeting. >

Find here the compilation of the African Regional Dialogue that combines the final report with the Synthesis by Dr. Oka Obono, Sociology Department University of

Here you can find a brief note on the African Dialogue, and the list of participants. See also some pictures of the meeting. > Read

Lagos – Nigeria – October, 2010 Originally planned for early 2010, the African Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics took place from October 4th to

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!

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.

CONTENTS I. SPW ACTIVITIES / EDITORIAL Since late September 2009, the SPW executive team has been engaged in a wide variety of activities. First and

2.8 The abortion front lines In the struggle for legal abortion, as well, good news is often accompanied by bad news. As we were finalizing

Read the article “Back to the Future? Beijing +15 and the UN Commission on the Status of Women Only Partly Delivers on SRRH”, by Cynthia Rothschild, a sexual rights and human rights activist based in New York, on the 54th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) from March 1-12, 2010.

Originally planned for early 2009, the African Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics has been postponed to the last week September, 2010 and will be held in Lagos, Nigeria.

From 1-12 March 2010, the Commission on the Status of Women undertook a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly. Member States, representatives of non-governmental organizations and of UN entities participated in the session. A series of parallel events provided additional opportunities for information exchange and networking. See below a complete converge.

Read the article “Abortion and Human Rights: the current Brazilian controversy”, by Sonia Corrêa, on the important setbacks in regard to abortion that Brazil has been experiencing in recent years.

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.

In this issue, you find information on what SPW has been involved since October, 2009. First and foremost, we made further progress on preparation for the Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics and the African Regional Dialogue will held in the last week September, 2010. Following the recommendation of the Latin American Regional Dialogue, we have added our voices to a global campaign that has been underway since May 2009 by developing, together with partners, a statement calling for the de-pathologization of transexuality. In the session “Around the world”, we highlight on the one hand the regressive legislation proposed in Uganda, which aims to further criminalize “homosexual” behavior, and on the other hand you find information on the same sex marriage legislation recently approved in the Federal District of Mexico. Read also about other regional highlights, and recent sexuality/sexual rights advocacy, like the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). See what projects and events connect art and sexuality and browse listings of upcoming events, scholarships, job opportunities and publications.

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.

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.

In this issue, you find information on the main activities which SPW has been involved since June. The first one is the Latin American Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geoplitics that took place in Rio de Janeiro, in August, and gathered close to 50 researchers and activists to reflect on the sexual political landscape in the region. The other important activity is that SPW’s is involved in the global research EroTICs: Sexuality and the internet – an exploratory research project, organized by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC WNSP). Read also about global and local events involving sexuality, politics, as well as recent sexuality/sexual rights advocacy. See what projects and events connect art and sexuality and browse listings of upcoming events, scholarships, job opportunities and publications.

In the last few months one main legal and policy regression has been registered in relation to legal abortion. Read more about it in the section “Around the world – The abortion front lines” of the Newsletter n.7.

Fourth panel – Religion and Sexual Politics Afternoon – August 25, 2009 After the presentation and debate of the conference overview paper on religion and

First panel – Sexuality, States and Political Processes Morning—August 24 , 2009 The panel that followed was coordinated by Sérgio Carrara, co-director of the Latin

In this issue learn what SPW has been doing since January, including the Asian Regional Dialogue on Sexuality and Geopolitics, held in Hanoi, Vietnam, in April 10-12, 2009, and the web-based survey to evaluate the use and application of the Yogyakarta Principles whithin Brazilian LGBT activists, groups and researchers. Read also about global and local events involving sexuality, politics, as well as recent sexuality/sexual rights advocacy. See what projects and events connect art and sexuality and browse listings of upcoming events, scholarships, job opportunities and publications.

The abortion front lines: Recently in Brazil a scandal came out when a 9 years-old girl was impregnated by his stepfather and then excommunicated by the Olinda’s bishop. Meanwhile, in Nepal the Court orders the State to improve women’s access to abortion. Read more in the SPW’s newsletter n.6.

Argentina uncategorized: Debates about human trafficking, prostitution and sex work In this article, Carolina Justo von Lurzer and Santiago Morcillo present the main points debateted

Internet Regulation and Sexual Politics in Brazil The issue 55(2) of Development – Citzenship for Change assesses the potential and unpacks the myths around new

In this issue we highlight the UN declaration on sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights and the long anticipated end of the Bush Era: Welcome Obama! Other updates, materials and texts are provided in the sections Advocacy: keep an eye and Sexuality in Art. In Check it out, you can find links to job opportunities, scholarships, upcoming events and publications.

In this issue learn what SPW has been doing since April, including the events we organized to coincide with the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Read also about global and local events involving sexuality, politics, religion and economics, as well as recent sexuality/sexual rights advocacy, in particular at the UN Human Rights Council. See what projects and events connect art and sexuality and browse listings of upcoming events, scholarships, job opportunities and publications.

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 Sonia Corrêa* When 2007 begun, abortion rights advocates worldwide were, on the one hand, deeply regretting the abolition of the therapeutic abortion clause from

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

Read Reality Check‘s article about study that points how stigma makes people reluctant to share with loved ones their abortions. Click here.

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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