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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.

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

The Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW), the Center for LGBT+ Human Rights and Citizenship at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (NUH/UFMG), and the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA) have released the research report “Blurred Boundaries: Feminist and Women’s Movements and Anti-Gender Politics in Brazil,” which is also supported by Ação Educativa, Cladem Brasil, Criola, Ipas Brasil, and the Nem Presa Nem Morta campaign.

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.

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

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

In 2024, more than 60 countries will have elections at different levels of government1. The disputes 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

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

>> Read in PDF << Part 1 – Democracies in dispute Introduction As we have pointed out in previous editions, in recent years sexual politics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Sonia Corrêa. These notes on the end of the Bolsonaro government are brief and very preliminary. As I was writing I was just adjusting to the atmosphere that started to be installed in Brazil on Sunday. To be more precise, last night when it became clear that, despite a cowardly and deplorable statement and last-minute coup attempts, we began a new political cycle. I will start sharing my sentiments and not objective information. My feeling today November 2nd 2022 is very different from the one that seized me, in 2018, when, in the wake of the astonishing electoral process that elected Bolsonaro to the presidency, I was overtaken by a productive anger. It made me immediately sit down and write an essay that, inspired an article by Celso Rocha Barros published that same day, I have titled  “Brazilian Elections: Perfect Catastrophe?”

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,

Between 2018 and 2020, SPW conducted a research effort on Anti-gender Politics in LatinAmerica. This e-book offers condensed versions of all studies that encompass the

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

>>> 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.

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

>>> 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

Originally published at Radis. Author: Richard Parker. Translated by SPW. Available at: https://radis.ensp.fiocruz.br/opiniao/pos-tudo/covid-19-e-a-producao-da-ignorancia/ The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons

At the beginning of September 2021, although she was on vacation, the Brazilian National Secretary for the Family, Angela Gandra, went to Portugal and Spain.

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

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

On February 8th, 2021, the National Confederation of Workers in Education and the National Confederation of Workers in Health presented a petition to the Brazilian

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

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

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

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.

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

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

With the contribution and/or endorsement of 100 academics from universities such as Harvard, Brown and Columbia, and of organizations such as Greenpeace USA, Amazon Watch,

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

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 –

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

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

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.

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

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

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

By Sonia Corrêa & Rajnia de Vito Recently, references to pedophilia have increased vertiginously in Brazilian social networks and the press. At first glance, this

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

A series of memes and messages were recently circulated throughout the continent with the aim of alerting people to an alleged movement that would be

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Lorena Moraes* Last weekend, the largest Brazilian national survey on Covid-19 suffered resistance in a number of cities, most of them located in the

As Brazil has been rising the tops of global coronavirus dissemination curve and Bolsonaro’s popularity hits a new low, his most radical support base has

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

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

The Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) expresses deep concern regarding President Jair Bolsonaro’s latest changes in the Ministry of Health and regarding his active support

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Isabela Kalil The Context On October 29, 2019, Jornal Nacional (the main Brazilian television newspaper, broadcast by Rede Globo) reported that the name of

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

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).

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

On Tuesday, September 3rd, JMB has Twitted that he mandated the Minister of Education to draft bill to prohibit the diffusion of “gender ideology” in

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

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

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

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

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

At present, 15 bills related to “gender ideology” are being processed in the Parliament. Eight of them were presented in the first half of 2019,

SPW has transcripted and translated Minister of Foreign Affairs Ernesto Araújo remarks during a Public Hearing on July 8th, 2019, when he was summoned to

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,

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

By Sonia Corrêa A few days before completing the symbolic mark of Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s – or  JMB’s – first 100 days of government, consecrated

By Fábio Grotz A continuous state of war driven by the government is what drives the speech and activities of actors engaged in the redemptive

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,

Lena Lavinas is an economist and full professor at the Economics Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2017, she published the

By Fábio Grotz With regards to the trajectory of the policy response to HIV and reproductive health in Brazil — which, between 1980 and the

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

Rio de Janeiro, May 27th, 2019 Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) After the justifications given by the Ministry of Health for the establishment of the

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

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

Brazil’s national AIDS movement – comprised of networks, collectives, CSOs and activists signed below – repudiates Decree N. 9795 (read in Portuguese), released on May

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First of all, could you please tell me briefly about the creation of GENDER INTERNATIONAL? Why have you come up with this idea? How many

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

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

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

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

The Ministry of Education (MEC) created on Wednesday (March 20th) a three-person commission to assess the national exam whose scores are used to get in

By Marco Aurélio Máximo Prado, Professor at the Psychology Department at UFMG In the last few weeks, the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) has

By Sonia Corrêa Time to mourn Politics is both reasoning and affect. This is how the first version of this essay, written in the immediate aftermath

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

#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

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

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

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

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

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

On January 10, Ministry of Health’s AIDS and STIs Federal Agency Director Adele Benzaken was exonerated from office, under Bolsonaro’s administration since the 1st. Dr.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Isabela Oliveira Kalil[1] An article published by The New York Times, on September 24, examined the Brazilian presidential election scenario and defined Jair Bolsonaro,

By Denise Mantovani[1] and Maria Lígia Elias[2] It is not easy to analyze an electoral context in “real time”. But we cannot, however, escape from examining

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

#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

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

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.

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

By Marco Aurélio Máximo Prado “I contend that these values all derive from important Jewish sources, which is not to say that they are only

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can a subaltern speak? No, is the response of the feminist philosopher Gayatri Spivak, when she realizes that to “have the right to a voice” the place of the subaltern must be subverted.

Brazilian civil society, in particular, the black and feminist movements, as well as human rights defenders, have already expressed their indignation and repudiation regarding the

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

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

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

By Sonia Corrêa In the third week of October 2017, an array of openly right-wing formations comprised of the Catholic hierarchy, evangelical Christians, conservative psychologists

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

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

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

By Vik Muniz In Brazil, evangelical politicians and a conservative press are working to suppress art by forcing museums to shut down or reject shows,

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

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

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

The Brazilian civil society organizations attending the process of the Universal Periodic Revision of Brazil at the United Nations (UN) want to manifest their position

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,

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

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

According to ABIA, the withdrawal of Law Provision 198 that would legally define the transmission of HIV as a heinous crime, is a victory for

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

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

In July, once again, contradictory trends were registered in the abortion frontline. In Chile, the processing of a bill aimed at legalizing abortion in three cases

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

At a time in which electoral processes are undermining democracy not only in Brazil, but also in many other countries, electoral results can give in sight to many questions regarding the foundations of the democratic process.

In September 2016, psychologist and blogger Letícia Bahia and photographer Julia Rodrigues launched the campaign Mamilo Livre (Free Nipple), featuring print portraits of both men and women with bare chests, aiming to challenge objectification of women’s breasts and advocate individual sovereignty over one’s body. As the campaign encouraged people to print photos from the campaign’s website and post them in public spaces, the posters were seen in many Brazilian cities.

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

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

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

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

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

by Leonardo Peçanha The Rio Olympic Games were a landmark in regard to gay and lesbian athletes openly disclosing their sexual orientation. This visibility and

Since August 5th, as in an extended Carnival, ordinary life in Brazil, particularly in Rio, was suspended.  At their end the Olympic Games 2016 have

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

During  August, 2016, as the Olympic Games evolved, Brazilian and world screens were flooded with young, beautiful,  enhanced, fit, ‘efficient’ bodies that happily competed and

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

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

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

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

In June, 2016, as the impeachment of Dilma Roussef followed its course, it became increasingly evident that one of the strongest motivations of the power maneuvering that led to the April parliamentary coup was the interest of many of those supporting this move to strangle the ongoing investigations on corruption.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Luana Barbosa dos Reis Santos was brutally killed by Brazilian cops in the city of Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo) in early April. She was taking

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.

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.

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.”

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

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

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

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

In late November, 2015, the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IFCS/UFRJ) hosted a one week course

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

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.

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

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

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.

The 13th AWID International Forum (Bahia, Brazil) will be a historic global gathering of women’s rights and social justice activists and movements. Click here for registration.

 In the trails of the “feminist occupations’ of 2015 SPW expands further the space for young Brazilian feminists artists whose works reflect the spirit of

One of the main NGOs in the country and engaged in fighting HIV / AIDS for 28 years, the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association – (ABIA)/

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

October and November 2015 will be marked in the Brazilian calendar as a colorful time of feminist occupations. Feminist bodies, voices, lemmas, writings, images have invaded the streets, social networks, the male writers op-ed spaces in the mainstream press. Feminist voices of all ages and social strata arose everywhere to make clear that we have had enough.

In the end of October, seven million young people had to sit and think about the persistence of violence against women in Brazil. This was the essay theme of the National High School Exam (ENEM) — a Brazilian standardized test that is mandatory to compete for a place in the country’s public universities.

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.

Rodobrás is a work by Virginia de Medeiros, a Brazilian visual artist who, for many years, has portrayed — in photos, videos and installations —

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

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 *

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

José Miguel Olivar Nieto, the author of the drawing Adriana is a social communicator. He has  a master degree in Latin American Literature from the

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

Michelle Agnoletti [1] In July 2015 a heated controversy around sex work and human rights erupted globally. A campaign was launched by international organizations that

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.

June 3rd marked International Sex Workers Day. In Brazil the date was commemorated in many places. In Belém do Pará it also marked the anniversary

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

A new campaign created by Ogilvy Brazil for the NGO Life Support Group (GIV) spread posters throughout São Paulo carrying an actual HIV positive drop

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

In collaboration with Arc International and Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD) SPW has organized an international consultation involving LGBT activists, from all over

Originally published on The Independent  Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos does not pick the easy battles, nor does he pick the vote-winning ones.    

The Coalition of African Lesbians, the Gay and Lesbian Archives and the Centre for Indian Studies of the University of Witwatersrand, in partnership with Sexuality

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

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.

Brazilian Interdisciplinary Aids Association has launched Global AIDS Policy Watch (GAPW), a watchdog to monitor and develop a critical analysis of AIDS-related policies globally and

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

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 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

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 Brazilian Interdisciplinary Association for Aids (ABIA) expresses its concern about the results of the survey – released in partnership with the Observatory of prostitution

The Observatory of Prostitution has published a report revealing the impacts on prostitution and sex trade arising from Brazilian World Cup during June and July.

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)

Richard Parker Participation at the 29th ABA Meeting in Natal On August 6th, 2014, SPW Co-cordinator Richard Parker participated in the Round Table on Challenges

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

At the International Conference on Human Rights (7 to 10 July 2013), the main outcome was the final report, which represents a unique platform to

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 Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association vehemently repudiates the grave human rights violations committed on May 23rd by civil police against more than 200 sex workers

Buttlerflies is an awarwed video directed by Vagner Almeida documenting the lives of young gay men and travesties in the poor outskirts of Rio de

The Vatican was questioned this week at the UN Committee against Torture in relation to cases of sexual abuse and violence that have been reported

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

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

Sexual and reproductive rights global landscape in March and early April 2014 During March and early April, Brazil was under the spotlight in terms of

Read the final publication of the EROTICS: sex, rights and the Internet project here.

Read The Guardian’s article about the case of a Brazilian women taken by police to have a cesarean, despite her will to have a vaginal

In a ceremony today, the Brazilian government gave monetary reparations to Maria Lourdes da Silva Pimentel, the mother of Alyne—an Afro-Brazilian woman who did not

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Approves Monetary Reparations Agreement with Brazilian Government for the Mother of Alyne da Silva

Dear friends, Around the World During January and February 2014, SPW has watched the development of anti-homosexuality bills in Nigeria and Uganda, as well as

Read The Guardian’s article about Brazilian authorities attempts to sanitise the country’s image by repressing sex-related businesses. Click here.

The Introduction chapter of Paul Amar book, “The Security Archipelago”, has been published online by Duke University Press, for free access. Feel free to check

November was marked by two relevant facts in the sexual and reproductive rights landscape: the financing of Human Rights Campaign to promote LGBT rights and

In article on The Guardian, Annmarie Chiarini tells how her ex-boyfriend put nude photos of her on the web and how she reacted. The case

In an article published at Journal of the International AIDS Society, Chris Beyrer and Monica Malta highlight setbacks on the Brazilian political and financial commitment

In article, New York Times discusses aspects of Rio de Janeiro policy on the organization of Olympic Games: brothles are being captured by an atmosphere

A report on the Situation of Afro-Brazilian Trans Women was presented during a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last week in

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

The death of Gabriela Leite, on October 10, meant a great loss for the struggle for the rights of prostitutes, and sexual rights brodaly speaking,

Read the article, by SPW partner Raphael de la Dehesa, in which he discusses Brazilian sexual and reprodutive rights landscape. Although being hailed as a

During the month of September, Sexuality Policy Watch has followed the global landscape of sexual and reproductive rights. In the Latin American scene, we highlighted

The political history of prostitution in Brazil has been winding. In recent years, the hegemony of discourses on sexual exploitation and trafficking for sexual purposes

During September, Sexuality Policy Watch followed the global landscape of sexual and reproductive rights. In the Latin American scene, we highlighted the Regional Conference on

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

In this event to be held at the UN Human Rights Council, the Center for Reproductive Rights will speak about the  Alyne Case in relation

The Universal Access to Female Condom Joint Programs has just published an up-date report on Female Condoms now available in the global market or yet

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.

Read the new IDS Working Paper The Changing Faces of Citizen Action: A Mapping Study through an ‘Unruly’ Lens, which speaks of Brazilian contemporary experience of citizenship struggles.

Read the “Letter Repudiating the Ministry of Health’s Censorship of the Campaign about Prostitution and HIV/AIDS”, written by the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association – ABIA, after the Ministry of Health announced its censorship of the campaign about prostitution and HIV/AIDS launched on International Prostitutes Day (June 2nd).

Brazil: Sexual assaults in Rio de Janeiro have cast a light on class differences in the city and have raised fears for women’s safety ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Read more.

Brazil: From April 2nd to 5th, 2013 activists from more than 20 Latin American countries met in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss the terms and contents of a new resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, to be presented at the UN Human Rights Council next June. Read more.

Brazil: The Commission for Human Rights and Minorities in Brazil’s lower house of parliament elected an evangelical pastor from the Christian Social party to be the president. The Congressman Marco Feliciano is accused of homophobia and racism and outcries has spread to street around the country. Read more.

Brazil: Read the “Civil Society follow up on the crisis Brazilian AIDS Response,” published after the Ministry of Health Note of Clarification in opposition to a public note written by Brazilian NGOs with concerns about the funds for AIDS programs.

Read the “Brazilian Ministry of Health Note of Clarification” regarding the Brazlian NGOs note on the funds that had been originally transferred by the Union for the exclusive use of AIDS programs, but were not used until december 2011.

Read the “Transcription of the Brazilian NGOs original note,” with concerns on the ordinance published by the Ministry of Health of that allows states and municipalities to use, for “general health purposes,” those funds that had been originally transferred by the Union for the exclusive use of AIDS programs, but were not used until december 2011.

Read “INTRODUCTION: Sexual and reproductive rights at the 2012 Universal Periodic Review of Brazil”, written for the SPW Newsletter N. 12, based on analysis of Magaly Pazello, from EMERGE-Communication and Emergence Research Centre and Women’s Networking Support Programme of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).

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.

The Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) is completing 25 years in 2012. To mark this anniversary, a seminar will be held in August 2012 that will analyze the trajectory of the thirty years of AIDS in Brazil and the current challenges currently facing the Brazilian national response to the epidemic. 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.

Brazil: After awake praises in the international arena and be highlighted as a model, Brazilian National STD/AIDS Program is called to correct its course years. Read more.

Brazil: ABIA and SPW supported the Brazilian UPR Pre-session, which took place on April 2nd, in Geneva, presenting a short video and recommendations aiming to contextualize some recent aspects of human rights in the country.

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!

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.

Brazil: Cleides Amorim, a professor at the Federal University of Tocantins, was one of over a dozen LGBT Brazilians murdered in just the first two weeks of 2012. AllOut started a national campaign aimed at Federal Government, inspired in a protest letter from a group of professors of Brazilian universities. Read more.

Interview: Conceição Lemes A protest movement against the Provisional Measure 577 (MP 577) creating the National System of Registration, Tracking and Follow-up of Pregnant and

Brazil: President Dilma Roussef signed an act that regulates the obligatory registration of pregnant women. The text includes language that treats the fetus as a person. Read more.

Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW) and the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) were involved in the production of reports on the status of human rights in Brazil for the second Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, which will be held in June 2012. Read the reports.

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.

GENERAL REMARKS BY BRAZIL, L.9/Rev.1 Human Rights Council 17th Regular Session Agenda Item 8 Decisions L.9/Rev.1 Geneva, 17 June 2011 GENERAL REMARKS BY BRAZIL Thank you

> UN endorses gay, transgender rights, Boston.com > Bahamas backs UN resolution on gay rights, Caribbean News Today > Nigeria oppose UN gay rights resolution, Next.com > U.N. rights

Brazil: Brazilian Supreme Court gives unanimous judgement in favour of the legal recognition of same sex partnerships. Read the ABGLT’s note.

Richard Parker, SPW’s Co-chair, will participate in the Seminar Responding to HIV and AIDS in Brazil: Structural Violence, Social Movements, and the Local Politics of Global Health, which will be held on May 2nd 2011 at the Wenner-Gren Foundation, in New York. Read more at the New York Academy of Sciences Anthropology website.

As part of the EroTICs: Sexuality and the Internet – an exploratory research project, SPW and CLAM have prepared an Executive Summary for the Brazilian chapter of the research, that is available at the last issue of the electronic magazine genderIT.org.

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.

Brazil: On December 1st, 2010 was celebrated the World AIDS Day and, to mark this date, representatives of Brazilian NGOs, including the SPW’s Co-chairs Richard Parker and Sonia Corrêa, participated in a meeting with an UNAIDS mission that visited Brazil. Read more on it and other HIV/AIDS issues.

Brazil: On November 29th, representatives of Brazilian NGOs, including the SPW’s Co-chairs Richard Parker and Sonia Corrêa, participated in a meeting with an UNAIDS mission that visited Brazil. The visit occured in the week of December 1st that marks the International Day of Fight against AIDS, therefore we also offer more information on HIV/AIDS.

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.

SPW has just concluded the Brazilian stage of the EroTICs: sexuality and the internet – an exploratory research project, sponsored by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Soon, a final report presenting the observations, analysis, and findings of the study will be published, in which it was tried to map and analyze recent initiatives and debates concerning internet regulation.

> Visit the IFG 2010 website > Read “Internet Governance Issues on Sexuality and Women’s Rights” at GenderIT.org > Follow @apc_news live streaming on Twitter.com

The report “Sexuality and Development: Brazilian National Response to HIV/AIDS amongst Sex Workers” presents the main findings of a case study conducted during 2008-2009 by The Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA), which is one component of a global research initiative sponsored by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) “Sexuality and Development” Program.

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.

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

2.4 Laws, policies and politics Australia: Australia recognises ‘non-specified’ gender. Read more. USA: A restriction on abortion coverage was added to the health care bill

The EroTICS Brazilian case study: A short article synthesizing the findings of this first level of investigation was written by SPW and Clam and will soon published by Gender IT.

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.

Due to the larger representation of trans people in this edition of ILGA-LAC, there was a greater exchange of experiences, and more effective integration amongst

Planned preparatory meetings on the 26th and 27th of January 2010, preceded the main event, with themes directly related to the defence of LGBT rights.

As well as examples of achievements regarding public policy and LGBTI citizenship in Latin America, the conference also promoted the exchange of experiences about different

There were several government representatives present at the opening ceremony, including: Human Rights Minister, Paulo Vanucchi and from within the same department, the national co-ordinator

Brazil: 5th ILGA-LAC Conference brings together more than 400 LGBT activists in Curitiba, Brazil.

Brazil:President Lula creates National Coordination and Council for the Promotion of LGBT Rights. SPW heard LGBT activists about the innitiative.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – August 24-26, 2009 Latin America has been a fertile ground for sexual and reproductive rights debates during the last decades,

SPW was selected to conduct, in partnership with CLAM – Latin American Center on Sexuality and Human Rights, the investigation of the Brazilian case for the EroTICs: Sexuality and the internet – an exploratory research project, organized by APC.

Anand Grover, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (the Right to Health) was in Poland from May 4 to May 12. Before this meeting, Anand Grover also attended a South American Consultation about the Right to Health in São Paulo, Brazil, where he met 40 representatives of civil society organizations from Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil.

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.

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

By Marina Maria* The First Brazilian National GLBT Conference will be held in Brasília between June, 6th – 8th, 2008. Roughly 600 participants are expected,

By Vagner de Almeida * Sexuality and Hate Crimes is a documentary and the first alternative film produced by Director Vagner de Almeida and Richard

By Marina Maria* The First Brazilian National Conference on LGBT public policies was held in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, from June 5th to 8th

By Vagner de Almeida* The first For Rainbow Festival of Cinema and Sexual Diversity held in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, is the first

The undersigned organizations wish to express our support for the Brazilian government’s decision to issue a compulsory license for the medicine Efavirenz, whose patent is

Mechanism for the granting of patents known as “pipeline” patents violates the Federal Constitution On November 28th, the National Federation of Pharmacists (FENAFAR), on behalf

Short film “The power of ‘body movements’” Interviewing Angela Collet, Aline Valentim and Valentina Homem During the 11th AWID International Forum, in the workshop The

By Alexandre Boer* The headquarter of the Brazilian gay organization SOMOS – Communication, Health & Sexuality, from Porto Alegre – capital of Rio Grande do

By Marina Maria* In the International Conference Dis/organized – Changing bodies, rights and cultures, carried out in June, in Peru, and promoted by the International

The Yokyakarta Principles have been translated into Portuguese and were launched in a series of events in Brazil, held in 2007, in Porto Alegre (August 24th), Rio de Janeiro (August 27th), Nova Iguaçu (August, 31st), and São Paulo (August, 31st).

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