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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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

By Sonia Corrêa A new encyclical signed by Pope Francis I was published in early October 2020. Entitled Fratelli Tutti, the new papal exhortation was

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By María Amelia Viteri and Gabriel Ocampo. Homosexuality was criminalized in Ecuador until November, 1997[1]. As a result, until then, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons were considered criminals, could face imprisonment and were often tortured and even killed.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

by Gloria Careaga* Differently from other Mexican states, Mexico City, the Federal District of the Republic, did not have its own Constitution until February 5th,

Six countries in South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) have established a national human rights institution (NHRI), all of which include

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

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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.

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 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

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

 by Sonia Corrêa “The discourses that legitimize punitive power, as established in the middle Ages, are in full force. This is when criminology was born

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

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

On March 2016, we relaunched our Spanish website that (among other things) provides access to the Spanish translation of Queering the Public Sphere in Mexico

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In an article written for SPW, Alejandra Sardá-Chandiramani, from Akahatá, analyzes the sexual politics scenario after the 2015 elections. In her own words: The open

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In July 2015, during the 29th Session of the Human Rights Council, as reported by SPW and many other sources, a Resolution on the Protection

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

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

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

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

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

The Organisation Soleterre – Strategie di Pace ONLUS, in collaboration with East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP), has produced a publication

Originally published by Michael K Lavers on 20/12/2015 on Washington Blade. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/20/slovenian-voters-reject-same-sex-marriage-law/ Slovenian voters on Sunday rejected a law that extended marriage rights

Partners for Law in Development have compiled the rich, vibrant discussions from the Roundtable on Exploring the Continuum between Sexuality and Sexual Violence on April

I will critically discuss the campaign for (full) criminalisation of marital rape to call attention to ways by which this campaign reduces a potentially tranformatory agenda on gender, sexuality and marriage, to one of law, crime and punishment.

Originally published on Washington Blade on 10/12/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/10/puerto-rico-court-issues-historic-adoption-ruling/ A Puerto Rico court on Wednesday ruled for the first time that a same-sex couple

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

Originally published at Verso Books on 16/11/2015. Available at: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/news/2337-mourning-becomes-the-law-judith-butler-from-paris Letter from Judith Butler, Paris, Saturday 14th November I am in Paris and passed near

Originally published at Washington Blade on 16/11/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/11/16/same-sex-marriage-becomes-legal-in-ireland/#sthash.RwkaAUmE.dpuf   Ireland on Monday became the latest country to officially extend marriage rights to same-sex

AWID, as IM-Defensoras Steering Group member, has launched the Second Regional Report on the Situation of WHRDs in Mexico and Central America, which includes and compares

Originally published at The English Collective of Prostitutes. Available at: http://prostitutescollective.net/2009/06/11/summary-of-the-new-zealand-prostitution-reform-act/ The Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) came into operation in New Zealand in June, 2003. 

Originally published on The Washington Blade on 02/11/2015. Available at: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/11/02/northern-ireland-lawmakers-back-same-sex-marriage/#sthash.uT9vpYIS.dpuf Northern Ireland lawmakers on Monday for the first time voted in favor of marriage

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.

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.

Originally published on IDS in 2015. Available at: http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/vital-new-resource-on-sex-work-law-will-help-sex-workers-globally-to-realise-their-rights A new Sex Work Law Map, developed by the Sexuality, Poverty and Law Programme at the

The article Sexual health, human rights, and law, authored by Rajat Khosla, Lale Say, Marleen Temmerman was published at The Lancet, Volume 386, No. 9995.

Originally published on IDS. Available at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/intersectionality-of-sexuality-inequality-and-poverty I recently had the pleasure (and challenge) of being part of a team of Research Assistants working for

This Table of Cases is an online supplement to the book Abortion Law in Transnational Perspective:  Cases and Controversies, ed. Rebecca J. Cook, Joanna N.

Originally published 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

In English Global Advocates Issue a Call to Amnesty International in Open Letter – Coalition Against Traffickin in Women ICRSE, 1100 organisations and individuals ask

by Sebastian Kohn July 28th, 2015, published originally at Open Society.  Amnesty International seems poised to support the decriminalization of sex work—a move that would improve

Of course I cried. I cried because these nine antiquarian arbiters in funeral garb – five of them anyway, each looking about as forward-thinking and progressive as a constipated grandparent – informed me at last that I am part of this Great Community they help to govern.

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 International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has released a collection of eight articles that offer innovative and provocative approaches to advance acceptance

On June 18th, the Vatican launched the encyclical “Laudato Si – On Care for Our Common Home”. The encyclical is the first one to have

By Gloria Careaga Perez Since 2009, when same sex marriage was legalized in Mexico City, obbstacles faced by same-sex couples to be granted full rights

As we know June is always important for LGBT rights. But this year the month has been especially productive in respect to the same marriage

Originally published on Bully Bloggers on 20/06/2015. Available at: https://bullybloggers.wordpress.com/2015/06/20/the-republic-of-love/ By Anne Mulhall On the complex achievement of the same sex marriage referendum in Ireland

  The WHO Human Reproduction Program has made public this week (June 15-19th, 2015) a new groundbreaking report  titled Sexual Health, Human Rights and Law. 

Aswat Collective has condemned the arrest of two Moroccan homossexuals accused of “Homosexuality ” and “breach of public modesty”. Click here to read the Statement.

After rounding up the interview, I turned off my voice recorder, thanked Li Yinhe, and asked her what she has been up to since retiring in 2012. She smiles, and without hesitation tells me she is working on some S&M novels. “Do you know what that is?” she asks.

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

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

SPW recommends Open Society’s report Marriage and Forced Divorce – A Legal Gender Recognition Issue Brief, in which it “explains legal restrictions that affect the recognition of married trans and intersex people and examines case law and addresses key arguments made by those who oppose such recognition”

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 BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31828123 Draft laws aimed at boosting the birth rate in Iran reduce women to “baby-making machines”, the rights group

In January, reproductive rights have invaded the front pages and screens under the impact of Pope Francis’ statementurging the faithful not to reproduce as “rabbits”. 

Originally published on The Huffington Post on 29/01/2015. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/chile-same-sex-civil-unions-_n_6569912.html SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chilean lawmakers gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill

Originally published on World Vietnam in January 2015. Available at: http://wordvietnam.com/news-latest/breaking/same-sex-marriage-now-legal-in-vietnam While Southeast Asia’s Muslim countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, take a dim view of homosexuality,

SPW recommends Aziza Ahmed’s article – published on Columbia Journal of Gender and law – “Rugged vaginas” and “vulnerable rectums”: the sexual identity, epidemiology, and

Originally published on NYT on 05/10/2014. Available at: Taken from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/opinion/pedophilia-a-disorder-not-a-crime.html By MARGO KAPLAN OCT. 5, 2014 CAMDEN, N.J. — THINK back to your first childhood crush.

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 Laurie Essig California’s enacting on Sunday of the “yes means yes” law is a victory for some campus feminist activists but an ill-conceived detour

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

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

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

KARACHI, Pakistan On Feb. 12, 1983, 200 women — activists and lawyers — marched to the Lahore High Court to petition against a law that

A Ugandan court struck down a punitive antigay law that has strained Uganda’s relations with the West but the court ruled on narrow technical grounds,

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has produced a guide to adress the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming employees. It settles some important issues

Press Release 24th July 2014 For Immediate Release Transgender Group in Kenya wins Historic Court Battle Nairobi, Kenya, 24 July, 2014. – In a historic

Stigma and discrimination have always played a major role in the global AIDS epidemic, but they are getting renewed attention this year at the ongoing

Prostitutes are subject to repression, violence and abuse – even at the hands of law enforcement, research shows Prof Chris Beyrer speaks at the International

The four figures of the law:  Brief theoretical inquiries into the Queer movement’s relationship with law Vqueeram Aditya Sahay* This piece is about what the

The 2013 Indian Supreme Court decision on section 377: beyond the law Jordan Osserman * While many LGBTQ activists across the globe expressed mourning, rage

“When the light of our century may blind us” Nitya Vasudevan* When does the idea of a global solidarity threaten to compromise contextualised political struggles?

Moving forward, perhaps: The 2013  India Supreme Court Decision on Section 377 Gautam Bhan* In the immediate moment, it simply felt difficult to breathe. It

The Paradoxical Geopolitics of Recriminalizing Homosexuality in Uganda: One of Three Ugly Sisters Stella Nyanzi* Uganda’s re-criminalization of homosexuality is not an isolated case, but

SPW is on Twitter and Facebook! Follow @sxpolitics and like our Facebook fan page to read more on our activities and sex politics around the

The Queer body between the Judicial and the Political – reflections on the anti-homosexuality laws in India and Uganda akshay khanna* Nostalgia for a recent

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing private companies to deny their employees insurance coverage for birth control under the Affordable Care Act’s preventive

Sex workers organizations from Canada are mobilizing supports to battle against a bill aimed at criminalizing prostitution and a wide range of activities related to

Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites, from Institute of Commonwealth Studies (University of London), are the editors of the free online book Human Rights, Sexual Orientation

Danish parliamentarians passed a law which makes it the first European country where a requirement for ‘Gender Identity Disorder’ diagnosis or any psychological assessment/opinion is

New York Times brings an article on how new Indian government can adress the Section 377, upheld by the Supreme Court in december and which

As the pace of Brazilian presidential election campaign accelerates once again abortion rights are caught into the eye of the storm. Last week, the Ministry

In Brazil, not surprisingly, abortion has once again flared up in the path towards the next Brazilian presidential election campaign. The presidential candidate of the

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and the National LGBTI Security Committee have been documenting the different cases of violences following the Anti-Homossexuality Bill Approval in 2013.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, meeting at its 55 Ordinary Session held in Luanda, Angola, from 28 April to 12 May 2014,

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have reported a surge in human rights violations at Uganda since the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2013.

Nigerian Senate has passed the HIV Bill 2013, which stipulates that every person living HIV and AIDS shall be assured of freedom from unlawful termination

In an article in Aljazeera America, Silvia Tamale highlights how certain ideas are being used to justifiy laws like the Ugandan one which criminalizes same-sex

According to Human Rights Watch, the Louisiana State House of Representatives voted to repeal a law, enacted in 1805, that punishes and undermines LGBT rights.

The Nation brings an article about the role of American Christian organizations in triggering anti-LGBT laws. Click here.

The Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a family planning law but ruled out provisions to punish health workers who do not inform people about

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of India allowed a transgender people to identify as a third gender and directed the central and state

Read 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.

According to news on the web, a Tanzanian MP is working on a private member’s Bill that seeks to tighten the law against same-sex relationships.

Read Ryan Richard Thoreson’s article, from Yale Law School, about the debate over Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2009 and 2010, when journalists and activists warned of

Uganda, the World Bank, and LGBT rights: Winners and losers SPW recommends Scott Long’s article about World Bank delaying a schedule loan to Uganda aimed

Pambazuka News 667 comes with a special issue on “The struggles for homosexual rights in Africa”, which brings analyzes from a African perspective of the

Since December Uganda and Nigeria have approved draconian laws under debate for many years that drastically curtail the freedom and rights of persons whose gender

In mid February, the Chinese government launched  a policy offensive against activities deemed as vices such pornography and prostitution. The operation took place in the

Nigerian LGBT community is organizing a Global Day of Action on the 7th of March 2014 to protest against law that criminalizes same-sex people relationships. Click

Read the article “The Implications of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 on Uganda’s Legal System”, by Adrian Jjuuko and Francis Tumwesige, in which the authors discuss

Read J. Vreer Verkerke’s critical article about the new dutch law on transgender people. Here.

In december, Nigeria’s Senate approved a law that criminalizes displays of affection, people in same-sex marriage (including tourists) and even those who argue in favor

Canada’s highest court struck down the country’s prostitution laws that punish keeping a brothel, living on the avails of prostitution and street soliciting. According to

Read “Decoding India’s Proposed Online Porn Ban – I”, that reportes the day-long “Connect Your Rights!” meeting held in Mumbai in November 2013. The meeting

India Supreme Court has decided to re-criminalises same sex sexual activities between consenting adults, bringing the legacy of the British Empire back to life with

France’s Parliament approved a law that punishes clients who buy sexual services from prostitutes. SPW is following the debate. The case has turned a big

In a case that has the potential to break the binary gender norms of male and female in law and administrative practices in India, the

Read New Statesman’s article about a German law that lets a birth certificate to be left blank in cases where the child is neither male

“It has been ten years since New Zealand parliamentarians, after considerable debate and encouragement from sex workers, mainstream women’s organizations, and public health advocates, voted

The Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE) published a statement on the October 19 reaffirming the devasting effects of the patologization of trans identities. Click

The Constitutional Court of South Africa decided that two sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act are unconstitutional. The measeures were intended to criminalise consensual

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

On this 28 September, the SPW publishes report developed by the International Campaign for Women’s Rights to Safe Abortion in which it shows the effects

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

Uganda: Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) happily welcomes the court ruling by US Federal judge on Wednesday August 14, 2013. In the historic ruling the judge

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

Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Biblical speech opposing homosexual behavior, including in written form, is essentially a hate crime. Read more.

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.

Uganda: Exactly one week after the re-tabling of the Anti Homosexuality Bill (2009) by MP David Bahati, a workshop organized by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) human rights defenders was invaded and shut down in Entebbe. The State Minister for Ethics and Integrity in the Office of the President, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo, in the company of an aide and the police, announced that the workshop was illegal and ordered the meeting to close immediately or else force would be used to end the meeting.

Uganda: The COALITION OF AFRICAN LESBIANS (CAL), a pan African network of lesbian, bisexual and gender non-conforming people, organizations and individuals, calls upon every person who believes in the dignity, equality and freedom of every human being, to take note of and act urgently to halt the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which has just been re – tabled in Uganda.

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.

Read In favor of a real debate in Cameroon, published at CLAM website, presenting an analysis of the African sexuality context, based on an interview with S.N. Nyeck, a Cameroonian-born Ph.D. candidate at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Political Science.

Nigeria: The Senate passed the Same-Gender Marriage Prohibition Bill. Nigerian Human Rights Defenders have condemned the Bill and the Coalition for the Defense of Sexual Rights in Nigeria circulated a call for action. Read more.

Today the Lesbians and Gays of Botswana (LEGABIBO) took part at the World AIDS day commemorations and march which took place in Moshupa a small

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.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Justice: A Comparative Law Casebook, by the International Commission of Jurists is the first book of its kind. It collects and analyzes judicial decisions from more than 100 courts around the world. The Casebook showcases the role of international and comparative law in litigation seeking to vindicate the human rights of LGBT individuals. It is organized into fourteen chapters, each consisting of an introduction to the main legal issues and arguments followed by detailed case summaries.

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.

EU: On 30 June 2011, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights held a hearing on LGBTI rights in the world. Read more.

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

This document, organized by Amnesty International, identifies how the crimes of rape and sexual violence must, as a requirement of its own statute and a matter of international human rights law, be interpreted and applied with equality between men and women by the International Criminal Court (the Court). The Court has yet to rule on this matter in its jurisprudence. Such incorporation of human rights law and standards in the prosecution of rape and sexual violence should be undertaken by other international courts, as well as national courts, in order to discharge states’ duties under treaty and customary law.

Read the article “The meaning of the Kampala Court Decision”, by Kasha Jacqueline, from the Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG), on the Uganda’s high court decision permanently prohibiting the tabloid Rolling Stone (no relation to the venerable U.S. publication by the same name) from continuing its public vigilante campaign against that country’s LGBT community.

Uganda: Uganda’s high court released a ruling permanently prohibiting the tabloid Rolling Stone (no relation to the venerable U.S. publication by the same name) from continuing its public vigilante campaign against that country’s LGBT community.

Africa: The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights denied observer status to the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL). CAL and other lesbian feminist activists rapidly reacted. Read more.

Regulating Sexuality: Legal Consciousness in Lesbian and Gay Lives, by Rosie Harding, explores the impact that recent seismic shifts in the legal landscape have had for lesbians and gay men. In this study of the interaction between law and society in social justice movements, the author interweaves insights from the new legal pluralism with legal consciousness studies to present a rich and nuanced exploration of the contemporary regulation of sexuality. Read more.

Carlos Figari* and Mario Pecheny** In July 15th, 2010, at 4 am, the Argentine Senate voted for the reform of civil marriage. The project had

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

2.2 The same sex marriage debate > Mexico: Mexico City backs gay marriage in Latin American first (contents available in English and Spanish) > Argentina:

2.1 The Uganda case > The article Draconian laws against homosexuality in Africa, by Cesnabmihilo Aken’ova > A complete coverage available at SPW’s website

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 the article “Draconian laws against homosexuality in Africa”, Cesnabmihilo Aken’ova discusses on the state homophobia that has swept over the African continent. She analyses the draconian laws against homosexuality proposed by some leaders and positions that have placed the human rights of same sex loving people and people who are perceived to be gay under attack.

Spain: The Spanish Senate voted to ease the country’s restrictions on abortion, rejecting the opposition of the Catholic bishops and the Vatican over access to safe and legal abortion in that country.

Nearly a year ago, Obama lifted the “global gag rule,” which prohibited the US from funding any organizations that provide or “promote” abortions.  This move,

USA: On December 18th 2009, the SPW website posted an article written by Natalie Wittlin about the retention of the ‘prostitution pledge’ in the new proposed US HIV/AIDS policy guidelines announced by the Obama Administration on November 23rd. On December 29th, the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo published an article entitled The United States will provide funds to prostitutes, which the content contradicted SPW’s analysis of PEPFAR.

SPW Newsletter No. 14 discusses recent developments in law relating to same-sex desire in India and Uganda > Read more in this issue  

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