In early July, we issued the Spanish version of our sexual politics bulletin, published in Portuguese and English in early June. More complete and updated, the Spanish version covered very relevant sexual politics events not included in the previous versions. In order to also update our Portuguese and English readers, we have decided to issue a compact bulletin on what happened in June 2022.
Between the beginning and the end of June, the right to abortion suffered a brutal regression in the US and was the object of infamous attacks in Brazil. In the first case, the constitutional right to the interruption of pregnancy was overturned, after the Supreme Court, in judging the Dobbs case, overturned the jurisprudence established by Roe Vs Wade in 1973. The Court’s decision, defined by the now conservative majority of justices, represents a seismic event in the reproductive rights landscape, because of the central place of the US in the global geopolitics of abortion, but also in light of the legal, social, and health implications and repercussions of the judgment. Our compilation, dubbed the “Gilead Decision”, made its best to offer a complete and in-depth overview of the historical and political roots of the ruling. We also share a video clip series, in which SPW coordinator Sonia Corrêa briefly examines the multiple meanings and impacts involved in the Court’s decision and assessments previously shared in a DAWN´s podcast.
In Brazil, the right to abortion was also brutally attacked in a vile plot. An 11-year-old girl, who was raped in the state of Santa Catarina was constrained by a judge to carry the pregnancy to term. With an unjustifiable delay, the abortion was finally performed after a warrant was issued by the Federal Public Ministry. This, however, did not prevent the ultraconservative push against legal abortion. The doctors who performed the procedure were the targets of the request for a judicial investigation announced by the federal government, and a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) was created by conservative members of the state-level assembly to also investigate the hospital. Read the compilation here.
In the realm of LGBTQIA+ rights, one piece of bad news con concerns the new rules regulating the participation of trans women in elite sports. As a result of a decision adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in November 2021, new rules are being issued by individual sports federations. In June, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) adopted a technical-medical guideline that restricts the participation of trans women in aquatic competitions. In a short article, Nana Soares details the content of the new rules, compiles the critiques that have been raised against the guidelines, and, above all, reminds us that this is not exactly a new debate, even if today it flares at the core of anti-gender politics.
Finally, we have also registered the escalation of violence and repression against the LGBTQIA+ Pride parades that, in 2022, were targets of attacks by both security forces and extremist groups. Norway, the US, and Turkey were the stages of the most brutal episodes. Access here to read the full compilation.