Sexual politics in August 2016
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
Why don’t humanitarian organizations provide safe abortion services?
Although sexual and reproductive health services have become more available in humanitarian settings over the last decade, safe abortion services are still rarely provided. The authors’ observations suggest that four reasons are typically given for this gap: ‘There’s no need’; ‘Abortion is too complicated to provide in crises’; ‘Donors don’t fund abortion services’; and ‘Abortion is illegal’.
Body shaming is an intersex issue
Please note that this post contains distressing images. It intersperses quotations about intersex infants and children with quotations about the bodies of public figures. Body
Argentina: Belén’s release from prison ordered
On 16 August, the Supreme Court of Justice of Tucumán in Argentina finally ordered that “Belén”, the young woman unjustly convicted of homicide after having had a miscarriage, should be released from prison, in the face of growing criticism by dozens of feminist, human rights, political and social organizations and the UN Human Rights Committee.
Make International Safe Abortion Day an Official UN day
UN agencies supporting women’s rights have been asked today to send “a strong signal” to governments around the world by passing a resolution at this year’s UN General Assembly in September to make International Safe Abortion Day an official UN day. An Open Letter was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of UN Women, UN Development Programme, World Health Organization, UN Population Fund, UN Children’s Fund, UNAIDS, and UNESCO today.
Report: Indonesia’s LGBT Community Under Threat’
Originally by Human Rights Watch, posted on 10/08/2016. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/11/indonesia-lgbt-crisis-exposed-official-bias (Jakarta) – The Indonesian government stoked an unprecedented attack on the security and rights
Sri Lanka: Discrimination on Grounds of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Originally by Human Rights Watch, posted on 15/08/2016. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/08/15/sri-lanka-challenging-gender-norms-brings-abuse (New York) – Transgender people and others who do not conform to social expectations about
IACHR’s Report “Violence Against LGBTI Persons in the Americas”
The IACHR just launched the English version of the report “Violence Against LGBTI Persons”. In this Report, the Commission focuses on violence against LGBT persons
Belize Supreme Court Overturns Anti-Gay Law
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
The Moral Case for Abortion
This book sets out the ethical arguments for a woman’s right to choose. Drawing on the traditions of sociological thinking and moral philosophy, it maintains that there is a strong moral case for recognizing autonomy in personal decision-making about reproductive intentions. More than this, it argues that to prevent a woman from making her own choice to continue or end her pregnancy is to undermine the essence of her humanity.