Decline in abortion rates in the region of Eastern Europe. According to the report recently released by the Guttmacher Institute (GI), there is a considerable drop in the number of terminations of pregnancy in Eastern Europe that significantly fuels the global decrease. Nevertheless, the regional rates remain among one of highest in the world. The global rate dropped from 46 million abortions in 1995 annually to 42 millions in 2003. During this eight years, we observe the following decline in the CEE region: from 90 terminations of pregnancy per 1000 women to 44, which accounts for almost 50% of improvement. The data presented in the report is based on the research that GI carried out in cooperation with World Health Organization (WHO). However, it needs to be emphasized that only official statistics were taken into account, which makes the results questionable in the case of countries, in which abortion is criminalized. For instance, in case of Poland, official statistics indicate a ridiculous and beyond any shadow of a doubt unrealistic number of circa 150 – 200 terminations of pregnancy per year. At the same time, reliable NGOs estimate that the real number of illegal and not always safe abortions in Poland might range from 80.000 to 200.000 annually.The most steep decline has been reported in case of Bulgaria. It amounts to almost 50%. Slighter drops were observed in such countries as Croatia, Latvia or the Czech Republic. The authors of the report ascribe the positive change to slowly increasing accessibility and usage of contraception in the Eastern Europe. The lowest abortion rates in the world are observed in western Europe, especially countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, as well as Scandinavian countries where there are comprehensive and compulsory sexuality education programmes incorporated into school curricula. Furthermore, those countries subsidize a wide range of contraceptives. The abortion rate for western Europe amounts to 12 per 1000 women, while in USA it is 21 terminations per 1000 women.                  

 ALBANIA: The situation of Roma population, especially Roma women worsens. The Roma population amounts to 95 thousand in Albania and is reaching about 9 million in the CEE region. As statistics indicate, the situation of this ethnic group has significantly deteriorated in Albania since the collapse of communism in 1991. Discrimination of Roma women is especially harmful. Child marriages and early motherhood have been always been inscribed in the Roma tradition but apparently nowadays the situation has worsened for young Roma women and girls. The average age of marriage has dropped considerably since the communist era and amounts to 15 year of age now. The average for non-Roma Albanian women is 23, and 18 for Roma men. Furthermore, the average age of Roma women at the time of the first childbirth has fallen too. It dropped from 19 before the year 1991 to less than 17 now. For Roma men it amounts to 21. Child marriage and early childbirth have a great impact on Roma women’s status in the society, and especially their access to education. The statistics here are equally alarming. According to the World Bank, the number of Roma children who have never attended school has drastically increased. This is the case for 57 percent of Roma women and 48 percent of men. The average number of years of education has also dropped for Roma women after Albania entered its transitional period from communism into democracy. It used to be 6.2 but has fallen to less than 4 now. Another area of discrimination against Roma women is in access to health care, including sexual and reproductive services. It is estimated that the rates of maternal and infant mortality are significantly higher among Roma than non-Roma Albanian society although there are no official statistics on that.      

Source: CCMC PUSH Journal 17/08/2007  

CZECH REPUBLIC: Unprecedented case – Woman files charges against hospital claiming it botched her sterilization. Woman underwent voluntary sterilization three years ago. She was a mother of two children and did not plan to have any more in her life. Thus, she and her partner decided that sterilization is the method of family planning that suits them best. Based in central Bohemia, Kutna Hora hospital, performed sterilization on the woman on her request. Shortly after the procedure the client got pregnant again and gave birth to a third, unplanned child. Now she accuses the doctors of botched sterilization. This is the first such case in the Czech Republic, where the majority of lawsuits concerned forced sterilization performed without women’s consent. The accusation is based on the right to privacy that is believed to be violated in that case, that is incorporated into Czech Constitution, namely in the Charter of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The defense line of doctors refers to the same Charter of Constitution pointing at the child’s right to life and protection that is even entitled in the prenatal period.

Source: CCMC PUSH Journal 05/09/2007           

ITALY: Considers criminalization of prostitution The Italian interior minister, Giulio Amato, declared to Senate that the country requires ban on prostitution – that stays in stark contrast with the Council of Europe recently developed recommendations. He believes that the prohibition should have the form of penalizing clients. Furthermore, Amato proposed that the clients should be publicly shamed by sending official notifications to their families if they are caught red-handed. The initiative has been welcomed by the Vatican’s department on migrant issues (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People) that recently released a document urging all nations to end prostitution which is, as the Vatican claims, a form of modern slavery regardless of whether it is believed to be voluntary or forced.    

The pontifical document can be accessed at: http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=6529

Source: WUNRN 16/10/2007

KAZAKHSTAN: HIV transmission constantly on the rise. Kazakhstan Statistics Agency announced that the number of newly reported HIV cases has increased in the first six months of the year 2007 in comparison with last year’s statistics. Official data reflects a total growth from 958 to 1165 cases. It is presumed that reported growth in infection rates is linked to contaminated blood transfusions that mostly affected children. The increase of the reported new HIV cases in this group exceeded 50% (from 40 cases in July 2006 to 66 cases one year later).  

Source: Kaiser 21/09/2007

LITHUANIA: Turmoil around LGBTQI annual conference This year ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association) Europe meeting in Vilnius has been accompanied by a number of incidents provoked by the opponents of LGBTQI rights. ILGA Europe, which is a Brussels based organization, managed to unite 200 advocates from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds in Vilnius for one week-long event. Among other activities, a rally in the city was planned which was unfortunately prohibited by the mayor of Vilnius due to, as he claims, safety concerns. No alternative venue has been proposed for gathering and the organizers believe that Vilnius authorities just revealed institutional homophobia. Furthermore, ILGA’s conference participants were attacked with smoke bombs when sitting in the local bar. Immediate evacuation was not possible again because of security concerns. It is also important to highlight, that currently the Lithuanian parliament, the Sejmas, is discussing introduction of the law that will ban “homosexuality propaganda”.

Source: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7063132.stm       

POLAND: Teenage illegal abortion ends up with imprisonment of the doctor The gynecologist who allegedly performed an abortion on a 16 year-old girl has been arrested and can be sentenced to prison for up to 3 years. Media report that the pregnant teenager was persuaded by her mother to undergo abortion. The girl’s boyfriend did not accept the decision and notified the police about the incident. During the interrogation, the 43-year old mother of the teenager confirmed to have paid for the termination of pregnancy the amount of approximately EUR 550. The public prosecutor’s office is being very repressive against the woman. It applied police supervision and property warranty to her. The woman might be also charged with complicity and imprisoned for up to 3 years since abortion is criminalized in Poland.

Source: http://www.tvn24.pl/; 15/10/2007         

RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Sexual abuse of children a huge issue for the country. Russia appears to be one of the major producers of child pornography in the world. Other cases of sexual exploitation of children are also burning problems including forced child prostitution and trafficking of minors. According to the Russian National Consultation on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, the post-Soviet country experiences an unprecedented rise of child abuse. In some regions of the country (especially St. Petersburg and northwestern Russia), sex tourism is flourishing. Sex services are aimed at neighboring Scandinavian countries and widely advertised on the internet. They include child pornographic publications and films, as well as prostitution. It needs to be highlighted that especially minors from the most disadvantaged groups are recruited by the sex business, which marginalizes and victimizes them even more. Most of them are migrants to big cities such as Moscow or St. Petersburg coming from provinces or previous Soviet republics. There is a common misconception among the clients of child prostitution that sex with children is safe in terms of HIV transmission, which makes minors more vulnerable for contracting the virus. As far as trafficking of children from Russia is concerned, it is believed that the Middle East is a major region of destination. Russia has ratified a number of international documents, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but unfortunately, combatting the problem of sexual exploitation of children is not adequately prioritized on the country’s agenda. No national plan of action to counter this drama has been developed.        

To read more on the topic go to: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/09/006.html

Source: WUNRN 16/08/2007

SLOVAKIA: Conscience Clause Affairs Last month, the Slovakian Minister of Health declared that he was considering the amendment of the “conscientious objection” law, which allows medical professionals to refuse to perform certain services if they find them conflicting with their religious beliefs. The Conscience Clause is mostly exercised in cases of termination of pregnancy, in vitro fertilization or sterilization. The Minister’s proposal to abolish this law coincided with Pope Benedict XVI calls upon Slovakia to ratify a treaty that would enable the citizens to reject to perform any act that stays in conflict with Christian values. Experts say that the ratification of the act would open the possibility of refusing such diverse activities as teaching evolutionary theory in schools or working on Sundays. It is claimed that this kind of treaty favours the Christian majority in the country and does not promote the values of equality and tolerance. The Minister has eventually dropped the idea of abolishing the objection of conscience and decided to maintain the existing law. The Roman Catholic Church officials welcomed this decision, but did not give up the struggles to further strengthen this privilege.

Source: Kaiser 17/09/2007, 20/09/2007        

GLOBAL UPDATES