REGIONAL UPDATES
Lithuania: Trafficking. Huge posters in 13 big cities in Lithuania warn: “It is shameful to buy a woman! It is shameful to buy a woman! Moreover,
sooner or later everybody will find out about it!" This public campaign was launched on the 14th of November 2005, warning that paying for sexual
favors of a prostitute is punishable by law. The campaign is implemented by Women's Issues Information Centre in cooperation with Klaipeda
Center of Social and Psychological Help and Kaunas Caritas. It follows the amendment of the Law implemented by the Lithuanian parliament.
In June 2005 Parliament of the Republic of Lithuanian amended the Code of Administrative Violations and, as a consequence of this amendment,
practicing prostitution or paying for a prostitute’s services are punished by law. Lithuanian women’s NGOs support this initiative but also predict
that it will not immediately lead to real changes because police forces are not ready to implement the law.
More information: mic@lygus.lt http://www.lygus.lt/ITC/news.php?id=773
Poland:
birth allowance.
Poland's parliament passed a new law
guaranteeing a one-time payment of 1,000
PLN (260 EURO) to the poorest women for
each child they give birth to. This is a
fulfillment of the new Polish
conservative government's promises to
help families, and is part of its so
called ‘pro-family’ approach. Supporters
of the law hope that that it will also
encourage more births counteracting
population decline in Poland. Women’s
organization as well as the large
proportion of society, however,
argue that
the new payment will not lead to the
increase of births in the country where
continuous economic discrimination of
women (particularly on the labour
market) as well as lack of access to
affordable child care is one of the
reasons couples decide against having
children.
More info
info@astra.org.pl
Romania:
abortion rate. Romania
continues to have the highest rate of
abortion in Europe. According to
European Union statistics during her
reproductive life an average Romanian
woman
has at
least three abortions. Further, a
Romanian organization offering
contraceptive counseling to women argues
in its annual report that the real
number of terminations is greater that
that stated by official statistics. Most
Romanians, especially those older than
30, do not have accurate information
about modern contraception despite
efforts by the government and
non-governmental organizations to create
public awareness. The government, for
more than a decade, has provided free
contraceptive pills to young women and
set up sex education programs. Still
doctors have commented that they have
seen patients who tell them they have
had 20 or 30 terminations.
Full text:
http://www.medicalpost.com/mpcontent/article.jsp?content=20051218_150608_552
Russia:
domestic violence.
According to the
Russian section of Amnesty International
every year 9 000 of Russian women die at
the hands of their partner or relative.
This figure is based partly on the
research conducted by AI but also on
figures of Russian authorities. Human
rights activist argue that Russian
authorities ignore the problem and do
very little to improve the situation. In
Moscow there is not one single shelter
for victims of domestic violence.
According to some Russian sociologist
the problem can be partly explained by
the social crisis which developed after
the collapse of the Soviet Union.
According to this theory men who feel
lost in new realities take out their
frustrations on their wives, partners
and children. Other sociologists argue
that you cannot blame everything on
social consequences of the collapse of
Soviet Union – women were also beaten
and killed during the soviet times, but
since according to state propaganda
domestic violence existed only in
degenerated capitalist societies, it did
not officially exist in Soviet Union. As
a consequence for decades domestic
violence was not challenged at all. One
of the main reasons of domestic violence
in Russia is alcoholism, which has
increased during the last 16 years. The
military conflicts in which Russian
participates also have a very negative
impact on men from the armed forces, who
become violent after they return home.
Amnesty International recommends
establishment of telephone help lines,
establishment of shelters for women,
training of Police and supporting of
NGOs addressing the issue by the Russian
government.
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza
Slovakia: abortion
deal criticized.
Slovakia has been challenged by EU legal
experts over its agreement with the
Vatican, which would lead to the
restriction of reproductive rights of
women. In 2003 Slovakia signed a draft
treaty with the Roman Catholic Church,
allowing doctors in catholic hospitals
to refuse to carry out abortions on the
basis of religious conscious objections.
The doctors will also be able to say no
to women requesting in vitro
fertilization (IVF). The EU’s Network of
Independent Experts on Fundamental
Rights has produced Opinion N° 4-2005:
The Right to Conscientious Objection and
the Conclusion by EU Member States of
Concordats with The Holy See. The
document indicated Slovakia could be
"violating its obligations" as an EU
member.
The documents of the Network is
available at:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/cfr_cdf/index_en.htm
GLOBAL UPDATES
Ireland: Abortion
Protest. Irish youth
have recently formed the Youth Group
'BODY' (Bold Open Decisive Youth). As a
launch of their activities their held a
protest outside the Dail (Irish
Government Building). It was a visual
demonstration where 17 women were placed
in a cage made out of wire hangers. They
were representing the 17 women that
travel to the UK every day from Ireland
to have an abortion. Lucky no opposition
turned up on the day and all went
smoothly.
More info:
ennis.ruth@gmail.com
Spain:
abortion rate. The
annual number of abortions in Spain has
nearly doubled in the last decade
leading to calls for improved sex
education in schools. According to the
Ministry of Health about 85,000 Spanish
women (15% of them teenagers) terminated
their pregnancies in 2004, compared with
49,000 in 1995. Some demographers argue
that the rise in abortions among women
between the ages of 20 and 29 - who were
presumably aware of contraception - was
partly due to uncertain economic
conditions. Female workers hold the
majority of temporary contracts, and
many wait until they have a permanent
work before they decide to have
children. Additionally, Spain's late
business hours make it hard for women to
reconcile work and family. Finally, in
Spain state support for families is
among the lowest in the EU.
Source: Push
Journal
HIV/AIDS:
equality demands. The
Global Network of People living with
HIV/AIDS (GNP+) and the International
Community of Women Living with HIV and
AIDS (ICW) released their joint position
paper: “Injecting Drug Users and Access
to HIV Treatment”. The paper highlights
inequalities in antiretroviral access
for intravenous drug users around the
world. It calls for UNAIDS and other
global policymakers to oppose attempts
to deny or limit access to harm
reduction services like needle
exchanges, as well as support equal
access to anti-HIV drugs worldwide. Full
text:
http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/985888D5-5856-4395-BAAB-20ADCEC0CEB2.asp?wk=1
New
President of IPPF Worldwide.
On December 19th 2005 Jacqueline Sharpe
elected president of International
Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF
Worldwide). More info:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/print?id=123393078
REPRODUCTIVE
RIGHTS ON THE AGENDA
Information to the EU Network of
Independent Experts on Fundamental
Rights. ASTRA and the
Center for Reproductive Rights
submitted additional information to the
EU Network of Independent Experts on
Fundamental Rights. The submitted
information was forwarded in two
separate letters: one dated 12th of
October and another 8th December.
The letter from 12th of October provides
a brief background on international
human rights law and its application to
sexual and reproductive health issues
and some issues facing citizens in
selected European Union Member States
(Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia). It
urges the Network of Independent Experts
to consider including sexual and
reproductive health and rights issues so
as to better strengthen fundamental
rights within the European Union.
The letter dated
8th of December supplements the letter
dated 12th of October 2005 and the oral
intervention made by ASTRA and the
Center at the NGO consultation meeting
in Brussels on 17th October 2005. It
focuses on how other international
bodies, mostly United Nations Treaty
Monitoring Bodies, have recognized the
human rights violations connected to
reproductive health issues, specifically
the violations occurring in Ireland,
Poland, Malta, and Slovakia.
It covers
four principle human rights concerns
within the European Union Member States:
1) the failure to provide effective
access to reproductive health services
and information, particularly access to
safe and legal abortion in Poland,
Ireland, and Malta;
2) the failure to provide effective
access to sexuality education which is
not tainted by religious values, but
instead provides students with accurate
information to protect themselves from
STIs such as HIV/AIDS and unwanted
pregnancies and which also promotes
gender empowerment and equality; 3)
sterilization of Roma women; and 4) the
discriminatory impact of sexual and
reproductive rights violations.
The letter requested that the Network
address these issues in appropriate fora
and in relevant reports on human rights.
More info:
info@astra.org.pl
Review
of the 2001 UNGASS on HIV/AIDS.
The review of the
2001 UNGASS on HIV/AIDS will take place
at the United Nations headquarters in
New York from May 31 to June 2 2006.
UNAIDS and other civil society are
preparing for the review. The draft
resolution setting out the modalities
for this meeting was agreed at the final
session of the General Assembly on Dec.
23 2005, but the final resolution has
not been released, yet. The review will
last 3 days. The first two days will be
more of technical nature, and the last
day will be a high level meeting. It
will include an interactive civil
society dialogue, roundtables, panel
discussions and plenary sessions. While
opportunities for civil society
participation are better than in the
past (2001 UNGASS and review in 2005)
they are still relatively limited.
ECOSOC accredited organizations must
contact the NGO section of the UN
Secretariat no later than March 30 to
indicate their interest in participating
(desangosection@un.org).
Those without ECOSOC accreditation must
apply to UNAIDS by February 3 to
participate.
For the purpose of
coordinating civil society participation
towards the review a steering committee
has been working for the past six
months. If you would like more
information please contact: Zonible
Woods
zonnyw@yahoo.co.uk
To access the full
version of The Declaration of Commitment
on HIV/AIDS
http://www.unaids.org/en/events/un+special+session+on+hiv_aids/declaration+of+commitment+on+hiv_aids.asp
Women and religion
in Europe. The council
of Europe produced a document “Women and
Religion in Europe”.
According to it religion
continues to play an important role in
the lives of many European women. In
fact, most women are affected in one way
or another by the attitude of different
faiths towards them regardless if they
themselves are believers or not. The
document also states that all women
living in Council of Europe member
states have a right to equality and
dignity in all areas of life, and that
freedom of religion must not be accepted
as a pretext for justifying violations
of women’s rights.
Further it is the duty of the
member states of the Council of Europe
to protect women against violations of
their rights in the name of religion and
to promote and fully implement gender
equality. States must not accept any
religious or cultural relativism of
women’s human rights. The document
recommends that Parliamentary Assembly
should call on the member states of the
Council of Europe to take the necessary
steps to fully protect all women living
in their country against violations of
their rights based on or attributed to
religion and to take a stand against
violations of women’s human rights
justified by religious or cultural
relativism everywhere. The document
covers specifically the issues of impact
of religion on attitudes towards
contraception, abortion and divorce. It
also refers to main religions present in
the member states including the Roman
Catholic Church, Protestant Churches,
Orthodox Churches,
Islam and Judaism.
Full text of the
document:
http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc05/EDOC10670.htm
UPCOMING EVENTS
International
Seminar. International
Seminar on “Ethical Issues in
Reproductive Health” will be organized
by the IUSSP Committee on Reproductive
Health and the Netherlands
Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute
(NIDI). Netherlands, August-September
2006. Deadline for submission of
abstracts: 31 January 2006. The
organizers will cover accommodation
expenses at the meeting location for all
participants, but funding for travel is
limited. Applicants are encouraged to
seek their own travel funding, but if
they require travel assistance, they
should indicate that need by ticking the
appropriate box on the on-line
submission form when submitting paper or
abstract. A full announcement and
description of this seminar is available
at
http://www.iussp.org/Activities/scc-rep/rep-call06.php;
http://www.iussp.org/Activities/scc-rep/rep-call06.php
LINKS
AIDS map.
"New at aidsmap.com" is edited by Keith
Alcorn and produced by NAM, which
provides information on HIV and AIDS to
people around the world. Visit the
website at
http://www.aidsmap.com/
PUBLICATIONS
PIN for
Health Newsletter by Open Society
Institute.
The Newsletter includes following
sections: important dates, upcoming
events, funding, announcements and
highlights. It also presents
organisations. Each issue also focuses
on one specific topic.
All published issues are available at
www.pinforhealth.hr
Report:
Sex Work,
HIV/AIDS and Human Rights.
Central and Eastern European Harm
Reduction Network has produced a report
“Sex Work, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in
Central and Eastern Europe and Central
Asia”. According to the report many
Eastern Europe and Central Asian
countries' efforts to curb commercial
sex work have been "ineffective" and
often are "counterproductive" to efforts
to fight HIV/AIDS. CEEHRN based the
report on a survey of organizations
addressing the needs of sex workers in
27 countries in the regions and found
that many sex workers face oppressive
government policies, poverty,
discrimination and health risks such as
drug use. The report shows that
sex work, drug use, and HIV are
inextricably linked in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia, a region
experiencing one of the
fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the
world. Comprehensive action and greater
commitment is critical to prevent the
spread of HIV among sex workers and into
the general population, said Raminta
Stuikyte, co-author of the report and
director of CEEHRNThe
report also found that 14 of the
countries surveyed have laws making
commercial sex work a minor offense or
crime, which CEEHRN says stigmatizes sex
workers and creates hurdles for them to
access health and social care.
Experts involved in the production of
the report say that the rates of HIV
will rise if policies protecting sex
workers are not created.
The report recommends that sex workers
become involved in HIV/AIDS and human
rights programs in Central Asia and
Eastern Europe, and that governments and
organizations implement voluntary and
confidential HIV testing.
Link to the report:
http://www.ceehrn.org/index.php?ItemId=15504
A: The
Abortion Magazine. Jarrell, Marty,
editor-in-chief. November 2005.
(English) The inaugural issue of
Ipas’s biannual magazine deals with the
sexual and reproductive-health needs of
adolescents. It includes interviews with
Mexican and Nigerian advocates; a story
on the impact of abstinence-only sexual
education in U.S. schools; and an
article on why girls choose unsafe
abortion. Available online.
http://www.ipas.org/publications/en/AMAGFW_E05_en.PDF
Danger
ahead: How restricting teens’ access to
safe abortion threatens their lives and
health.Packer, Sarah. November 2005.
(English) As state governments and the
U.S. Supreme Court adopt or consider
measures restricting adolescents’ access
to abortion, this briefing details how
limiting reproductive-health services
and information endangers teens, a group
already at high risk for unintended
pregnancies and complications from
unsafe abortions. Available online.
http://www.ipas.org/publications/en/DANGER_E05_en.pdf
Danger
ahead factsheet. This
document summarizes research about
adolescents’ vulnerability to pregnancy,
the health consequences specific to
early pregnancy, and the legal obstacles
teens may face when seeking safe
abortion services. Available online.
http://www.ipas.org/publications/en/DANGERFS_E05_en.pdf
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