Govt Certifies 51 Health Facilities As Adolescent-Friendly
The Himalayan Times - Kathmandu Nepal, 1/31/2018
A total of 51 health facilities in 20 districts have been certified as adolescent-friendly service (AFS) sites as of now by the Family Health Division (FHD) under the Ministry of Health. AFS sites create a safe, supportive and protective environment for adolescents, whether they are single or married, ensuring their access to the information and services they need from trained health service providers in a non-judgmental manner maintaining privacy, respect and confidentiality. According to FHD, the health facilities were certified as adolescent-friendly through a joint monitoring system using the nine national standards mentioned in the Quality Improvement and Certification Tool for Adolescent-Friendly Service (AFS), endorsed by the Ministry of Health in 2015.
Google Bows to Ministry's Request to Remove LGBT Apps
The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, 1/30/2018
Up to 14 apps considered to contain and promote LGBT-related pornographic content have reportedly been removed from the Google Play Store. The Communications and Information Ministry's public relations bureau acting head, Noor Iza, said on January 29 that since January 28 at 12:30 a.m. the gay social network app Blued had been removed from the Play Store for the Indonesian market. Prior to sending a request to Google to take down Blued, the ministry had blocked five domain name servers (DNS) for the Blued service on Oct. 12. It reportedly also asked the tech company to remove 73 apps with LGBT-related content.
Indonesia: Transgender Women in Aceh Detained by Police
BBC News, Indonesia, 1/29/2018
Police in Indonesia have detained 12 transgender women, cutting their long hair and saying they were ‘coaching’ them to behave like ‘real men’. Several beauty salons in Aceh province were raided over the January 27-28 weekend and transgender women working there taken to the local police station. The transgender women, who were also forced to wear men's clothes, will be held for three days. The move has been condemned by human rights groups. Local Police Chief Ahmad Untung Surianata said his team had carried out the raid, dubbed ‘Operation Anti Moral Illness’, after neighbours complained about the ‘negative influence’ the transgender community could have on their children.
Adolescents Decry Lack of Access to Contraceptives
The Herald, Zimbabwe, 1/29/2018
Although the use of contraceptives in Zimbabwe is at 84 percent, unmarried adolescents who might need them to prevent pregnancies still have no access, Amnesty International has said. Presenting their latest report titled, ‘Lost Without Knowledge: Barriers To Sexual And Reproductive Health Information In Zimbabwe’, lead researcher Louise Carmody said difficulties in accessing contraceptives had seen adolescent girls exposed to harmful consequences such as birth complications and even deaths. Carmody said key barriers to accessing these contraceptives were on inconsistencies with current laws, lack of information, taboos on sexuality issues and costs. Amnesty International urged the government to urgently address identified barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services.
Duterte’s '42 Virgins' Joke Manifests His Disrespect Toward Women - Group
Philippine Star - Manila, Philippines, 1/28/2018
President Rodrigo Duterte’s joke of using virgins to promote tourism in the Philippines shows the chief executive’s lack of respect for Filipino women, an activist group said. In a statement sent to News5 on January 27, Akbayan Women said Duterte’s recent proof of sexism is his promise of ‘42 virgins’ as a tourism ‘come-on’ during his last day in India. ‘Duterte dismisses Filipinas as mere goods for trade, that women are just sights for tourists. This insults millions of women who work hard to build our nation with honour only to be represented as a virgin fodder for tourist by the president himself,’ the group said.
‘Dignity Kits’ for Pregnant Women, New Moms Displaced by Eruption
Manila Bulletin, Philippines, 1/27/2018
Pregnant women and new mothers who have been displaced by the Mayon Volcano eruption received ‘dignity kits’ from a United Nations reproductive health and rights agency. Through the Department of Health (DOH), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) distributed 2,021 ‘dignity kits’ for pregnant women and new mothers in all the evacuation centres and for those staying with families and friends in the three cities and six municipalities hosting internally displaced people in Albay. The kits contain hygiene materials such as sanitary napkins, underwear, soap and shampoo; as well as items to help women feel safe travelling in the dark, such as flashlights and whistles.
Poor Young Females More Vulnerable to STD Than Well-Off Counterparts - Study
Manila Bulletin, Philippines, 1/26/2018
A study conducted by a research group revealed that impoverished women workers are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STD) than those from the affluent households. The report was revealed by Quezon City-based state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) which based its study from the 2008 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey. The study was administered by then National Statistics Office, PIDS Research Fellow Michael Abrigo who said about 41 percent of poor females aged 15 to 24 years are at risk of getting infected with STDs, compared to only 22 percent of females from well-off families. Abrigo’s study showed that implementing sexuality education programs in schools results to better sexual behaviours.
LGBT People Viewed Negatively, But Accepted As Indonesian Citizens
The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, 1/25/2018
The majority of Indonesian people still perceive the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community negatively, but many of them believe its members deserve to live in Indonesia, says a study released on January 25. The survey, commissioned by Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), reveals 87.6 percent of over 1,200 respondents surveyed consider the LGBT community a threat, while 81.5 percent of them believe it is prohibited by religions. However, 57.7 percent of the respondents, which comprise men and women of various religious backgrounds and ages living in various areas across Indonesia, said members of the LGBT community had the right to live as citizens.
HIV-AIDS Diagnostic Centre Set Up in BBH
The Express Tribune - Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 1/24/2018
A diagnostic centre has been set up at Benazir Bhutto Hospital to stop the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) under Punjab AIDS Control Programme. According to a press release issued on January 23, HIV-positive patients would be provided treatment free of charge at the centre. Moreover, 14 centres have been established across the province including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Sheikupura, Raheem Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Gujrat. The data of people living with HIV and AIDS will be kept confidential to save them from social problems.
Indian Police Extort Transgender Sex Workers, Increasing HIV Risk – Study
Reuters - Mumbai, India, 1/23/2018
Police in India routinely extort transgender sex workers, which pressures them to earn more by engaging in unsafe sex that increases the risk of disease, researchers say. Gender minorities need more protection and police need sensitivity training, said a report by the Chennai-based Centre for Sexuality and Health Research and Policy (C-SHaRP) and the Mumbai-based Humsafar Trust. ‘We found that transgender women have poor earnings and they have to share that too with the police and ruffians who exploit them,’ said C-SHaRP Chair Dr. Venkatesan Chakrapani. ‘Because of this extortion, they try to earn more and do not insist their customers use condoms.’
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