Philippines Greets World`s Possible Symbolic 7 Billionth Baby
The Philippine Star - Manila, Philippines, 10/31/2011
The Philippines greeted with excitement one of the symbolic 7 billionth babies in the world shortly after midnight Sunday in a hospital in Manila. It`s a baby girl with 5.5 pound. Philippine Health Secretary Enrique Ona said they will submit the baby`s name and time of birth to the World Health Organization to see if the baby is indeed the world`s seventh billionth. The Philippines is the 12th most populous country in the world with 94.9 million people, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)`s State of the World Population Report.
LGBT Pride Parade Draws 30,000 People in Taipei
Taipei Times, Taiwan, 10/30/2011
With music, self-made signs and creative costumes, an estimated more than 30,000 people from across Taiwan and several other countries yesterday marched through the streets of Taipei during the annual Taiwan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride parade, being held for the ninth consecutive year, calling for an end to discrimination against sexual minorities. Although the atmosphere was festive, the objective of the parade was serious. ‘We are standing here together, whether you belong to the LGBT community or not, to fight back against discrimination against the LGBT community in this country,’ one of the organizers of the parade told the crowd.
Indonesian Students Get Drug, Sex Education
Jakarta Globe, Indonesia, 10/30/2011
About 40 students had their heads bent over their books. The day’s topic: peer pressure, the influence of idols and preventing drug abuse. Preventing drug use is just one subject incorporated into the HEBAT (Hidup Sehat Bersama Sahabat, or Living Healthy With Best Friends) curriculum. Besides talking about drugs, the curriculum also covers reproductive health. A better understanding of drug abuse and reproductive health is believed to be the most effective way to curb HIV and AIDS. Bandung, the capital of West Java, is the first city in the country to implement the curriculum.
Health Department Re-Launches Family Planning Programme
The Times of India - Kochi, India, 10/28/2011
In a bid to make effective and modern modes of contraception accessible to all women, the district health department has re-launched an awareness campaign that would also be a positive step towards the control of population growth. Kerala has a high level of contraceptive use compared to other states. This would involve spreading awareness regarding contraception to ensure adequate spacing between the birth of two children to safeguard the health of women.
School Bullies Should be Treated Seriously: Watchdog
The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, 10/27/2011
A children’s advocate from the National Commission for the Protection of Women and Children, Seto Mulyadi, has urged the government to undertake serious measures to end bullying at schools. He added that the increasing number of bullying cases in Indonesia was a sign that the ministry and schools had failed to support the development of students’ characters properly. Seto said bullying, both physical and psychological, had been proven to cause children severe stress and trauma, which could lead to harmful behavior in later life.
Partners of HIV People ‘Seem Forgotten`
Viet Nam News - Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 10/26/2011
Partners of HIV positive people who do not have the disease need more support and attention, according to a workshop held in Ha Noi. The majority of HIV-negative partners in these couples are women, and most are faced with many health care problems and are vulnerable to infection. While people living with HIV seemed to receive more and more attention from society in recent years, their sex partners appeared to be forgotten and did not have a strong voice of their own, said Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, director of the Centre for Supporting Community Development Initiatives.
It`s Discrimination, Says Gay Rights Group
China Daily, China, 10/26/2011
Local gay rights advocates accused the government of discriminating against homosexuals through a lecture on homosexual conversion therapy. Some of the slides shown at the lecture explain that the orientation of homosexuality could have originated from an ‘unhealthy parent-children relationship’, ‘experience of sexual abuse or same-sex sexual behavior’ or ‘serious emotional harm caused by the opposite sex’, according to the group. They also include contents trying to prove the possibility of changing ‘homosexual orientation’. ‘Telling people to change their sexual orientation is like telling black people to whiten their skin. This is discrimination,’ said member Joseph Cho.
Local Governments Urged to Invigorate Family Planning Programs
The Jakarta Post - Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 10/24/2011
Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said recently that despite a decrease in unmet needs to 9.1 percent in 2007 from 12.7 percent in 1991, the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) in Indonesia remained at about 60 percent. ‘It is critical to get the buy-in from local governments in order to expand to a national commitment,’ said Endang in her keynote speech delivered at the 6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (APCRSHR), which was held at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
Sexual Minorities Face Severe Neglect in Flood Relief Efforts
Daily Times - Karachi, Pakistan, 10/24/2011
An assessment by the NGO Roshni Helpline shows that in almost all areas affected by the recent floods there are a dozen of households each locality of sexual minority groups including khawaja siras, transgenders and others. However, due to the prevalent trends of less social acceptability and lack of state recognition, raising voice for their rights has become almost impossible for them. The findings were shared with the Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA), a Karachi-based organisation for khwaja siras.
Sex Education Books Break Down Barriers
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-10/24/content_13965771.htm, 10/24/2011
New sex education textbooks were introduced to pupils in Shanghai after numerous debates on early-age sex education in China. ‘Sex has always been taboo in Chinese parents` eyes. We find it hard to talk about sex with our children, but the students have not been as shy as I imagined. On the contrary, it was quite natural for the kids,’ a mother named Chen Ying said after a class which was open to parents, education officials and journalists. ‘Children see sex in a different way from adults. It is simple, pure and natural for them,’ Chen said.
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