Calls for Hong Kong to Better Protect LGBT Rights as City Wins Bid to Host 2022 Gay Games
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, 10/31/2017
With Hong Kong becoming the first Asian city to host the ‘Gay Olympics’ in 2022, the city should now do more to legally protect sexual minorities, the team behind the city’s successful bid said on October 31. No Asian city has hosted the games since the event began in 1982. Paul Choi, Director of Government relations for the Hong Kong 2022 bid team, said he hoped the games would be a ‘catalyst’ for the Government to create national anti-discrimination laws protecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Hong Kong in 1991 but same-sex marriage is not recognised.
Japan to Offer Free HIV Testing in Annual Company Health Checks to Encourage Early Detection
The Japan Times, Japan, 10/30/2017
In a bid to encourage more people to undergo HIV tests, the health ministry is planning to offer testing as a free option during companies’ annual health checks. The program will start on a trial basis in fiscal 2018 in big cities like Tokyo, where the rates for HIV and AIDS tend to be higher, a Ministry official said on October 30. The free HIV test will be optional at the annual health checks companies carry out on employees, and the ministry will send the results directly to the patients instead of together with all of the usual health check data. In Japan, public health centres offer HIV tests for free, but they are usually offered only on weekdays, when most people are working.
Marie Stopes Speaks Out Amid Storm on Abortion, Contraception
The Nation, Kenya, 10/29/2017
Reproductive health services provider Marie Stopes has defended itself following uproar on its provision of abortion services. Its recent actions in Kitui County, where one of its staff visited a Catholic-sponsored secondary school on October 11 to promote family planning, have drawn so much ire that a civil society now wants the Health ministry to de-register Marie Stopes altogether. Marie Stopes country director for Kenya, Ms Dana Tilson, told the Nation that the team member only gave a talk at the school on reproductive health. ‘The girls accessed the (family planning) services at a clinic outside the school as they needed to inquire more,’ she said.
Textbooks Portray Gender Biased Roles, Reveals Study
The Express Tribune - Islamabad, Pakistan, 10/29/2017
A study has found that the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) textbooks perpetuate gender disparity in society by portraying misogynistic images which affect the minds of children from an early age. The research titled ‘Expression of Masculinity in Textbooks’ was carried out by Shirakat, a non-governmental organisation which works for gender equality and social justice. Highlighting the significance of a balanced view of masculinities in the curriculum and the corresponding textbooks, the research focuses on how women have been portrayed in the stereotypical roles in the textbooks. Interestingly, according to the research, gender bias is quiet visible in the textbooks despite of the fact that 64% authors of these books at the federal level are women.
Tanzania Deports Lawyers Accused of 'Promoting Homosexuality'
BBC News, Tanzania, 10/28/2017
Tanzania has deported three South African lawyers after they were accused of promoting homosexuality. They were among 13 people arrested on 17 October for taking part in a meeting to discuss challenging a law stopping private health clinics from providing HIV and AIDS services. However, Sibongile Ndashe says they had no right to do so, and has accused authorities in Dar es Salaam of holding her and her colleagues ‘hostage’. Homosexuality is a crime in Tanzania. Ms Ndashe said their demands to see the grounds on which they were deported were ignored. The group now intends to sue, she added.
Some 200 Million Women Work Without Laws Against Sex Harassment: Study
Reuters, United Nations, 10/27/2017
More than a third of countries do not have laws against sexual harassment in the workplace, leaving more than 200 million women without legal protection on the job, according to a new study. Working conditions for women have been in the spotlight with highly publicised claims of sexual harassment and assault made by top actresses against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Globally, 68 countries do not prohibit sexual harassment at the workplace, according to the study that looked at laws in all 193 member states of the United Nations. Nearly 235 million women work in these 68 countries. The study found three-quarters of countries prohibit gender-based discrimination in promotions, but ‘large gaps’ remain.
Egypt Drafts a Bill Banning Homosexuality, and Imprisonment for Even Discussing It
Al Bawaba, Egypt, 10/26/2017
The crackdown on Egypt’s LGBT community looks set to continue with a new law designed to criminalise homosexuality already at the draft stage. The bill, tabled by controversial MP, Ryad Abdel Sattar, contains five articles designed to ban homosexual activity in Egypt. Under the law, anybody engaging in homosexual acts faces up to three years in prison with a one-year minimum term. Meanwhile, those found to break the law upon release would face up to five years behind bars. The proposed law also states that anyone who calls for the acceptance of homosexuality, even if he or she is not a ‘practitioner of homosexuality,’ should be jailed for between one and three years.
Health Support Cuts Workplace Absence
The Daily Star, Bangladesh, 10/26/2017
Educating female garment workers on sexual and reproductive health and providing them with health-related support can help reduce their workplace absence and boost their productivity, according to a recent study. Garment factory officials who were interviewed as part of the research said the absence of female workers was reduced to 5 percent from 12 percent after they were provided with such knowledge and support like distribution of sanitary napkins. Population Council, a non-government research organisation, surveyed 2,165 female garment workers, aged between 18 and 49, in 10 factories of Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj early this year.
Why Teachers Avoid Sex Topics in School: Study
Daily Nation, Kenya, 10/25/2017
A report by a United Nations (UN) agency has revealed that secondary school teachers in Kenya depict sex as dangerous and immoral to their students. In a study that was conducted in 78 public and private schools, dubbed ‘Accountability in Education’, gaps emerged on school-based comprehensive sexuality education programmes which are supposed to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills and attitudes. ‘While 75 per cent of teachers reported teaching all topics of comprehensive sexuality education programme, only two per cent of students reported learning all topics. Only 20 per cent learned about the different kinds of contraceptives, and even fewer learned how to use and where to get them,’ says the study.
58 Academics from Top Institutions Named as Sexual Harassers in Facebook Post; JNU, DU, FTII Feature in List
The New Indian Express - Chennai, India, 10/25/2017
A Facebook post by a lawyer named Raya Sarkar inviting others to name academics who have sexually harassed their students went viral on October 24, with 58 professors listed by name and the institution they serve at. The list includes several prominent academics from some of India’s premier academic institutions. Sarkar’s post caused a furore on Facebook with one supporter saying, ‘We have our fair share of predators in science, but what terrifies me about this list is so many of these men make a living out of talking about morality and justice and feminism?!’ While the initiative gathered a fair share of supporters, several women activists voiced reservations about the initiative.
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