Tanzania Creates Special Desk for Reporting Gender-Based Violence
Xinhua - Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 5/31/2019
The Government of Tanzania has created a special desk for the public to report gender-based violence and child abuse cases, allowing people to dial a toll-free number 116. The Assistant Director for Children Rights and Development announced the creation of the desk May 31, 2019, during his presentation on the situation of gender-based violence and the national action plan to curb it. The desk is to be manned by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, and will handle gender-based violence cases and child abuse incidents which are often not addressed at the grassroots level. The desk is a product of complaints from community radio practitioners over institutional failures to tackle women’s rights violations.
Shanghai Bans Sex Offenders from Jobs Near Juveniles
China Daily - Shanghai, China, 5/30/2019
Shanghai became China's first provincial-level region to require anyone seeking a job near places where juveniles congregate to have no record of sexual misconduct. The misconduct not only refers to court verdicts, but also disciplinary rulings made by prosecuting agencies and administrative punishments issued by police, the Shanghai People's Procuratorate said on May 29, 2019, ahead of International Children's Day on June 1. Wu Yan, director of juvenile prosecutions for the Shanghai procuratorate, said lawbreakers with a history of criminal penalties for rape or child molestation, or administrative penalties for seducing, providing shelter and making introductions for prostitution will be barred from jobs at schools, educational and physical training institutions, day care centers, hospitals and child welfare facilities.
World Health Organisation Removes "Gender Identity Disorder" from List of Mental Illnesses
CBS News, Geneva, 5/29/2019
The World Health Organisation (WHO) will remove ‘gender identity disorder’ from its global manual of diagnoses – a major win for transgender rights everywhere. The change was announced in the summer of 2018, but a resolution to amend the health guidelines was officially approved on May 25, 2019. The United Nations' health agency released a revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) that reclassifies ‘gender identity disorder’ as ‘gender incongruence,’ which is now featured under the sexual health chapter rather than the mental disorders chapter. Gender incongruence is better known as gender dysphoria, the feeling of distress when an individual's gender identity doesn’t match their gender assigned at birth. An evolving scientific understanding of gender, and work by transgender advocates have contributed to the reclassification.
Delhi HC Seeks Centre's Response on Plea to Extend Pregnancy Termination Period
Business Standard, India, 5/28/2019
The Delhi High Court on May 28, 2019, sought a response from Central government on a plea seeking to extend the length of the time window in which an abortion can take place. The bench comprising observed that the issue needs a scientific consideration, and slated the matter for August 6, 2019, while asking the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Law and Justice and the National Commission for Women, to file a reply. The petition, filed by Amit Sahni, asked the government to extend the abortion time window from the legally permissible twenty weeks by a further period of four to six weeks in case there are health risks to the fetus or the mother, by amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
Complaint in NHRC Seeks Sexual Harassment Report Which Gave Clean Chit to CJI Ranjan Gogoi
India Today - New Delhi, India, 5/27/2019
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on May 27, 2019, registered a complaint of a Thane-based advocate who has requested the statutory body to seek action report on the in-house inquiry committee in the sexual harassment case against the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Advocate Aditya Mishra, in his complaint to the NHRC, said that he is concerned about the independence of the judiciary and the rights of the woman-complainant, who accused CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment, at the same time. Advocate Aditya Mishra had earlier filed this complaint to the NHRC and followed it up later after a retired Supreme Court judge cited institutional bias in handling the sexual harassment case filed by a former SC staff against CJI Ranjan Gogoi.
600 People, Mostly Children, Test HIV Positive in Pak’s Sindh Province
Hindustan Times - Sindh, Pakistan, 5/26/2019
Over 600 people, mostly children, have been tested HIV positive in Pakistan’s Sindh province, raising concern among health authorities who sought support of WHO to cope with the alarming number of cases. A ten-member team of experts from World Health Organisation will visit Pakistan within the coming few days to ascertain causes of spreading HIV and AIDS in the Larkana region of Sindh, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Zafar Mirza said in a press conference. The health authorities have requested the WHO to provide 50,000 HIV testing kits and send a rapid response team to the area. Mirza also said that the federal government is in touch with the provincial health department to provide assistance in overcoming this situation.
Kenya's High Court Upholds Ban on Same-Sex Relations
Al Jazeera, Kenya, 5/25/2019
In a blow to the Kenyan LGBTQ community, a high court on May 24, 2019, after a case seeking to overturn a law criminalising same-sex relationships was dismissed. Presiding judge Roselyne Aburili said, ‘The petitions had no merit,’ and added that decriminalising same-sex relations contradicts the ‘constitutional values and the customs’ of Kenyan people. Kenya has continued to hold on to a colonial-era law that bans gay sex, despite multiple attempts from the Kenyan LGBTQ community to petition the court to overturn these regressive and homophobic laws. In the ruling that lasted almost two hours, the judges stated that the contested provisions do not target a specific group of people, but rather ‘any person’, and therefore cannot be considered discriminatory.
Brazil's Supreme Court Votes to Make Homophobia a Crime
Al Jazeera, Brazil, 5/24/2019
A majority in Brazil's Supreme Court has voted to make homophobia and transphobia a crime, a decision coming amid fears the country's far-right president will roll back LGBTQ social gains. Six of the Supreme Federal Tribunal's 11 judges have voted in favour of the measure. The five other judges will vote in a court session on June 5, 2019, but the result will not be modified. The measure will take effect after all the justices have voted. Racism was declared a crime in Brazil in 1989, and the court's judges ruled that homophobia should be framed within the racism law until the country's Congress approves legislation specifically dealing with LGBTQ discrimination. The court claimed the ruling was to grant LGBTQ community legal protections.
Court Due to Rule on Decriminalising Homosexuality
Daily Nation, Kenya, 5/22/2019
The Kenyan High Court is on May 24, 2019, is expected to deliver a long-awaited ruling on whether to scrap colonial-era laws which criminalise homosexuality, a verdict that could have repercussions across Africa. However, the LGBTQ community fears yet another postponement. In February 2019, the three-judge bench pushed back its decision, citing a heavy workload, prompting dismay from a persecuted community who have fought for years to be accepted. Gay rights organisations are asking the court to scrap two sections of the penal code that criminalise homosexuality. One section states that anyone who has ‘carnal knowledge... against the order of nature’ can be imprisoned for 14 years. Another provides for a five-year jail term for ‘indecent practices between males’.
United Nations Urges Nepal to Change its Rape and Sexual Violence Law
Kathmandu Post - Kathmandu, Nepal, 5/21/2019
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has urged Nepal to investigate the rape of a woman that took place during a decade-long armed conflict in the nation, while also highlighting the need to adapt its laws related to sexual violence and make it easier for victims to access justice. The committee’s decision came in response to a complaint from a woman who was the victim of rape, torture and forced labour during the armed conflict in 2002, but couldn’t find help from the justice system anymore because of Nepal’s 35-day deadline for reporting rape. Nepal’s human rights advocates say the UN’s criticism of Nepal’s inconsistent sexual violence laws is important, but they aren’t optimistic about what this would mean for the ongoing transitional justice process.
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