State Has Notorious Track Record in Human Trafficking
The Hindu ‐ Andhra Pradesh, India, 7/31/2016
The problem of human trafficking in the State is likely to get aggravated as the State is expected to witness a flurry of construction and other activities in the next 5 to 10 years, says Mr. N.V.S. Rammohan, State Coordination Committee on Anti-Human Trafficking. According to a study, 27.41 per cent of family members of the victims themselves forced them into sex work, while known persons constituted 18.40 per cent. Strangers inducting them into the trade stood at 9.31 per cent. A disturbing fact is that over 61 per cent of rescued victims of trafficking were forced into sex work when they were children.
‘Women Are Taking The Lead in Global Affairs But Gender Inequality Still a Big Issue ... Including Hong Kong’
South China Morning Post ‐ Hong Kong, China, 7/31/2016
Women may be playing a more active role on the global political stage than ever before, but this does not necessarily reflect advances in gender equality, Taiwan’s former culture minister Lung Ying-tai argues. Lung, a prominent writer, said that while Theresa May had recently become British prime minister, Tsai Ing-wen was elected leader of Taiwan and Hillary Rodham Clinton could be the next US president, women around the world still found themselves facing discrimination based on their gender. For some, the situation was getting even worse.
India Inclusive: Companies Make Room For LGBTs
The Times of India ‐ Chennai, India, 7/30/2016
In a country where homosexuality is criminalised and where the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people) community faces discrimination and a lack of basic rights, some corporate are celebrating diversity within their organisations. At some corporate houses, the process of inclusion starts at the recruitment stage itself. ‘We don't ask for any personal information such as gender, marital status. An unconscious social bias tends to rise within organisations and hence, it becomes important for corporate to take up this matter on a priority basis,’ says the HR Director of a very well known company.
74% Male Sex Workers in Chennai at Risk of HIV: Study
The Times of India ‐ Chennai, India, 7/29/2016
A study by a group of researchers from institutes across the world, including the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai, has found that 74.2% of the MSWs they surveyed accepted more money from their clients to not use a condom. The study, recently published in AIDS Care, took into account experiences of 100 male sex workers around the age of 25 years in the city. The study threw another surprise highlighting the need to identify this group - nearly 72% said they wanted to continue sex work. ‘This being the case, HIV prevention interventions shouldn't try to draw MSWs away but focus on facilitating skills that will support their ability to negotiate sexual safety’.
Mexico Transgender Trial Being Replicated in India
The Indian Express ‐ Pune, India, 7/28/2016
Transgender identity is classified as a mental health disorder in the world’s main diagnostic manuals. This controversial definition is now being rewritten by a WHO working group. A Mexican study published on the transgender experiences in The Lancet is being replicated in India, Brazil and South Africa to script a new chapter on conditions related to sexual health. According to mental health expert, Dr Vikram Patel the World Health Organisation is currently revising the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 and ICD-11 is expected to be approved in May 2018.
A Death Foretold
The Indian Express, India, 7/27/2016
Most of us, who googled Qandeel Baloch’s name after learning of her gruesome honour killing, have been wondering how this outspoken young woman was allowed to live long enough to scandalise, titillate and create murderous rage in this subcontinent. According to data with the Honour Based Violence Awareness Network, some 5,000 such murders take place worldwide. Of these, 1,000 each occur in India and Pakistan and the 12 in the UK takes place mostly among Indian and Pakistani-origin families. As per UN figures, one in five of the honour killings takes place in India but non-governmental organisations put the real tally at three times the reported figure.
Nepal Quake Survivors Struggle With Debt, Raising Trafficking Fears
Thomson Reuters Foundation News ‐ Kathmandu, Nepal, 7/26/2016
Hundreds of Nepalis who had borrowed money to rebuild their lives after two earthquakes left them homeless are at risk of being trafficked or duped into selling their kidneys to pay off their debts, an international development organisation said. More than a year on, reconstruction has been slow with unrest over a new constitution adding to the delays. Unable to find work, hundreds of Nepalis are deep in debt, the Asia Foundation said on July 25th, 2016. ‘Their desperation makes them take greater risks, such as sending their children away for what they think are better lives, or even selling their kidneys.’
Chinese Sex Workers More Likely to be Arrested if Caught Carrying Condoms, Hindering Efforts to Stop Spread Of HIV, Research Suggests
South China Morning Post, China, 7/26/2016
Chinese police cracking down on sex workers routinely look for condoms as evidence of illegal activity, hindering efforts to prevent the spread of HIV among sex workers, one of the biggest at-risk groups in the country, experts said. China, with a population of about 1.4 billion, has a relatively low HIV prevalence rate, with about half a million reported cases of people living with HIV or AIDS by the end of 2014, according to a government report published last year. ‘When police arrest sex workers, they will search for condoms, and that will decrease sex workers’ willingness to carry and use condoms,’ said Tingting Shen, director of advocacy, policy, and research for Asia Catalyst.
Motorcycle-Ambulances Help Saves Lives in Chhattisgarh Forests
The Indian Express ‐ Chhattisgarh, India, 7/25/2016
The motorcycle-ambulance is a new concept in India that is saving lives in remote regions where people had been dying because they could not make it to the hospital on time. The ambulance, which had seen success in African countries, is a modified four-stoke motorcycle fitted with a side-carriage customised for the comfort of the patient. The motorcycle-ambulance project was initiated in the year 2015 and supported by the UNICEF in collaboration with an NGO, Saathi Samaj Sevi Sanstha, and the Health Department of the State Government.
Football: India's Red Light Youngsters go For Gold
The Economic Times ‐ Kolkata, India, 7/25/2016
In a break from training for one of the world's largest football tournaments, Yakub Ali swells with pride at the idea of putting a smile on the face of his mother back in Asia's biggest red light district. Yakub is one of eight sons of sex workers living in Kolkata's notorious Sonagachi neighborhood who are heading in Denmark later this month to take part in the Dana Cup, an international youth tournament. The academy is overseen by the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC), an organisation which works for the welfare of Indian prostitutes and also runs Asia's first cooperative for sex workers.
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