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"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." --Gloria Steinem
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Nov
26
Brazilian Prisoner Raped by Her Cell Mates for a Month
Filed Under International, South America, WOC issues, gender, human rights, misogyny, patriarchy, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | 14 Comments
Let me just say that there’s absolutely no way to kick off 16 days of blogging about gender violence lightly or gently. I did, however, hope that I wouldn’t have to begin with something as horrific as this. But that’s what this is about: waking up and telling the nasty truth that no one wants to hear. So here we go.
A woman in Brazil has alleged that she was left in a police cell for almost a month with 20-30 men. I don’t think that it takes a huge leap of logic to guess what happened while she was there.
Authorities in Brazil are investigating reports that a young woman was left in a police cell with some 20 men for a month and repeatedly sexually abused.
The governor of the state of Para, where the reported case took place, has promised a full inquiry. [. . .]
Women’s rights groups in Brazil say it is not an isolated case.
According to reports in the Brazilian media, the number of men in the cell with the young woman ranged between 20 and more than 30.
Media reports suggested that the girl was placed in a police cell in the town of Abaetetuba on suspicion of theft.
But human-rights groups say there is uncertainty about what offence the girl was accused of and she was not formally charged.
They say that she was raped relentlessly and forced to have sex in order to obtain food.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Nov
21
Brazil Fights Illegal Abortion by Actually Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies
Filed Under International, South America, WOC issues, abortion, anti-choice extremism, class and economics, human rights, legislation, misogyny, pregnancy, religious fanaticism, reproductive justice, social conservatives, women’s health | 2 Comments
So this is interesting: in Brazil, where abortion is illegal, health officials have launched a new program aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions, and it’s actually smart:
As part of a new fight against Brazil’s sky-high number of unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions, the country’s most populous state is offering “morning after” contraceptive pills at metro stops and 90 percent off contraceptive pills at pharmacies.
And that’s not all. Federal Health officials are offering to train teachers to give sex education and offering condoms to pupils. And the Health Ministry wants men to take more responsibility and is offering free vasectomies.
These and other measures are part of a wide-ranging and controversial new public health initiative by state and federal officials designed to address women’s health issues and reduce the number of illegal abortions and complications stemming from those underground procedures.
“It’s all about sexual rights and reproduction,” says Dr. Adson França, one of the federal officials involved in implementing the programs. “What we want to do is give access to the poorest citizens and let them choose what course of action to take. We want to give them options.”
To do that, the government has launched a series of programs over the last few years that Dr. França says mark a “coordinated effort never before seen in Brazil.”
One of the main goals is to slash the number of abortions and unwanted pregnancies. In 2004, the last year for which figures are available, 7 in every 100 Brazilian women between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth, says França’s colleague Dr. Lena Peres. This is nearly twice the number in the US, according to 2003 government figures.
And although accurate figures are impossible to determine because abortions are illegal in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, the Health Ministry estimates 1 million abortions are performed each year.
Many more unplanned pregnancies go to term with around 1 in 3 pregnancies unwanted, according to Dr. Jefferson Drezett, head of the Hospital Perola Byington, Latin America’s largest women’s health clinic.
The medical costs of back-street abortions are enormous, with 240,000 women hospitalized each year suffering from complications caused by illegal procedures, according to Health Ministry figures.
Let me say up front that I unequivocally disagree with the fact that abortion is illegal in Brazil. There’s no excuse for it, it puts women’s lives at risk, and with all of the birth control and vasectomies and emergency contraception in the world, abortion still needs to be legal and available to women. Period.
That being said, I can’t help but think that this program is incredibly awesome.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Aug
29
Nothing like a little morning transphobia
Filed Under International, LGBTQ issues, South America, assholes, bigotry, gender, homophobia and transphobia, misogyny, patriarchy | 5 Comments
It seems that I used my offensive remark of the week way too soon.
Today, Slate’s William Saletan has a column titled “Sex-change Socialism: Taxpayer-funded genital mutilation”.
Oh, but it gets worse.
First, he leads in with a story about how new surgery can partially reverse FGM. Then, he goes from talking about the violent act of tearing apart a little girl’s vulva against her will, without anesthesia, to talking about sex reassignment surgery! All without batting an eye!
You see, Brazil is now paying for sex reassignment surgery out of its national health care. And William Saletan thinks that it’s highly unfair, asking:
Question: Is genital mutilation a crime if you don’t want it but a right if you do?
Oh yeah, see the parallel? Because trans people are mutilating their bodies! Right? No? Hmm.
If anyone can find contact information for William Saletan, please let me know (aren’t bloggers and journalists supposed to be contactable?). I looked all over the Slate website and couldn’t find anything other than the forum (of which you have to be a member to post). And I definitely think that he needs to hear some “feedback” on this one, including quite the lesson on gender and trans-politics. Oh, and on how to not be a prejudiced fuck.
UPDATE: Saletan’s email address is apparently human@slate.com. Let the commenting and critiquing begin!
Popularity: 12% [?]
Aug
18
South American Progress
Filed Under International, LGBTQ issues, South America, WOC issues, abortion, gender, human rights, legislation, reproductive justice, women’s health | 2 Comments
Great news for transmen and transwomen in Brazil: the country’s public health system will now pay for sex reassignment surgery. The change comes after a federal court challenge, and the government has said that it will not appeal the decision.
On Wednesday the 4th Regional Federal Court agreed, saying in its ruling that “from the biomedical perspective, transsexuality can be described as a sexual identity disturbance where individuals need to change their sexual designation or face serious consequences in their lives, including intense suffering, mutilation and suicide.”
The Health Ministry said it would be up to local health officials to decide who qualifies for the surgery and what priority it will be given compared with other operations within the public health system.
Patients must be at least 21 years old and diagnosed as transsexuals with no other personality disorders and must undergo psychological evaluation for at least two years, the ministry said.
Even better, the measure has yet to prompt any opposition. How fucking sweet and next to unbelievable is that?
Now if only Brazil could take a liberal cue from Portugal and decriminalize abortion. The country has opened its first legal abortion clinic. Abortion became legal in Portugal on July 15, up through the 10th week of pregnancy. Of course, that’s still an incredibly narrow law, and it is facing stiff opposition. But it’s also a brave step forward for a very conservative nation, and those who assisted in passing the law deserve a big kudos for standing up for the rights of women amid the criticism.
I say bravo to both countries for the progress.
Popularity: 5% [?]
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"No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body." --Margaret Sanger
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"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less." -- Susan B. Anthony
