Angela Castellanos

RH Reality Check, Latin America

Angela Castellanos has over 20 years experience as communications consultant for development projects and as a journalist. That includes 17 years working as an international correspondent reporting on women issues in Latin America, for global press agencies, digital news services, international magazines, and local media. Angela is member of ORBICOM, International Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications. She holds a postgraduate degree in Science of Information and Press from the University of Paris, and graduated from the Faculty of Social Communications and Journalism from the Externado de Colombia University. She has been appointed as university professor as well as invited as a speaker to relevant international summits and seminars on communications, feminism and women’s portrayal in the media. Her work can be also be found at www.geocities.com/angela_castellanos_aranguren.

All Work

Peruvian Court Bans Distribution of EC in Public Sector

Dec 16, 6:00am Angela Castellanos

In mid-October, the Peruvian Constitutional Court—the highest court in Peru--issued a ruling banning the free distribution in the public health system of the Emergency Contraception pill.

Proposed Abortion Law in Peru Meets Heavy Opposition

Nov 24, 8:42pm Angela Castellanos

Revisions in Peru's Penal Code may lead to decriminalizing abortion in cases of rape or severe disability of the fetus. But conservative political and religious forces are, predictably, opposing these changes.

Chile: The Long Struggle for Access to Emergency Contraception

Oct 19, 6:00am Angela Castellanos

In Chile, women’s rights are perhaps even more contested than in other countries in Latin America. It is the only country in the region where the law grants men the right to “manage the patrimony” of their marriage. It was the last country in the region to legalize divorce. And it is one of the few countries in the world where therapeutic abortion is criminalized.

Chile: The Long Struggle for Access to Emergency Contraception

Oct 19, 6:00am Angela Castellanos

In Chile, a conservative country in which women's rights are contested on many levels, there is an ongoing struggle to make emergency contraception more accessible to women at every level of income.

Chile: The Struggle Over Emergency Contraception

Oct 19, 6:00am Angela Castellanos

In Chile, a conservative country in which women's rights are contested on many levels, there is an ongoing struggle to make emergency contraception available to women at all income levels.

Bolivia: Promoting Reproductive Health Through InterCultural Approaches

Sep 30, 6:00am Angela Castellanos

Initiatives in Bolivia are using new approaches to increasing access to high quality sexual and reproductive health services for all women in multi-cultural settings.

Mexican Women Fight “Personhood” Laws

Sep 22, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Earlier this month, 150 Mexican women from the state of Morelos asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), review constitutional reforms defining personhood as beginning at the moment of conception.

Nicaragua: The Reality of Abortion Restrictions Revealed

Sep 10, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Think concerns over "egg-as-person" laws in the US are overblown? In Nicaragua, pregnant women suffering from cancer are refused appropriate treatment and girls pregnant as a result of rape are compelled to carry to term, to name just a few...

Mexico to Offer Free HPV Vaccination in Federal District

Jul 23, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

The Mexican State, the metropolitan area which surrounds the capital is implementing an HPV vaccination campaign aimed at students in the sixth grade.

The Church Battles Reforms in Spain’s Abortion Law

Jul 11, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Proposed reforms in Spain's abortion laws recommended by a government-appointed commission of doctors, lawyers, academics and government representatives have the Catholic Church up in arms.

Colombian Jesuit Hospital Fined for Denying Abortion

Jul 7, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

For the first time since abortion was decriminalized in 2006, the government fined a hospital for refusing a legal abortion.

HIV Prevention for Women: Much More Than Condoms

Jul 2, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

For the first time, research on gender and HIV in Colombia is focused not solely on "groups at risk," but on the social context and conditions that increase the vulnerability among women to HIV transmission.

Spain’s Socialist Government Approves EC Without Prescription

Jun 24, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Regardless of age or province of residence, all Spanish women will have access to emergency contraception pill without a prescription. It will be in pharmacies by August.

Legislators Ban Emergency Contraception in Honduras

Jun 8, 8:00am Angela Castellanos

In April, the Parliament of Honduras approved in a bill prohibiting the promotion, commercialization, free distribution and use of EC pills.

Right-to-Life Amendments Sweep Mexican States

May 29, 8:00am Angela Castellanos

In 2007 the Mexican Supreme Court upheld a law which decriminalized abortion in Mexico City. Since then, twelve Mexican states have approved constitutional reforms defining personhood as beginning at the moment of conception.

Dominican Republic: Catholic Republic? “Right to Life” Enters Constitution

May 1, 8:00am Angela Castellanos

An aggressive advocacy campaign by the Catholic Church has resulted in changes in the Constitution of the Dominican Republic protecting "the right to life" from the moment of conception to death.

Abortion

Brazil Pushes Back Against Catholic Church

Mar 30, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

The President of Brazil's Catholics for Choice talks about the impact of the Church's excommunication (and later retraction) of the mother and doctors of a nine-year-old girl who sought an abortion.

Colombian LGTB Community Recognizes Progress While Calling For Further Rights

Feb 27, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Colombian LGBT organizations recognized some legal advancement regarding equal rights, but noted that the progress was due to legal demands made by individuals, not a consequence of a public policy or a legislative action.

Chilean Woman Living with HIV Sterilized Without Consent

Feb 19, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

After a year of unsuccessful lawsuits, a woman living with HIV and sterilized without her consent filed a complaint against Chile before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Survey Studies Sexual Health of Bogota’s Young People

Feb 11, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

A survey of youth in Bogota found most are making autonomous, independent decisions about their sexual lives.

Colombia Fails to Include HPV Vaccine in Public Health System

Jan 13, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

In Colombia, a bill that would introduce the vaccine into Bogotá's public health care system has just failed for the third time.

Legal Abortion Care in Bolivia Often Denied

Nov 28, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Although abortion is permitted in Bolivia in three cases, just six women have had access to legal abortion in this country. The reasons: judicial barriers as well as doctors who oppose abortion.

Colombia Marks Breast Cancer Month With New Detection Programs

Nov 22, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

During International Breast Cancer Month, the Colombian government piloted new programs to increase early detection.

Inaccurate Pap Smear Results Common in Colombia

Oct 1, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

A majority of Colombian women get Pap smears, but new studies show that ten percent of such tests administered in Colombia yield inaccurate results.

Inter-Americas RH Campaign Needs Crucial U.S. Support

Sep 26, 3:00am Angela Castellanos

U.S. support for an Inter-American Convention on Sexual and Reproductive Rights would restore America's leadership role in promoting women's health abroad.

Has Sex Education in Colombia Failed?

Sep 3, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Sexuality education in Colombia has failed to reduce teen motherhood -- and a new study finds the curriculum's failure to address cultural stereotypes of male and female behavior is partly to blame.

Colombia Confronts Female Genital Mutilation

Aug 18, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Until 2007, Colombians believed that female genital mutilation was a practice unique to some African countries. But last year we learned that it has long been practiced by one of Colombia's aboriginal groups.

Colombian High Court Rules Emergency Contraception Is Not Abortion

Aug 11, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

The Colombian High Court has just ruled in favor of a governmental health agency's right to distribute emergency contraception pills within in public health care system.

Fighting Maternal Mortality in Colombia

Jul 29, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Colombia's maternal mortality rate has decreased in recent years, due largely to increased prenatal care. But the country still needs to increase the number of births attended by skilled personnel.

A New National Plan Charts Colombia’s Course on HIV/AIDS

Jul 28, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

Colombia has made significant progress on fighting HIV/AIDS and ensuring access to treatment. But will a new national plan for HIV that addresses the growing numbers of infected women work?

Latin American Women Fight High Rates of Cervical Cancer

Jun 20, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

In Latin America and the Caribbean, 33,000 women die of cervical cancer each year. What is blocking universal access to testing and treatment?

What Do Colombians Consider A Good Sex Life?

Jun 16, 7:00am Angela Castellanos

A new poll of Colombians finds that many are satisfied with their sexual lives, but aren't keeping their sex lives safe.

When Getting Pregnant Isn’t About Being a Mother

May 13, 7:29am Angela Castellanos

In Colombia, young women may be getting pregnant intentionally -- but not necessarily because they want to become mothers. Sexuality education advocates differ on how best to tailor a pregnancy prevention and sexual health curriculum to reach Colombian teens.

Thousands Protest Chilean Court Decision Limiting EC Access

Apr 25, 8:54am Angela Castellanos

On April 4, the Constitutional Court of Chile banned the free distribution of emergency contraception. The reason: the Court claims this method is "abortive," despite unequivocal World Health Organization information to the contrary.