Weekly global roundup: United Nations report on global maternal health yields mixed results; South Asian teen girls still marrying at high rates; Zambia sees conflict over various articles on reproductive rights in new constitution draft; Indonesia continues to struggle with reproductive and sexual health as they face growing rates of HIV infection.
It is critical that the barriers facing women in relation to accessing supportive peri-natal services are fully understood and addressed including structural drivers such as poverty, gender-based violence from partners, in-laws and neighbours, and property and inheritance rights loss. If we do not address these issues, we can not "save the babies."
Last weekend I had a revelation. It was well into the second hour of an interminable dance recital and little boys were twirling little girls in mock romance while the audience cheered, and it hit me; when it comes to the sexualization of young girls, we are the problem. We are society. We are the ones who send our girls mixed messages.
Sexual Health Round-up: A renowned psychiatrist who is paradoxically responsible for both the biggest advance in gay rights and one of the studies most often used to deny these rights apologizes to the gay community; CDC recommends that everyone ages 47 to 67 be tested for Hep-C; and a new study warns that young men who abuse Viagra (and its cousins) are less satisfied with their sex lives.
