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janegelb

Abortion rights gain ground in Latin America | csmonitor.com - 0 views

www.csmonitor.com/...p01s03-woam.html

Mexico abortion Catholic Church women's rights social justice

shared by janegelb on 09 Sep 09 - Cached
  • janegelb on 09 Sep 09
     
    Legalizing abortion has been a slow process in Latin America. Only a handful of countries, including Cuba and Guyana, have legalized abortions in the first trimester. In 2007, when this article was written, there was a legal debate deciding whether or not to legalize abortion in Mexico. The Roman Catholic Church is adamantly opposed to legalizing abortion, and studies found that people in rural areas were antiabortion. Thousands of women die in Latin America from unsafe and illegal abortions, and it is apparent that the illegality of abortion does not reduce the number of women getting them.
janegelb

Critics warn Mexico City over prostitution proposal - 0 views

uk.reuters.com/...idUKN2219773120070622

prostitution government policy sexual intercourse poverty women's rights

shared by janegelb on 16 Sep 09 - Cached
  • janegelb on 16 Sep 09
     
    In 2007, Mexico City proposed legalizing prostitution. Many believe if prostitution were legal, it would cause even more women and children to be forced to be sex slaves and prostitutes. Prostitution is already a dangerous and too common practice in Mexico City. As discussed in the article, legalizing it would be no means remedy the situation, it would most likely worsen it.
Sam Obstfeld

Uruguay Lawmakers OK Gay Adoption - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...P-LT-Uruguay-Gay-Adoption.html

homosexuals roman catholic church adoption Uruguay legal

shared by Sam Obstfeld on 07 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Sam Obstfeld on 07 Sep 09
     
    According to this article, on August 27, 2009, lawmakers in Uruguay voted to legalize to allow homosexual couples to adopt. This makes Uruguay the first Latin American country to do so. The Roman Catholic Church in Uruguay opposed the bill, but it was passed 40-13 in favor. Uruguay has also legalized homosexual civil unions and has ended a ban on homosexuals in the armed forces.
Jackie Moran

Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean / Issues and Analysis / Issues and Analysis... - 0 views

www.awid.org/...atin-America-and-the-Caribbean

abortion reproduction religion gender women's rights

shared by Jackie Moran on 16 Sep 09 - Cached
    • Jackie Moran
      Jackie Moran on 16 Sep 09
       
      This article relates to our course because it discusses the issue of abortion in Latin America, and how the region has some of the most restrictive laws concerning the topic in the world. Many women's organizations are fighting to pass laws that will enable them to the right to safe and legal abortion
  • Jackie Moran on 16 Sep 09
     
    This article discusses how Latin America has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, and how women's organizations continue to fight for the right to safe and legal abortion. It is believed that to a certain extent, religion has influenced the criminalization of abortion. However, the women's movement in the region has made progress towards attaining the right to legal abortion.
Sophie Bergelson

Mexico City Struggles With Law on Abortion - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...25mexico.html

abortion government policy women's rights religion poverty healthcare

shared by Sophie Bergelson on 15 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Sophie Bergelson on 15 Sep 09
     
    This article is from 2008, one year after Mexico City legalized abortions. It talks about the continuing difficulties for poor women to receive safe abortions, even though they had been legalized. Women complained about long lines at understaffed public clinics, hostile treatment from hospital workers who opposed abortion, and unfair bureaucratic hurdles which made it difficult or impossible for them to get the procedure done. At the time this article was written, the abortion law was being challenged in the Supreme Court by the conservative government.
Morgan Somer

Women's eNews - Illegal Abortions Rampant in Latin America - 0 views

www.womensenews.org/...archive

abortion reproductive fertility contraception sexuality

shared by Morgan Somer on 15 Sep 09 - Cached
    • thomas hatley
      thomas hatley on 15 Sep 09
       
      Written by a feminist news group called Women's E-News, this article highlights widespread illegal abortion throughout Latin America, particularly in Chile and Peru. Although based around women, the article talks about the limits on access to contraception in Latin America, and the fears surrounding contraception circulating through the modern Latin American man.
  • ervention. Public health advocates cite the study as proof that abortion rates can be lowered through improved availability, delivery and quality of contraception and the establishment of post-a
  • thomas hatley on 15 Sep 09
     
    This article-out of a feminist news group called Women's E-News-highlights widespread illegal abortion throughout Latin America, particularly in Chile and Peru. Although based around women, the article talks about the limits on access to contraception in Latin America, and the fears surrounding contraception circulating through the modern Latin American man.
  • Jordan Costello on 16 Sep 09
     
    This artical talks about abortions and where it is prohibited and allowed. It talks about women and how abortions in latin america are considered immoral and looked down upon, which in turn leads women to getting abortions illagaly.
  • Morgan Somer on 16 Sep 09
     
    In Latin America five thousand women die from underground abortions every year. The article explains that women who consider having an abortion could end up being convicted since it is illegal and shunned upon. Despite these legal risks Latin America continues to experience abortion rates that are much higher than the majority of countries where it is legal.
Morgan Somer

BBC NEWS | Health | Mexico prison tackles HIV ignorance - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7548922.stm

abortion reproductive fertility contraception sexuality

shared by Morgan Somer on 16 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Morgan Somer on 16 Sep 09
     
    In Latin America five thousand women die from underground abortions every year. The article explains that women who consider having abortion could end up being convicted since it is illegal and shunned upon. Despite these legal risks Latin America continues to experience abortion rates that are much higher than the majority of countries where it is legal.
Sophie Bergelson

Southern Mexico Works to Improve Women's Rights - 0 views

www.voanews.com/...2009-06-10-voa10.cfm

Mexico women's rights domestic violence indigenous employment

shared by Sophie Bergelson on 08 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Sophie Bergelson on 08 Sep 09
     
    This article talks about several groups that work to improve the rights of indigenous women in southern Mexico. Their efforts include informing women of their legal rights, giving them job training and help finding a job, and providing them with shelter if they want to leave their homes because of domestic violence.
Jackie Moran

LATIN AMERICA: Everyone Pays for Domestic Violence - IPS ipsnews.net - 0 views

ipsnews.net/news.asp

Domestic violence abuse victim costs impacts

shared by Jackie Moran on 05 Sep 09 - No Cached
    • Jackie Moran
      Jackie Moran on 15 Sep 09
       
      This article relates to our course because it addresses the issue of domestic violence in Latin America. Many women and organizations want to publicize domestic violence more in order to show that everyone, not just the victims, are affected by it.
  • Jackie Moran on 05 Sep 09
     
    This article addresses the impacts of domestic violence in Latin America. Is is estimated that between 30 and 45 percent of women in the region suffer from some form of physical, sexual of psychological abuse. Latin American women want domestic violence to become more visible to the public to show that everyone pays for it. Due to the efforts of women organizations, domestic abuse victims can now receive free psychological and legal assistance, along with have access to help-lines and shelters.
Jackie Moran

Masculinidad y Paternidad Responsable - 0 views

www.americalatinagenera.org/...index.php

paternidad responsibilidad reconocimiento legal respeto identidad masculina

shared by Jackie Moran on 05 Sep 09 - Cached
    • Jackie Moran
      Jackie Moran on 15 Sep 09
       
      Este artículo relaciona a nuestro curso porque discute el concepto de la paternidad, y cómo es el trabajo del hombre de ser responsable de reclamar a sus niños. En Iberoamérica, hay natalidades altas sin reconocimiento legal por el padre, y esto crean los problemas para los derechos del niño.
claude adjil

Abortion Rights in Latin America - New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...06fri3.html

Abortion Contraception Gender Roles Sexual Education Women's Rights

shared by claude adjil on 16 Sep 09 - Cached
  • liz solomon on 16 Sep 09
     
    In most of Latin America, abortions are a crime, but this does not decrease the amount of abortions that are performed. Criminalizing abortion has become increasingly dangerous, especially in an area where there is little sex education and women are kept from using contraception. Up to 5,000 women die each year and thousands are hospitalized.
  • claude adjil on 16 Sep 09
     
    In most of the region of Latin America abortions are a crime, but criminalizing abortion doesn't decrease abortion rates and only endangers the lives of women. The abortion rate is far higher than in Western Europe or the United States. In Columbia, abortions are illegal even if a woman's life is in jeopardy. There is little sex education and social taboos keep unmarried women from exploring the options of contraception. Up to 5,000 women die each year from abortions in Latin America, and thousands more are hospitalized. In Cuba, however, abortion is legal on request. Latin Americans are looking at abortion as an issue of maternal mortality.
Arabica Robusta

The Chevron Pit: After 18 Years Of Waiting, Justice Is Served! - 0 views

thechevronpit.blogspot.com/...ars-of-waiting-justice-is.html

chevron petroleum development oil extractive industry international transparency bowoto ecuador

shared by Arabica Robusta on 20 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Few legal experts expected the case to get this far. The plaintiffs first sued Texaco in New York in 1993. Texaco, and later Chevron, successfully argued that the case should instead be heard in Ecuador, which was then run by a government seen as friendly to American business interests.
    • Arabica Robusta
      Arabica Robusta on 20 Feb 11
       
      "Few legal experts expected case to get this far [because of business-friendly government]."  However, in the next paragraph, Chevron accuses Correa government of "interference."  Clearly, Chevron and allies consider interference to only mean situations where government is against Chevron interests (even when government supports interests of its own people).
liz solomon

Drug Trade, Violent Gangs Pose Grave Danger - Committee to Protect Journalists - 1 views

cpj.org/...olence-press-latin-america.php

Men Violence Gangs Crime Urban

shared by liz solomon on 05 Oct 09 - Cached
  • liz solomon on 05 Oct 09
     
    Criminal Organizations in Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, El Salvador, and Guatemala have increased their power over the last decade, weakening political stability and democracy of Latin America. Surprisingly, the journalists who cover the crimes are their targets. the number of killings, attacks, and disappearances have increased causing the government to become unable to assure safety from the paramilitary gangsters in Brazil, guerillas in Colombia, and street gangs in El Salvador and Guatemala. As revenge, journalists are taking on self-censorship. Although the crime rate has decreased, the fight against crime requires domestic and international support. Better legal structure and diminishing criminal groups will help create independent media outlets.
Laura Donovan

Domestic Violence: An Ongoing Threat to Women in Latin America and the Caribbean - Popu... - 0 views

www.prb.org/...tinAmericaandtheCaribbean.aspx

(Domestic Violence) Crime (Women's Rights) Gender Silance

shared by Laura Donovan on 03 Sep 09 - Cached
  • Jessie Davidson on 03 Sep 09
     
    To date, nearly 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region have enacted laws against domestic violence or have characterized the violence as a crime. Despite these laws, many women in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be failed by the legal system. (October 2001)
  • Laura Donovan on 16 Sep 09
     
    This is an article discussing the lack of protection for women against acts of domestic violence in Latin America. The article addresses the difficulty for women to report these crimes due to lack of rights and enforcement of the laws.
Arabica Robusta

Alex Main, "Will New Report Pave the Way for Honduras' Reincorporation into the OAS?" - 0 views

mrzine.monthlyreview.org/...main030810.html

honduras coup instability democracy zelaya mrzine

shared by Arabica Robusta on 08 Aug 10 - Cached
  • The diverging positions of the commissioners are reflected in the text of the report.  On the one hand, several passages in the "Background" section suggest that President Porfirio Lobo, elected in controversial elections held under the coup regime late last year, has made significant efforts to repair the damage done by the coup with measures such as the creation of a so-called "Unity Government" and the Creation of a Truth Commission made up of "national and international personalities of prestige and proven track record," according to the authors.  This section of the report also highlights the Honduran Congress' decision to review an alleged case of corruption perpetrated under the coup regime of Roberto Micheletti and appears to belittle the widespread accusations of ongoing human rights violations and repression of the opposition (it states that "some sectors insist" that the violations are still occurring despite the fact that major human rights organizations, including the OAS' own Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, express the same concern in recent reports).
  • However, the final "Conclusions and Recommendations" section of the report is less favorable to the Lobo government.  In contrast with the "background" section, it explicitly recognizes the gravity of the human rights situation with a call for the "cessation of impunity for human rights violations" and the "adoption of measures to put an end to threats and harassments against human rights defenders, journalists . . . and members of the National Popular Resistance Front" (NPRF) as well as "measures issued to protect the lives and bodily integrity of numerous persons who are at risk."  Perhaps most significantly, it questions the Lobo government's justifications for maintaining some of the criminal charges against President Zelaya -- and thereby preventing him from returning without the risk of immediate prosecution -- and states that "the Commission considers it useful to put an end, in accordance with Honduran law, to the legal actions initiated against" the former president and his associates.
  • The NPRF may have the satisfaction of at last being recognized by the OAS as a significant Honduran actor -- indeed it is the first time that references to the group appear in an OAS document -- but the report makes no mention of its long-standing demand for a referendum on whether to convoke a constitutional assembly; nor does it take into account its demand for representation within the Truth Commission, whose Honduran members are all associated with Lobo's National Party.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  •  In all likelihood -- and despite the best efforts of Insulza and the State Department -- Honduras will not be readmitted any time soon to the hemispheric organization.  South America's refusal to bend to Washington's will is a distinct sign of the times and will hopefully serve as a lesson to any coup plotters in the region: that military coups can no longer be as easily whitewashed and forgotten as was so frequently the case in the 20th century.
Shannon Coco

The Tupamaro Gang of Venezuela - 0 views

www.ngcrc.com/tupaprof.htm

violence substance abuse gangs urban venezuela

shared by Shannon Coco on 04 Oct 09 - Cached
  • emerge officially in 1992.
  • But in 1992, Chavez was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Venezuelan Army and he tried, unsuccessfully, to take over the government in a failed coup d’ etat. When the coup failed, Chavez went to prison for two years. While doing time, he met the Tupas. Chavez needed the protection that the Tupa gang could offer, and the Tupas needed the resources and opportunities that Chavez could offer. They have worked well together ever since then in a quid pro quo relationship. Chavez was released from prison on March 26, 1994 and went on to be elected as president four years later (1998).
  •       It is a curious identity that we find in the Tupamaro street gang. On the one hand it identifies most specifically with being a guerilla warfare organization, dedicated to fighting the powers that be and seeking to implement its own type of revolution. On the other hand, it functions as a kind of armed paramilitary group that fervently defends and supports the controversial president of Venezuela — Hugo Chavez.
  • ...14 more annotations...
    • Shannon Coco
      Shannon Coco on 04 Oct 09
       
      this is important to note! while the Tupas are a gang, they also have an important role to play with the government.
  •  The contradiction here is that the identity of freedom fighter or urban guerilla organization is typically “at odds with” or antagonistic to the status quo. Here, in the case of the Tupamaros street gang of Venezuela, we find they have laid claim to the cloak of freedom fighter, but apparently with a new twist: they do not want a new revolution, they like who they have now — Chavez.
  •    The portion of their identity that is “guerilla fighter” is reserved for fighting against police, judges, and others who they need to intimidate. And, as will be shown, this is a gang totally capable of some well-organized, military scale violence.
  •   One of the long standing “identifiers” of the Tupa gang is that they have historically worn a “hood” to hide their face and conceal their identity. These “hoods” are nothing more than dark, black or brown or blue in color, knit face masks that also roll up as a “hat”. They were a part of the Tupa uniform though from their beginning all the way up until recently. A Tupa will today have one in their possessions, they just may not use it as much.
  •             While traffic stood at a standstill, the Tupamaros on motorcycles began their assault — couching it as a “democratic protest”. Highly trained in such urban protest-assault tactics, typically one member acts as a news media representative, videotaping the scene in case they are able to provoke American drivers into over-reacting. In unison, some of the others begin shouting pre-arranged “chants” and protest slogans, some wield banners, but almost all begin launching stones, bricks, eggs, tomatoes, whatever they can muster at the Ambassador’s car.         Although alarming, such actions are typical of a low intensity conflict designed to send a message to the U.S. officials. The Tupas could have just as easily opened fire with armor piecing ammunition using fully automatic weapons. But they did not. Rather, they repeatedly, over time, waged these kind of street protest attacks against the embassy officials.
    • Shannon Coco
      Shannon Coco on 04 Oct 09
       
      staged reaction to the U.S. Ambassador shows that they know how to create a riot in a way that helps them the most. they ensure the right conditions and are able to use the event in their favor
  • The Tupamaros street gang regularly gets away with murder and more.
  • Some people join the gang for the financial or econonic benefits: they are almost guaranteed a job of some kind, today often a government subsidized job. If they personally or have a family member that resides in the “el 23" barrio, then they can live “rent free”. Everyone in “el 23" is a squatter, but the Tupas gang will extort rent payments for anyone living there who is not in alliance to their gang.
  • They feel a need to stand out, to escalate, to take things to extremes, they are fanatical in certain regards. A common method of execution used by the Tupas is to simply hang the victim. The Tupas are known to be armed, have access to military grade weapons, and they make firearms available free to youthful members of the gang.
  • a militaristic sense of entitlement.
  • if a local program was offering assistance to the needy and poor, Tupa members would be first in line seeking any additional handout they can get.
  • The Carapaica gang exists separately and apart from the Tupas. It also identifies itself as an armed leftist guerrilla organization. It functions similarly outside of the law, as a vigilante organization.
  •   The Tupamaro gang leaders are accumulating significant wealth and they function like a local ghetto group who collects “tribute” for King Chavez. Extorting goods, service, and street taxes or protection money is a main ongoing source of income for the Tupamaro gang
  • it illustrates a type of gang organization that has made a transition into state-sponsorship. For gang specialist police officers it is the ultimate example of a gang gone wild: a gang that specializes in extra-legal vigilante-style violence develops over time into a gang subsidized and directed by the government — indeed, major leaders in the Tupa gang today hold positions of enormous “police power” in Venezuela. And as stated, the primary sponsor of the Tupas is Hugo Chavez, the controversial president of Venezuela.
Tvon Scott

BBC NEWS | Americas | Call for Guatemala war justice - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...7908859.stm

Civil war Amnesty Human Rights Justice Legal Duty

shared by Tvon Scott on 18 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Tvon Scott on 18 Nov 09
     
    Guatemalan authorities work towards moving Guatemala away from its dark past. They want to ensure that people who are found guilty of having anything to do with the persecution of many indigenous people during the civil war are punished in some way.
Courtney Connors

To Fight Femicide in Guatemala, New Law, But Same Culture (SB#4) - 0 views

www.rhrealitycheck.org/...emala-new-law-but-same-culture

Femicide Feminism Machismo Violence War Corruption

shared by Courtney Connors on 18 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Women are being tortured, raped and murdered on a regular basis, with total or almost total impunity, regardless of numerous and unanimous claims for justice from the civil society and even from the international community
    • Courtney Connors
      Courtney Connors on 18 Nov 09
       
      It is going to take more than "urging the Guatemalan Government" to make effective changes for them to actually occur. International sanctions for war crimes against human rights must take place.
  • gone unpunished mainly because of negligence and the lack of effective investigation and prevention strategies of the Guatemalan authorities.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Guatemalan
  • The CEDAW Committee and the European Parliament have both urged the Guatemalan government to take all necessary steps to effectively combat violence against women, ensuring full respect for human rights
  • April 9, 2008 the Guatemalan Congress passed the Law against Femicide and other Forms of Violence against Women (Decree 22-2008), that aims to severely punish any kind of gender-based violence, guaranteeing the life, freedom, integrity, dignity and equality of all women, in the private or public sphere, promoting and implementing strategies to prevent and eradicate femicide and any kind of physical, psychological, sexual or economic violence against women.   
  • Decree literally recognizes that the violence and discrimination against women in the country has flourished because of the "power inequality between men and women in the social, economic, legal, political, cultural and family spheres." 
  • The Law typifies femicide as a crime and defines it as the murder of a woman committed because of her gender within a context of unequal exercise of power; it imposes punishments that range from 25 to 50 years imprisonment.
  • "forced prostitution and denying [a woman] the right to use contraceptive methods, whether natural or hormonal, or taking measures to prevent sexually transmitted infections" are considered sexual violence crimes. 
  • 25% of women consider their partner's disapproval as a reason for not using a family planning method. 
  • the dominant 'macho culture' in Guatemala will make it difficult to implement the law."
  • Courtney Connors on 18 Nov 09
     
    Although the previously bookmarked article seeks to establish an outline of the human or women rights violations that occur within Guatemala, here, author Karim Velasco, sheds light upon newly distinguished laws and explains despite their hopeful goals, why they have ceased to work effectively. She argues that because of the "lack of effective investigation and prevention strategies of the Guatemalan authorities", women continue to be raped, tortured, and murdered at an increasing rate. Because of pressures from the European Parliament to abide by human rights laws, "on April 9, 2008, Guatemalan Congressed passed the 'Law Against Femicide and other Forms of Violence against Women Act' to severely punish any kind of gender-based violence..." However, because the violence stems from the power inequality between men and women in the first place, there is little belief or evidence that this Act will be implemented or strongly enforced by the men in power who seek to represent masculinity or display a constant idea of machismo.
claude adjil

Argentina Gay Couple Granted Marriage License - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...17argentina.html

Social Rights Argentina Gender Relations Marriage Laws Masculinity

shared by claude adjil on 18 Nov 09 - Cached
  • claude adjil on 18 Nov 09
     
    On Monday in Buenos Aires, Argentina two men were bestowed a marriage license and are planning on what appears to be the first legal homosexual wedding in Latin America. The couple obtained the authority to marry last week when a judge declared that a prohibition on same-sex marriage violated Argentina's Constitution. Mauricio Marci, mayor of Buenos Aires revealed that the city would not appeal the court order, thus prompting other homosexual couples to address their rights in court. However, the mayor did not appear to be an enthusiastic advocate for the endorsement of same sex marriage license as he said, " We have to live with and accept this reality: the world is moving in this direction." No other country in Latin America permits same-sex marriage, although some jurisdictions warrant same-sex partners to configure civil unions with many similar rights.
Aria Auerbach

Argentine Gay Couple Granted Marriage License - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...17argentina.html

Marriage Laws Constitutional Principles Unification Gender Relations Masculinity

shared by Aria Auerbach on 17 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Aria Auerbach on 17 Nov 09
     
    This article discusses the marriage of a homosexual couple in Beunos Aires. On December 1st, a man will legally marry a man, for the first time in Latin American history. This article is especially important because it demonstrates a sense of social and political progress throughout Latin America.
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