Archives > April 2006
NGOs to Campaign Against Pre-Marital HIV Testing
Navhind Times - Panjim, India, April 30, 2006
The Positive People and Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit (LCHAU) today said that they would soon organize a nationwide campaign against the decision of the state government to compulsorily test the couples before their marriage.
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Controversial 'Water' to Flow Into India
Ohmy News - South Korea, April 29, 2006
The third film of Indian director Deepa Mehta's "Elemental Trilogy" is set to hit the screen.
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Transsexual & Eunuch: An Indo-Philippine Theatre Collaboration
Minda News – Philippines, April 29, 2006
Actor’s Cult, a theatre company founded by graduates of India’s National School of Drama (NSD) and funded by Arts Network Asia (ANA) is a collaborative theatre workshop working on a play about a transsexual subject from the Philippines and a eunuch from India.
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Women in Developing World Less Likely to Reveal HIV Status: Study
Xinhua – China, April 26, 2006
A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that HIV-positive women in developing countries are less likely to reveal their status compared with their counterparts in industrialized world.
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Curbing Child Abuse
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta, India, April 26, 2006
A new Bill seeks to do away with the loopholes in the existin g laws on child abuse.
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I wish I Was...
Mid-Day Mumbai - Bombay, India, April 25, 2006
The documentary, Skin Deep, directed by Reena Mohan, scratches beyond the surface to go deep within the skin of six women plagued by an unsatisfactory self-image.
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Muslim Women Raise Veil Over Sex
Financial Express - Bombay, India, April 25, 2006
Women's Talk, inspired by American playwright Eve Ensler's hit The Vagina Monologues, is one of two plays recently shown in Beirut which openly and frankly tackle the issue of women's sexuality, a taboo in the largely conservative Middle East.
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It's Now or Never
Aliran Monthly - Penang, Malaysia, April 25, 2006
Women must get involved in the health financing debate as they are major care providers and recipients in the health care system.
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Still a Matter of Shame
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta, India, April 24, 2006
The new bill to protect children from sexual abuse does not address the issue of the sexual rights of a child.
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China Will Not Change Policy to Fix its Gender Imbalance
China Post - Taipei, Taiwan, April 24, 2006
China's male dominated gender imbalance will not prompt the government to change its stringent family planning policy, state press reported Sunday.
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Still a Matter of Shame
The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, April 24, 2006
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which has been used until now to prosecute cases of child sexual abuse, is thoroughly inadequate and makes no distinction between consensual and non-consensual sex. A separate legislation covering child sexual abuse is thus long overdue.
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Inquirer Mindanao: Marawi Ban on Vices Hailed, Hit
INQ7.net – Philippines, April 23, 2006
The banning by the Marawi city government of pornography, gambling and public display of homosexuality and liquor is gaining support, mostly from Muslim clerics. Homosexuals in the city were disgusted and vowed they would continue their struggle for ‘gay emancipation from the hands and eyes of the patriarchal, oppressive, and exploitative society’.
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Vatican Preparing Statement on Condoms and AIDS
Reuters India - Mumbai, India, April 23, 2006
The Vatican will soon publish a statement on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, an issue highlighted by a call from a leading cardinal to ease its ban on them, a Catholic Church official said.
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Health Care Providers in Kansas Need Not Report Teen Sex: Court
Xinhua – China, April 21, 2006
A federal judge in Kansas ruled Tuesday that health care providers in Kansas need not report sexual activity by teenagers to authorities.
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Testing Times Ahead
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, April 21, 2006
The proposal to make HIV tests compulsory before marriage by the Goa Government gathers mixed reactions.
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China Slow to Awake to Need for Sex Education
Reuters AlertNet - London, UK, April 21, 2006
’China needs to work on the widespread misunderstanding of sex, the lack of teaching materials and on the negative approach to youngsters involved in sexual activity’, said Song.
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Honor Killings: Murder in the Name of Tradition
The Media Line - New York, USA, April 20, 2006
Honor killings are sometimes carried out discreetly, with women being murdered and buried without the knowledge of authorities. The killers are often the victims' closest relatives, acting in defiance of Islamic values and human rights for the sake of a dubious tradition.
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Sex Like Wine Gets Better With Age, Says Study
Food Consumer - IL, USA, April 20, 2006
The findings of an international study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago appears in the April issue of the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
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Reproductive Health Campaign Makes a Difference in Chu Mo
Viet Nam News - Hanoi, Vietnam, April 20, 2006
Chu Mo Commune in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai was once known as a poor, backward area, but that was before a new reproductive health campaign helped women take control of their destiny.
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National Conference on HIV, AIDS Research to Begin Tomorrow
NewKerala.com - Kerala, India, April 20, 2006
A three day long National Conference on Research in HIV and AIDS would begin in New Delhi on Friday. This national event would provide a forum for sharing innovative ideas and to discuss various aspects of research in HIV&AIDS.
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Court Told Dictionary Should Not Determine Gender
INQ7.net – Philippines, April 19, 2006
The definition in the dictionary is incomplete and traditional as it limits gender to whether or not a person can give birth. The sexuality of a person must be viewed in terms of his or her psychological and emotional manifestations and in light of the progress brought about by science and technology.
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Condemn Sexual Discrimination and Homophobia.
Minda News - Davao City, Philippines, April 18, 2006
ProGay-Philippines Cotabato City Chapter strongly condemns the continuing discrimination of homosexuals in the country.
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'Alternate Sexuality' Unplugged
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, April 18, 2006
The series, 'The Alternate Sexuality' that spotlights issues concerning the GTBL (gay, transgender, bisexual and lesbian) communities has been launched last weekend on CNN IBN.
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Media Guidance About Health and Sexuality
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills, USA, April 17, 2006
Mass media can serve to disseminate information about sexuality, health, and other aspects of well-being to a variety of audiences, including adolescents and young adults.
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Recognise the Evil and Confront It
The Hindu - Chennai, India, April 14, 2006
A sample study by a Chennai-based NGO called Tulir-Centre for the Prevention And Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, has shown that 42 per cent of children between the ages of 14 and 16 have faced sexual abuse in some form. The study on the prevalence of child sexual abuse, shows that boys and girls are equally vulnerable.
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The Bar Girl Story: Dance, Dishonour or Death
Times of India – India, April 14, 2006
The two-judge division bench of the Bombay High Court quashed the Maharashtra government's law banning dance bars on grounds of discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
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Canadian Tories Threaten Same-sex Marriage
San Francisco Bay Times - San Francisco, USA, April 13, 2006
Canada’s ruling Conservative Party will follow through on a campaign pledge to revisit the nation’s legalization of same-sex marriage.
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Abstinence-Only Only Gets Worse
Choice! Magazine - New York, USA, April 13, 2006
From its inception, the abstinence-only education initiative has promoted a biased moralistic agenda instead of a public health agenda.
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Brokeback Inspires New Cantonese Slang
Dallas Voice – Dallas, USA, April 13, 2006
The gay love story “Brokeback Mountain” has spawned a new slang term in Hong Kong to describe same-sex relationships like the one depicted in the Oscar-winning film by Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee.
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Brokeback Need Not Be Brokeforward
Richmond Out in the Mountains - Richmond, USA
Healthy sexuality involves our attitudes, values, feelings and beliefs about sexual identity, attractions and behaviors. At all ages healthy sexuality includes our natural feelings about pleasure and desire. Healthy sexuality leads to a positive sense of self, appreciation of others, good communication, and successful platonic and romantic relationships.
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Transgendered Among Us
Minnesota Women's Press - St. Paul, USA, April 12, 2006
Transgender is often used as an umbrella term, encompassing crossdressers, transsexuals, intersexed people and others. Their struggle for acceptance challenges mainstream ideas of gender, identity and even feminism.
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Gay Pride Week About Tolerance
The Daily Athenaeum Interactive - Morgantown,USA, April 12, 2006
Gay Pride Week isn't just about celebrating homosexuality, it's about encouraging tolerance for all gender identities and sexual orientations.
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Second-Class Citizens No More
Southern Voice - Atlanta, USA, April 12, 2006
All around the world, gays are being attacked and killed in the name of religion and culture. It’s time to end the barbarism. In Nepal, Human Rights Watch reports that a "sexual cleansing" drive is under way in Kathmandu with mass arrests being made of gay and transgender people.
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International Day Against Homophobia 2006 Sees Successful Launch
Out in America - Columbus, USA
The official launch of the UK's International Day Against Homophobia campaign kicked off last Friday evening, where over a hundred LGBT campaigners congregated to listen to speeches by MPs and activists.
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Government Shelves Sex Education Plan
Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan, April 11, 2006
The Punjab government has shelved its plan to start sex education and reproductive health classes at the school and college level for fear of a backlash by clerics.
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Sexual Misinformation
Raw Story - Cambridge, USA, April 11, 2006
How much more evidence do we need before everyone has to admit that abstinence-only sexual education and disease prevention programs don't work?
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Notices on Legal Sanctity to Homosexuality
The Hindu - Chennai, India, April 7, 2006
The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the National AIDS Control Organisation and the Delhi Government on a public interest litigation seeking legal sanction to homosexuality through repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) whereby the practice of unnatural sex has been made a criminal offence and punishable with imprisonment up to ten years.
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A Third-Gender Passage to India
Bay Area Reporter - San Francisco, USA, April 6, 2006
Playwright Ash Kotak portrays the quintessential outsiders through his play by the name ‘Hijra’ exploring issues of homosexuality
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Sex Workers Show the Red Light to Politicians
The Hindu - Chennai, India, April 6, 2006
Across West Bengal, 75,000 sex workers are boycotting the polls in protest against official apathy. Their protests are directed at the proposed move by the Centre to introduce further amendments to the Act as stated in a draft Bill being framed by the Department of Women and Child Development.
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Sex Campaign for Elderly
Australian - Sydney, Australia, April 5, 2006
The silence surrounding sex, intimacy and ageing means many sexual health issues, including safe sex, are not included in the health care for older people.
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Sexual Equality Lags Behind in Social Progress
Shanghai Daily - Shanghai, China, April 3, 2006
While gender equality is now widely emphasized, people have yet to acknowledge the concept of sexuality equality.
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Section 377 Case is Back in the High Court
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, April 3, 2006
The petition, filed in 2001 by Naz Foundation, was thrown out of the High Court two years later, on the grounds that Naz had no locus standi to file it. Following an appeal, the Supreme Court directed the High Court to hear the case again, which will begin today.
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In the Name of Preventing AIDS, PIL Seeks Quash of Sec 377 IPC
NewKerala.com - Kerala, India, April 3, 2006
The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the National Aids Control Organisation, Delhi Government and others on a PIL filed by an NGO seeking quashing of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which prohibited sexual relationship between two consenting adults belonging to the same sex.
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Ang Hero, Movie Villain in China
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta, India, April 3, 2006
Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee is widely seen as a national treasure in China, but that hasn’t stopped censors here from banning Brokeback Mountain, his latest Oscar-winning film about two gay cowboys.
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Delhi High Court Notice to Government On Legalising Homosexuality
Indlaw.com - New Delhi, India, April 3, 2006
The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the Government and others on the petition referred to it by the Supreme Court on the controversial issue of physical relationship between two persons of same sex. The Supreme Court had directed the High Court for the constitutional review of the law on homosexuality rights.
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Benchmark Study on CSWs Released
KanglaOnline - Manipur, India, April 1, 2006
A report entitled ‘Assessment of Situation and Response on CSWs in Manipur’, 2005 compiled by Population Health Institute, Imphal with the support of Catholic Relief Services was released today at the Conference Hall of Department of Anthropology, Manipur University.
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Rally Held to Demand Repeal of Section 377
NDTV.com - New Delhi, India, April 1, 2006
Representatives of sexual minorities gathered in Bangalore to call for the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, an Act which makes homosexuality illegal.
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