Archives > August 2007
Proposed ITPA Amendment Draws Flak
Times of India - India, August 31, 2007
A radical change to a 50-year-old law - the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 - has been touted as decriminalising prostitution by treating sex workers as victims rather than offenders.
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Shanghai Orders Landlords not to Rent to Gay Couples
365Gay.com - USA, August 29, 2007
The city government of Shanghai is reportedly preparing new regulations barring landlords from renting rooms to same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples.
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Chinese Police Launch Web Patrols
365Gay.com - USA, August 28, 2007
Police in China's capital said Tuesday they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.
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Wanted: Lots of Women
Times of India - India, August 27, 2007
Sex ratios in the neighbourhood of 800 for Haryana and Punjab imply that there are only four women available for every five men. Put simply, this means that one of every five men will not have a local girl to marry.
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Paving the Way for their Future
Sunday Times.lk - Columbo, Sri Lanka, August 26, 2007
Taking youth participation beyond the rhetoric and slogans, the young delegates from around the Asia-Pacific region voiced their opinions at the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (8th ICAAP) in Colombo.
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Indonesia Film Festival Takes Gay Issues Out of Closet
Reuters - USA, August 26, 2007
Indonesia's gay film festival faced violent opposition in its early years. Members of a hardline Islamic group tried to storm theatres to stop screenings, but as the festival enters its sixth year, organizer John Badalu has no such fears.
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Chinese Sex Report Says Youngsters in Dire Need of Sex Education
DailyIndia.com - Jacksonville, FL, USA, August 25, 2007
By and large, young people in Chinalack adequate sex education and guidance from teachers or parents, the 2007 Guangdong Sex Report issued earlier this week says.
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Chinese Sex Report Says Youngsters in Dire Need of Sex Education
DailyIndia.com - Jacksonville, FL, USA, August 25, 2007
By and large, young people in Chinalack adequate sex education and guidance from teachers or parents, the 2007 Guangdong Sex Report issued earlier this week says.
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Prioritizing Male Sexual Health in Asia Pacific
SpiritIndia - New Delhi, India, August 25, 2007
A groundbreaking coalition aiming to build, strengthen, and increase interventions addressing HIV related vulnerabilities of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Asia and Pacific region was launched at the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and Pacific.
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Youngsters Lack Sex Education
China Daily - China, August 25, 2007
Young people in South China's Guangdong Province are increasingly open-minded about sex, but lack adequate sex education and guidance from teachers or parents. According to the 2007 Guangdong Sex report, more than 90 percent of the 504 high-school students surveyed claimed they consulted peers or read books when they encountered problems or questions about sex.
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China Mulls Ban on Sex-Selection Abortion
China Daily - China, August 25, 2007
A regulation is expected to be made to ban sex-selection abortion in China against the increasingly larger gender imbalance, according to the State Council.
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Poll: Women Not Fully Aware of Contraception
China Daily - China, August 24, 2007
Despite being increasingly open-minded about sex, Hong Kong women are still not fully informed about contraception, according to the results of a survey by the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
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Lesbians not Immune to STD Risk
China Daily - China, August 23, 2007
Sixty percent of the respondents in a recent survey about sexual health among lesbians said they never practice safe sex, compared with 13 percent of those who said they do. The recent survey by the Women's Coalition Hong Kong (WCHK), has revealed a lack of awareness of sexual health among local lesbians.
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Sex Education Runs into Trouble
BBC News - UK, August 22, 2007
The Indian government's recent attempt to introduce sex education for school children has provoked a vigorous debate. In the second of two articles, the BBC's Jyotsna Singh considers the case against a more open discussion of sex in schools.
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Changing HIV/AIDS Trends in China
BBC News - UK, August 22, 2007
Unsafe sex has, for the first time, become the main means of transmission of HIV/Aids in China, overtaking injecting drug use. The BBC's Jill McGivering looks at some of the issues this will raise.
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Nepal Women Strip to Protest Prostitution Tradition
Reuters India - Mumbai, India, August 22, 2007
Nepali police detained 13 women on Wednesday for stripping to their undergarments to protest against a widespread practice of forcing girls from their community into prostitution.
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Consequences of Smoking on Reproductive Health
The Daily Star - Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug 22, 2007
There are no systems of human body spared from the pronged harmful effects of smoking - heart, lungs, brain, blood vessels and what not. But very few of us know about the harmful effect of smoking on our sexual and reproductive health.
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Systemic ills - New HIV Estimates in India
Frontline - India, Aug. 11-24, 2007
It was a revelation of sorts when, on July 6, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss, along with experts from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and the UNAIDS, declared that India now had fewer than half the number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases estimated earlier. The latest figures show that 2.5 million people were infected with the virus; two earlier estimates put the number at 5.2 million and 5.7 million.
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Imparting Sex-Education in Schools
Nagaland Post - India, Aug 21, 2007
Imparting Sex-education in the schools of India is a highly complicated and delicate subject. Some scholars and educationists are of the opinion that it should be introduced in the syllabi or curriculum of the schools. Some educationists are quite against it. So, it has become a subject of debate.
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Sex Education in Schools
Press Information Bureau - New Delhi, India, August 21, 2007
The Ministry of Human Resource Development, in collaboration with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has launched an educational programme, known as Adolescence Education Programme (AEP) for implementation by States and Union Territories in secondary and higher secondary school.
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On Safe Sex, Men Far Ahead: Survey
Times of India - India, August 21, 2007
The survey, titled 'Youth in India: Situation and Needs Study 2006/07', shows that only 33% unmarried women know they can get pregnant with their first sexual encounter, as compared to 46.2% men. Again, only 55.4% unmarried women, as against about 95% men, have heard about condoms.
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Memorial Hall For Comfort Women to Be Built
The Korea Times - Seoul, Aug 20, 2007
A memorial hall for comfort women, who were forced to serve for the Japanese army as a sexual slaves during World War II, will be built in the Independence Hall in Cheonan, North Chungcheong Province.
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Law Banning Child Pornography Drafted
INQ7.net - Philippines, August 20, 2007
Child rights advocates have drafted the first law banning child pornography from the Philippines, which was inspired by the 10-year-old child protection laws of predominantly Catholic Ireland.
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Sex is Prime Cause of China's HIV
BBC News - UK, August 20, 2007
China's state media says unsafe sex has, for the first time, become the main means of transmission of HIV/Aids, overtaking intravenous drug use.
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Sex Education at Centre of Kerala Row
Gulf News - Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Aug 19, 2007
The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM)-led Left Democratic Front government's proposal on new learning material vis-a-vis sex education in schools in Kerala has yet again brought the Catholic church and the government to a head.
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Lankan Biz Coalition to Tackle HIV/AIDS
Sunday Times.lk - Columbo, Sri Lanka, Aug 19, 2007
Twenty-one businesses have pledged to discuss Sri Lanka's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and create the Sri Lanka Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
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HIV/AIDS-Affected Women Take Woes Before “Court”
Sunday Times.lk - Columbo, Sri Lanka, Aug 19, 2007
Twenty women infected with HIV, who were accused, abused and expelled from their marital homes narrated their tales of woe when they appeared before the First Asia Pacific Court for Women on HIV and inheritance and property rights. The ‘court’ came into session at the BMICH yesterday as part of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).
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Is Segregation the Only Answer?
Deccan Herald - Bangalore, India, Aug 18, 2007
For some women, single-sex areas can be a way to expand movement in public spaces, rather than limit it. A women-only taxi service in Tehran, for example, has been touted as giving women more travel options, while, around the globe, women-only gyms provide a welcome space for religious women who wouldn't otherwise be able to work out.
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Let’s Not Do It
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta, India, Aug 18, 2007
Can coyness be taught in the classroom? The Centre thinks it ought to be, as part of Adolescent Education. The ministry of human resource development will be clearing a manual that would be used to teach students, from their mid to late teens, how to say no to a variety of risky proposals without actually saying no. The proposals have been thought up as vaguely sexual ones (let’s watch porn/go to a night show/ spend some time alone), or else they are invitations to smoke or drink.
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Mixed Response to Poll on Transsexuals in Thailand
Nation Multimedia - Bangkok, Thailand, Aug 18, 2007
The Nation's Internet poll on whether transsexuals should have the legal right to use a gender title of their choice drew mixed reactions from those visiting this website.
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HIV - Nearly 70,000 Children Living with HIV Virus in India
SpiritIndia - New Delhi, India, Aug 18, 2007
An estimated 70,000 children are HIV positive in the India, while nearly 21,000 others get the infection every year, the Indian Rajya Sabha was informed.
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HEALTH-ASIA: Unheard Voices Resonate at AIDS Photo Show
IPS - Italy, Aug 18, 2007
The evocative portraits in this exhibition are from a book of the same name commissioned by The Asia Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS and Development of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
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Teachers, Parents Can Help Curb Child Abuse
Siasat Daily - India, Aug 18, 2007
Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission Chairman, Justice Subhashan Reddy on Saturday said that child abuse and sexual exploitation can be prevented provided teachers and parents behave well.
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Youth Touring World on Bicycle to Spread AIDS Awareness
SpiritIndia - New Delhi, India, Aug 18, 2007
A youth from West Bengal, who had set off on a world tour on bicycle to spread AIDS Awareness, reached here three days ago. Somen Debnath from West Bengal's Sunderban reached here under his mission and had visited Kargil, Leh, Ganderbal and parts of Srinagar to campaign against the dreaded disease.
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India Lowers Estimate of HIV, AIDS Infections
Voice of America - USA, Aug 17, 2007
India was once thought to have the world's highest number of people with HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS. But the estimate was recently reduced by more than half -- down to 2.5 million from 5.7 million. The reduction, however, does not mean India is relaxing its fight against the epidemic. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.
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Project Launched for Better Health Status and Quality of Life in Chandigarh, India
Outlook - New Delhi, India, Aug 17, 2007
As the joint drive for upgrading the health status and quality of life of disadvantaged women and children, the Punjab Governor Gen. (Retd.) S F Rodrigues, today launched a flagship project for improving Monitorable Indicators of Reproductive and Child Health here.
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Improved Healthcare Keeps AIDS Low in Sri Lanka
Ceylon Daily News - Ceylon, Sri Lanka, August 17, 2007
Sri Lanka has a very low HIV/AIDS prevalence and the challenge before the country is keeping it low. Sri Lankans can be proud of its quality healthcare system, Regional HIV/AIDS Team Leader, UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, Caitlin Wiesen said.
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Controlling Power
Hindu Business Line - India, Aug 17, 2007
There is a newfound confidence among rural women in Bihar and Jharkhand who now decide the size of their family.
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The Sexual Politics of Partition - India, Pakistan
Guardian Unlimited - UK, August 17, 2007
The division of Pakistan from India was a battle not only over land, but also over women's 'honour' - a conflict still played out today.
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1st Asia Pacific Court of Women on HIV to be held in Colombo
People's Daily Online - Beijing, China, August 17, 2007
Twenty HIV positive women will tell their stories of being denied of inheritance and property rights in Sri Lankan capital Colombo as part of the 8th International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).
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Dr Love’s Sex Quest Hits the Road
iAfrica.com - Cape Town, South Africa, Jul 17, 2007
Singapore's Dr Love has ambitious plans to educate the world about sex. The starting point is his laptop - and the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia.
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Connecting Industry with AIDS Prevention Programme
Hindu - Chennai, India, Aug 16, 2007
With Karnataka being identified as one of the high-prevalence States for HIV/AIDS in India, voluntary organisations and government agencies have now recognised the need to involve the industry in promoting adoption of healthy behaviour among the workforce, especially with regard to HIV/AIDS.
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Overseas Sex Tours Promoted Online
Korea Times - South Korea, Aug 16, 2007
A packaged sex tour to Southeast Asian countries, called the ``Emperor's Tour,'' is luring men on the Internet. More than 11.6 million Koreans traveled overseas last year, about 25 times that of 1986. Thailand was the third highest destination choice for Koreans with one million tourists, while the Philippines was fifth with 450,000.
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UNDP to Organise Asia Pacific Court of Women on HIV in Colombo
Hindu - Chennai, India, Aug 16, 2007
Compelling life stories by HIV positive women from Asia and the Pacific on the denial of inheritance and property rights and their dispossessions by families and society because of their HIV status, insightful analyses by activists and academics on the broader context within which this dispossession is taking place and visionary responses from an Eminent Jury will be the highlights of the “Regional Court of Women” to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka as part of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP).
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Sex lessons, Minus S-word
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta, India, Aug 16, 2007
The Centre has prepared a manual to help schoolchildren fend off situations that often lead to sexual abuse. The manual will be provided only to schoolteachers.
The course also tackles “emotional blackmail”. A boy may, for instance, tell his girlfriend: “There is nothing harmful in this, do it for my sake. I do so much for you, won’t you do this one thing for me?” Although the manual is careful not to specify what “it” means.
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Study: Sex Trafficking Contributes to AIDS Epidemic
BP News - Nashville, USA, Aug 16, 2007
Intervention to release sex-trafficked girls and women from forced prostitution may be an important strategy in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, according to a study released in August by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Kingdom in the Clouds
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada, Aug 16, 2007
The tiny landlocked kingdom of Bhutan has managed a spectacular promotional feat. First, the Fourth King announced he measures his country's progress in terms of Gross National Happiness. Then he essentially limited the number of visitors by charging a minimum of $200 a day for accommodation, food, driver and guide. With tantric Buddhism as its official religion, sexuality is seen as a means toward enlightenment.
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ITF and IMHA Join to Condemn HIV Discrimination at Sea
Shipping Times - UK, Aug 16, 2007
The ITF and IMHA (International Maritime Health Association) have teamed up to set out a position on HIV/Aids whose aim is to help protect the rights and dignity of seafarers and all those living with the virus. They will present it at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 19-23 August.
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Sex Clip of Teen With Cop Causes Stir in Raub
Malaysia Star - Malaysia, Aug 16, 2007
A video clip depicting a 14-year-old girl having sex with a 46-year-old extra police constable is believed to be circulating in Raub, Pahang.
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Fund for Contraceptives Remains Unspent While LGUs Wait For Guidelines
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism - Quezon City, Philippines, Aug 16, 2007
What happens when a government agency has P180 million for family planning supplies but is barred from buying contraceptives?
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Inclusion, Not Just on Paper
Nepali Times - Kathmandu, Nepal, August 16, 2007
Member of the Dutch parliament, Boris Dittrich is now based in New York as the advocacy director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Program at Human Rights Watch. In Kathmandu recently, he spoke with Laxmi Murthy.
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AIDS -Weapon of Destruction [Bangladesh]
Weekly Blitz - Bangladesh, Aug 15, 2007
Bangladesh is a, male-dominated society and violence against girls and women remains a problem. Unequal power relations between women and men, for example, may render young girls or women especially vulnerable to coerced or unwanted sex, and can also influence the capacity of girls or women to influence when, where and how sexual relations occur.
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Comment: Despite the Fanfare, Freedom Still Eludes Gay Indians
PinkNews.co.uk - UK, Aug 15, 2007
As India celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain, Balaji Ravichandran explains why he feels neither free nor independent.
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Lawmaker Airs Bias v. Gays in Congress
Sun.Star - Philippines, Aug 15, 2007
The election of the first-ever female deputy speaker of the House has raised a more confusing question on the supposed “gender balance”: why members of the third sex were not accorded the chance to elect their own deputy speakers when the women have Occidental Mindoro Representative Ma. Amelita Villarosa.
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A Glimpse into the Lives of Burmese Sex Workers in Thailand
Mizzima.com - New Delhi, India, Aug 15, 2007
Though originally released almost a decade ago, "Sacrifice", a film documenting the plight of Shan State girls working in the Thai sex industry, proves no less poignant a saga for today's world.
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The Indian Sex Industry: Perturbed, Pressured and Poignant
Merinews - India, Aug 15, 2007
The multimillion dollar sex industry in India is a boon for the masterminds running it. In the bargain for minting money what’s sidelined is the health and human rights of the workers who end up in the wallows of extreme poverty and social stigma.
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Mounting Poverty, Health Risks for China's Sex Workers
Ms. Magazine - Beverly Hills, CA, USA, Aug 15, 2007
In an attempt to escape poverty, women in China are increasingly turning to prostitution and competition for clients has reportedly resulted in lower pay and more dangerous conditions for China's estimated ten-million sex workers.
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Philippine Lawmakers Ask for Japan Apology
Radio Australia - Australia, Aug 14, 2007
Philippine lawmakers have filed a resolution in parliament calling on the Japanese government to formally apologise for Japan's role in forcing close to 200 Filipina women to work as sex slaves in World War ll.
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Pakistan’s ‘Window of Opportunity’ to Prevent HIV
Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan, Aug 14, 2007
The World Bank says that although the estimated HIV burden is still low at around 0.1 percent of the adult population, there has been an outbreak of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Sindh. Without vigorous and sustained action, Pakistan runs the risk of experiencing the rapid increase in HIV among vulnerable groups seen elsewhere.
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PCIJ: Church's Gain in Population Policy is Women's Loss
GMA news.tv - Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, Aug 14, 2007
Since 2002, Filipinos of all faiths have been subjected to a national family planning policy that pushes only natural methods - a policy that echoes the beliefs espoused by the Roman Catholic Church, which claims some 80 percent of the country’s population as its followers.
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New IT Bill Slips on Child Pornography
NDTV.com - New Delhi, India, Aug 14, 2007
The IT industry in India is keen to have the Information Technology Amendment Bill passed in the current session of Parliament as it includes a data protection clause. But what about protection of children? A key provision on curbing child pornography on the net has mysteriously disappeared from the new IT Bill.
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Women Empowerment Gets a Thumbs Up - Sexual Harassment at Workplace in India
Afternoon Dispatch & Courier - Bombay, India, Aug 14, 2007
A press and public meeting was organized on sexual harassment at workplace by the India centre for human rights and law. Issues pertaining to the sexual harassment of women in government and private sectors, universities and colleges were discussed.
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Women 'Duped into Sex Slavery'
Gulf Daily News - Manama, Bahrain, Aug 14, 2007
Many Asian women in Bahrain are being duped into working as sex slaves for men who lure them with promises of marriage, according to Thai Ambassador Phithak Phrombubpha.
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Maintaining Low HIV and AIDS Prevalence in Sri Lanka
The World Bank - Washington, USA, Aug 13, 2007
As host country of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), Sri Lanka is gearing up to welcome more than 3,500 delegates from over 60 countries.
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HIV/AIDS Victims’ Care Workers Call for Help
Viet Nam News - Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug 13, 2007
Health workers [in Vietnam] in the field have called on more support and encouragement for elderly carers of AIDS victims through schemes such as HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.
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20000 Condoms for Student Athletes at Universiade
INQ7.net - Philippines, August 12, 2007
Thailand has distributed 20,000 condoms to athletes at the World University Games in Bangkok and promised there would be many more if needed, a top health official said Friday.
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Indonesian Government Should Take Action To Reduce Spread of HIV Among Homeless Children, Advocates Say
Kaiser network.org - Washington, DC, USA, Aug 13, 2007
According to a 2006 study -- conducted in several urban areas across the country by the Indonesian Save the Children Foundation -- homeless children are at an increased risk of contracting HIV. The report found that most of the at-risk children were involved in drug use and sex work but were unaware of the dangers associated with such activities.
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Sexual Harassment: Wolves Still Stalk the Workplace for Prey
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, August 13, 2007
It was on August 13, 1997, that the Supreme Court passed the Vishaka judgment and laid down guidelines to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace. Ten years later, the nature of harassment now includes emails and SMSes - and the attitude of most employers remains apathetic.
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Malaysia to Block Planned Gay Church
Independent Online - Cape Town, South Africa, Aug 13, 2007
Muslim-majority Malaysia will block a plan by the country's first and only openly gay pastor to establish a church embracing homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals, a minister said on Monday.
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Thailand Considers Law Allowing Transsexual to Claim Title of Adopted Gender
Malaysia Star - Malaysia, Aug 12, 2007
Thailand, one of the world's most tolerant countries toward transvestites and transsexuals, is considering a law to allow people who have had a sex change to officially change their title.
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Ostracised Indian AIDS Couple Appeals for Euthanasia
Reuters - India , Aug 12, 2007
A couple suffering from AIDS has asked the country's president to allow them and their daughter to die through euthanasia as they were being harassed in their village in Uttar Pradesh.
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Ottawa Must End Silence
The Toronto Star, Canada , Aug 12, 2007
For more than 60 years, the euphemistically called Asian "comfort women" have lived with the anger and shame of being forced into prostitution and savagely beaten and raped by the Japanese military in the 1930s and '40s. As many as 200,000 women and girls, mainly from Korea, China, Indonesia and the Philippines were kidnapped and made sex slaves for the invading army in military brothels.
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World of Women
Organiser - New Delhi, India, August 12, 2007
Even 60 years after Independence, 68 per cent girls are married before 20 years, with the result more adolescent girls aged 15-19 years die from pregnancy-related causes than from any other cause; almost 90 per cent of the induced abortions are performed by unqualified persons subjecting women to the risk of mortality and morbidity; over hundred thousand women die every year during pregnancy.
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SAI Governing Body Discusses Gender Verification Issue
Hindu - Chennai, India, August 11, 2007
The governing body of the Sports Authority of India which met here last Tuesday discussed the gender verification issue and came to the conclusion that Dope Control Officers (DCOs) and sampling officers needed to be more careful in future and should report back to the authorities about any doubt that could arise regarding the sex of an athlete.
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Shanghai Show is all About Sex
China Daily - China, August 11, 2007
Sex, a centuries-old taboo in China, is set to create a whirlwind in Shanghai, an international metropolis in what is still a largely conservative country.
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Who's Afraid of Sex Education?
The Tribune - Chandigarh, India, August 11, 2007
The debate on making sex education mandatory in schools continues. Those against it see red at the mere mention of words like condom and arousal, while those in favour of it assert the instruction is essential to combat the risk of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
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Shanghai Hosts China's First Sex Show
Malaysia Sun - Malaysia, August 11, 2007
The Chinese city of Shanghai is hosting the fourth China International Adult Toys and Reproductive Health Exhibition, Asia's largest adult show, a first in a largely conservative country.
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Free Condoms for Athletes Who Want to Play it Safe
Manila Times - Philippines, August 11, 2007
Sports and sex are closely linked, as far as officials in Samoa and Thailand are concerned. That is why they will be making available free condoms to athletes participating in major sports events in their countries.
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Debate Over Forced HIV Tests Rages On
China Daily - China, August 8, 2007
As HIV begins to spread from high-risk groups in China to the general public, massage parlor, nightclub, and hair salon workers are the focus of attention of health authorities in the prevention of AIDS.
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Spot Light: The Dark Side of Sex in the City
New Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia, August 8, 2007
Most sex workers have a story of woe to tell about why they entered the oldest profession in the world. Many are unable to leave due to the stigma of the ‘job’ with some forced to stay after being infected with HIV.
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Nepal Army Sacks Two "Lesbian" Soldiers
Monsters And Critics - United Kingdom, Aug 7, 2007
The Nepalese army has sacked two female soldiers for indulging in 'lesbian activities,' local media reports said. However, the military has rejected claims that the two were discharged on sexual grounds.
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Japan Should Ponder US Comfort Women Bill
People's Daily Online - Beijing, China, August 7, 2007
On July 30 the US House of Representatives deliberated a bill that would demand the Japanese government formally admit that the country's army forced many women into sex slavery during World War II, apologize to the victims and accept its historical responsibility.
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Nepal Army Fires Women Soldiers for Lesbianism
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India, August 7, 2007
Nepal’s army has stirred up a new controversy by sacking two women because they were flat-chested and accused of being lesbians, says a rights group.
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Teachers Pimped Teen Girls to Mine Owners
Times of India - India, August 7, 2007
Two teachers forced girls from a rural school to have sex with coal mine owners in southwest China, officials said Tuesday.
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Nandigram Violence A 'State Sponsored Massacre'
CounterCurrents.org - India, August 6, 2007
In its findings the Tribunal said on 14 March "there were a disturbingly large number of incidents of sexual violence by both police and armed ruling party at Nandigram.
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Oldest Profession Flourishes in China
Washington Post - United States, August 5, 2007
Estimates of the number of prostitutes in China vary widely, from 1 million who earn their primary income from sex, to eight or 10 times that, including people who sometimes accept money, gifts or rent in exchange for sex.
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'Dr Love': Promoting Sex Education in an Innovative Way
Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia, August 5, 2007
There's a new airline in Indonesia. But this is not yet another budget carrier: This is Love Airways, a multimedia sex education program, brainchild of Dr Wei Siang Yu, better known as "Dr Love".
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Sex is Not Just Intercourse
Tehelka - India, August 4, 2007
Sex education cannot be limited to biological descriptions in textbooks. We must talk of its pleasures and pains, or the repression in our minds will hurt everyone.
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Singapore Bans Gay Rights Forum
Guardian Unlimited - UK, August 3, 2007
Authorities in Singapore on Friday banned a gay rights forum at which a retired Canadian law professor was to speak, the second time in a week the city-state has forbidden an event that touches on gay issues.
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Content and Discontent
Hindustan Times - India, August 3, 2007
Just as India marks 60 years as an independent, secular democracy, the government is getting ready to strangle some of us into silence. A preposterous and utterly puerile ‘content code’ to regulate television has been sanctioned by an otherwise affable Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
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Exciting film fest on Saturday
Deccan Herald - Bangalore, India, August 3, 2007
Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality, Good As You and Swabhava are organising a film festival titled ‘Films of Desire: Sexuality and the Cinematic Imagination’.
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High Rates Of HIV Infection Documented Among Young Nepalese Girls Sex-Trafficked to India
Medical News Today - UK, Aug 2, 2007
A study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers of girls and women who were sex-trafficked from Nepal to India and then repatriated has found that 38 percent were HIV positive. The infection rate exceeded 60 percent among girls forced into prostitution prior to age 15 years. One in seven of the study's participants had been trafficked into sexual servitude prior to this young age.
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School Test Allegations True, Action Recommended
Hindustan Times - India, August 2, 2007
Tests to measure sexual development were conducted on students in Sardar Patel Vidalaya without informing the school, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has found. It recommended strict action against the doctors involved and a public apology from the school.
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No-Sex Programmes 'Not Working'
BBC News - UK, August 2, 2007
Sex abstinence programmes do not stop risky sexual behaviour or help in the prevention of unwanted pregnancy, a research team has concluded.
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Report: Sex Trafficking Responsible for Spread of HIV
FOX News - USA, Aug 01, 2007
The international trafficking of women to work as prostitutes is likely a key factor in the spread of HIV across South Asia, according to a study released Wednesday that found high rates of the virus in Nepali girls and woman who worked in Indian brothels.
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