On World AIDS Day
A few things to read (snippets posted here; click the links for the full articles): Fight AIDS with Family Planning. The situation in Mityana in not unusual; in fact it is far too common. 215 million women worldwide are not using an effective method of contraception despite the fact that they want to avoid pregnancy. [...]
...read moreStopping Police and DAs from Using Condoms to Convict Sex Workers
By Crystal DeBoise, cross-posted at On The Issues Magazine Last winter, “Sheila,” a sex worker in her early 20s, had just finished her counseling session with me at the Sex Workers Project, and was heading out the door. Sheila was seeking counseling from the Sex Workers Project to help her make a career change, but [...]
...read more“Balka: Women, HIV, and Drug Use in Ukraine” short harm reduction documentary
Boosting the signal on this 35-minute documentary. (Note: If you’re unfamiliar with the subject matter, then I recommend reading the short discussion guide when you watch it.) Description: The fall of the Soviet Union led to a surge in injecting drug use and skyrocketing rates of HIV spread through shared injecting equipment. A documentary film [...]
...read moreHIV/AIDS and UNITAID
Writing in the Guardian: Daniel is six months old, and one of the more than a million children in Africa born of HIV-positive mothers every year. Without prenatal treatment, up to 30% of these children will contract the virus. Daniel is one of the luckier ones, so far. His mother, Elise, found out she was [...]
...read moreHIV in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations
I haven’t posted much in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been away at the Anwernekenhe National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander HIV/AIDS Alliance’s National HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health Conference in sunny Cairns. It was a really great four day conference populated by mostly Indigenous people from all areas of Australia, some from the HIV [...]
...read moreUNITAID in Cameroon
Last week, I was in Cameroon with Cheryl Contee, Baratunde Thurston and Mark Goldberg, as part of a press group following UNITAID Chairman Dr. Philippe Douste-Blazy as he visited hospitals and clinics that served patients via UNITAID-funded programs. It was an incredible trip, and I have a much more detailed post in the works, but [...]
...read moreIn Cameroon with UNITAID
I’ve been MIA from the blog for the past few days because I’m in Cameroon with a crack team of bloggers — Cheryl Contee, Baratunde Thurston and Mark Goldberg — to cover the work being done here to prevent and treat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and mother-to-baby HIV transmission, funded by UNITAID. We’re on a tight schedule [...]
...read moreAmaaazing new site on sex work — and campaign!
I just had the pleasure of discovering a new site on sex work: Sex Work Activists, Allies and You. I’ve consistently had trouble finding a clear online 101 on sex work activism, and the SWAAY site seems to fit the bill. It was started by Furry Girl, a super smart sex worker and writer. I [...]
...read moreCatholic Pro-Life Warriors Still OK with Women and Girls Dying
How very pro-life of the Catholic Church: Today marks the opening of a United Nations general assembly “high level meeting” on Aids in New York City that will evaluate the progress of that body’s response to the pandemic over the past five years and set the agenda for the next decade. Serra Sippel, president of [...]
...read moreGrassroots organizing for feminism, S&M, HIV, and everything else
I wrote this for Bitch Magazine’s Feminist Coming-Out Day Blog Carnival; the goal is to talk about feminist “click” moments. Earlier this month, my sex-positive documentary film series screened “Jane: An Abortion Service”. The film tells the extraordinary story of “Jane”, an underground network of women in Chicago who provided thousands of safe abortions in [...]
...read moreWhy is the Gay Rights Movement is So Far Ahead of the Abortion Rights Movement?
On last week’s episode of Glee, gay characters Kurt and Blaine kissed, and not just a peck-on-the-cheek kiss. A full out passionate, lip-smacking smooch. I was pretty pleased about this (ok, I was grinning from ear to ear) and then I watched this. It’s a video of a group of teens watching the show who [...]
...read moreHouse votes to block all funding from Planned Parenthood
Because they’re so “pro-life,” of course. By law, federal funds haven’t paid for abortions since the 1970s, so the House hasn’t voted to cut abortion funding. They’re cutting funding for the entire Title X program — funding for contraception, cancer screening, STI tests, sex education, mammograms, HIV testing and diagnosis, and pregnancy screening and counseling. [...]
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