The May Monthly Focus has been looking at Women and Forced Sterlisation - a practice that is unfortunately not yet only found in the pages of history books.
“Many women rely on voluntary sterilisation to control their fertility. But for some women, sterilisation is not a choice. Women across the globe have been forced or coerced by medical personnel to submit to permanent and irreversible sterilization procedures. Despite condemnation from the United Nations, cases of forced and coerced sterilization have been reported in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Women who are poor or stigmatised are most likely to be at risk - considered ‘unworthy’ of reproduction. Perpetrators are seldom held accountable and victims rarely obtain justice for this violent abuse of their rights.
Forced and coerced sterilization are a grave violation of human rights and medical ethics and can be described as acts of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Forcefully ending a woman’s reproductive capacity may lead to extreme social isolation, family discord or abandonment, fear of medical professionals, and lifelong grief.
Although sterilization may be carried out by individual health providers, it is ultimately the responsibility of governments to prevent such abuses from taking place. Governments must protect individuals from forced sterilization and guarantee all people’s right to the information and services they need to exercise full reproductive choice and autonomy.”
We have to thank Stop Torture in Health care for all the great resources they provide on this topic which we came across during the recent AWID conference in Istanbul - thank you for raising awareness of this issue and for the comprehensive resources you have produced.
You can find out more about Stop Torture in Healthcare here: http://ping.fm/9xyXa
To read more about how this issue ties in with the Soroptimist International focus on education and leadership, visit http://ping.fm/SB8hZ
This week’s SoroptiVoice Blog comes from Action on Armed Violence (previously Landmine Action) which started its field programming in Liberia in 2005, two years following the end of the civil war. Initially, the purpose of this programme was to conduct weapons and ammunition collection and destruction, but it quickly developed a human focus - particularly women. This week, their programme manager, Melissa Fuerth, describes the programme in more detail. Of course, there is a Soroptimist link - Kate Moore from SIGBI sits on their board.
AOAV wanted to investigate ways in which groups of ex-combatants and war-affected youth could be better reintegrated into society. Most of these groups continued to engage in war-economy modes, funding themselves through the illegal extraction of natural resources, and many were continuing to operate in war command structures. By facilitating reintegration among these groups, AOAV aimed to decrease their potential of engaging in violence and to improve the quality of lives among vulnerable groups and communities.
In response to the feasibility results, AOAV developed its Agricultural Training Programme, designed to provide beneficiaries with vocational livelihood skills, practical business skills and psychosocial counseling to enable them to socially and economically reintegrate into society in a sustainable way. AOAV now manages two large training centres with the capacity to house, feed and train 400 and 200 students respectively at any time. To date, this programme has provided agricultural vocational training to over 2,000 young men and women.
An impressive 87% of graduates are continuing to farm and are no longer engaging in illegal livelihood activities. A rigorous 2-year long evaluation of the programme conducted by Innovations for Poverty Action compared programme participants with similar individuals who didn’t participate. The study determined that graduates of AOAV’s programme:Spend reduced number of hours on illicit activities; Experience a sizeable increase in wealth; Demonstrate improvements in social engagement; Demonstrate qualities of citizenship and stability; Had less interest in, and recruitment links to, Ivory Coast violence in 2011.
Women comprise 11% of all programme graduates, giving them access to formal learning opportunities, creating sustainable livelihood opportunities, and improving food security. As observed in the programme evaluation, female graduates are more likely than their male counterparts to continue farming, and some earn additional income by working on another person’s farm. None of the women interviewed are in touch with their former commanders, compared with 11% of the men.
New Monthly Focus Action! Why not hold a film discussion evening on Hilma’s story http://ping.fm/Rn60t
5 extra days added to the final round of negotiations on the Rio+20 outcome document 29 May- 2 June Rio+20 UCSD http://tinyurl.com/bpcdjfn
Did you know SIE has a representative at the European Women’s Lobby? You can read Renate’s latest update here http://ping.fm/CGLy7 This is the first newsletter from Renate. She is very happy to receive comments, questions and suggestions on how SIE can be more actively involved in the EWL’s mission.
Wonderful interview with SI UNEP Representative Alice Odingo: http://ping.fm/tQae9
Have you taken the Global Impact Report survey yet? Take 5 mins &help shape the 2011 report! Visit http://tinyurl.com/5utljdk to take part!
SI UN Rep Yoko attends UN General Assembly Interactive Dialogue on Prevention of Human Trafficking & Protection of Women and Children
This week’s SoroptiVoice blog comes from Michelle Bart, President of Soroptimist International of Southwest Washington (SI Northwestern Region, USA) and the Public Awareness Chair for SI Northwestern Region. May is National Arthritis Awareness Month so we asked Michelle to share with us her lifetime journey of living with arthritis
“If We Don’t Move it we will Lose It” so Take Action Today! May is Arthritis Action Month.
No time like the present “Let’s Move Together!”
The term “arthritis” encompasses more than 100 diseases and conditions that affect joints, the surrounding tissues and other connective tissues. Arthritis can cause mild to severe pain in the joints, as well as joint tenderness and swelling. Approximately 46 million Americans have some type of arthritis or related condition.
The various forms of arthritis and related conditions can affect anyone, no matter what your race, gender or age. However, it is especially important for women to be educated about these diseases since arthritis diseases affect women at a much higher rate than men. Sixty percent of all people who have arthritis are female, and several of the more common forms are more prevalent in women.
The month of May is one of the most important public awareness months for women. Not only is May a time for celebration of Mother’s Day, it’s also a time to help educate and bring awareness to some important issues affecting women:
Ø National Arthritis Awareness & Prevention Month
Ø National Lupus Awareness Month
Ø National Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention Month
Ø National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day (May 12th)
Ø National Women Health Week (May 13-19th)
Ø World Autoimmune Arthritis Day (May 20th)
Ø National Missing Children’s Awareness Day (May 25th)
Do you see a trend? As we celebrate the women in our lives we are also reminded that many epidemics plaguing our society revolve around women and girls.
Some may ask, with all of the arthritis awareness dates, above why did I include National Missing Children’s Awareness Day? The answer is simple: many family members, especially mothers of missing children suffering from Fibromyalgia or autoimmune disease (s) , find that the stress and trauma of losing a child cause their condition to flare due to the added stress. Furthermore, many children that are found after being lost and/or kidnapped also suffer with diseases later in life that may be linked to their earlier trauma experience. Although many forms of arthritis are helped with exercise, diet, and medication, stress and trauma are two culprits preying on the disease which we are all trying to keep under control. These two factors, more times than not, are the causes for the flares.
Arthritis is an umbrella term for more than 100 diseases. It affects 300,000 children and one in five adults—two-thirds of whom are under the age of 65. In addition, arthritis causes work limitations for nearly one in three people in the U.S. and is a more frequent cause of activity limitation than heart disease, cancer or diabetes. Annually it costs the economy $128 billion. Within the next 20 years, an estimated 67 million people will have arthritis if the trend continues.
Kids Get Arthritis Too!
I was diagnosed at 17 years old with JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) then at 22 with FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome) and in my late 30’s was diagnosed with OA (Osteoarthritis) – to say the disease has not slowed me down would be lying; I lost a scholarship in softball, had to learn to walk again after being on walker for 8 months, have suffered many hospitalizations (mostly due to the side effects from the medications), lost relationships, been disabled three times in my life and have had 4 surgeries including a complete hip replacement – “Kids Get Arthritis Too” and I am one of those statistics.
Being self-employed became a reality in 2004 not because I chose to go that route but because the diseases chose it for me; every morning and every night the uncertainty about whether my body will cooperate is a harsh reality of my present and future life. I inject myself every 14 days with Humira, Although many days make it seem like it’s a waste of time, the reality is without it I would be bedridden.
In my late 20’s I decided to start a support group for people with arthritis. With the support from the Arthritis Foundation I created the Glendora Arthritis Group in Southern California, it later became the Foothill Arthritis Connection and today is known at the Citrus Valley Rheumatic Disease Center; it’s organizations like the Arthritis Foundation, Citrus Valley Health Partners and the World Health Organization that help to educate and inform the public around the world of what we are faced with and how we can change the course of diseases; arthritis and rheumatic diseases are no different. The more we know and the more we work together to get this and all epidemics under control, the better everyone’s quality of life will become.
“Arthritis is serious and it is time we move from simply being aware of the disease’s existence to actually doing something about ending the threat,” says Dr. Patience White, vice president of public health for the Arthritis Foundation. “Arthritis Action Month is the perfect time to change the course of the disease by knowing the warning signs and protecting your joints to limit the impact.”
If We Don’t Move it We Will Lose It. May is Arthritis Action Month and there is no time like the present: “Let’s Move Together!” Visit the links to see how you help “move” the world. Most importantly, learn how you can become the best advocate for YOUR health!
http://ping.fm/9AV2x
http://ping.fm/CkEMO
http://ping.fm/rYj5o
The first action of the week for the May monthly focus on forced female sterilisation has been posted. Support the women of Uzbekistan by signing the featured petition, organised by the NGO Stop Torture in Healthcare. http://ping.fm/L4i6k
