Two Norwegian companies have tested their products in developing countries in the past decade: in Africa, A-Viral tested AIDS medications in 300 HIV-positive persons in Uganda in 1997–1998 and NorChip tested equipment for diagnosing cervical cancer in 340–350 women in civil war-devastated Congo in 2003. This report presents the patients' stories and examines the ethics of the companies' practices. The patients NorWatch spoke with had a near-total lack of knowledge about what kind of project they had participated in. Also, they all said – independently of each other – that they did not receive a copy of the agreement they entered into with the pharmaceutical company. The company’s briefing of the patients was condemned by Norway’s National Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (NEM). ‘The patients’ information is, in our judgment, too inadequate and would not have been recommended here,’ it wrote in 2002.
Values, Policies and Rights
Because there has been so little research into the rape of men during war, it's not possible to say with any certainty why it happens or even how common it is, according to this article. Ugandan activists report a veil of secrecy surrounding male rape - the organisations working on sexual and gender-based violence don't talk about it and it’s systematically silenced, even in reports, the author notes. To fill the gap in data, the Refugee Law Project (RLP) in Uganda produced a documentary in 2010 called Gender Against Men, but the producer of the film alleges attempts were made to stop him by well-known international aid agencies. RLP further alleges that one of its funders refused to provide any more funding unless RLP promised that 70% of their client base was female, despite a critical shortage of health and support programmes for vulnerable men in Uganda. RLP calls on African governments, international and local aid agencies and human rights defenders at the United Nations to acknowledge male rape as humanitarian and medical crisis needing urgent attention.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has drafted the 98-page International Guidelines on Sexuality Education. The guidelines are still being finalised but a draft version suggests key areas that a sex education curriculum should cover at four different age levels between five and 18. The topics include relationships, reproduction, gender inequality and various aspects of sexuality, but conservative groups in the United States have focused on a handful of suggested learning areas that they view as overly explicit and inappropriate for young children. Various critics have taken issue with suggestions that teachers discuss homosexuality, contraception, and gender-based violence. However, defenders of the guide assert that ‘it's better they have the right information than the wrong information.’ A report in the New York Times asserted that the controversy had caused the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), a key partner, to pull out of the project, but a UNFPA spokesperson refused to confirm this, saying only that the organisation was still in discussion with UNESCO about making the publication ‘more context specific’.
In the context of South Africa's intense preparation for hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, anxiety over HIV transmission in the context of sex work has sparked debate on the most appropriate legal response to this industry. Drawing on existing literature, the authors highlight the increased vulnerability of sex workers in the context of the HIV pandemic in southern Africa. They argue that laws that criminalise sex work not only compound sex workers' individual risk for HIV, but also compromise broader public health goals. International sporting events are thought to increase demand for paid sex and, particularly in countries with hyper-endemic HIV such as South Africa, likely to foster increased HIV transmission through unprotected sex. The 2010 FIFA World Cup presents a strategic opportunity for South Africa to respond to the challenges that the sex industry poses in a strategic and rights-based manner. Public health goals and growing evidence on HIV prevention suggest that sex work is best approached in a context where it is decriminalised and where sex workers are empowered. In short, the authors argue for a moratorium on the enforcement of laws that persecute and victimise sex workers during the World Cup period.
In this paper, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) sets out its position on sexual and reproductive health and rights, reaffirming its commitment to realising the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). New challenges are highlighted, including the HIV/AIDS pandemic; threats to international consensus; increasing demand for reproductive health services; and weak or failing health systems, alongside a shortage of skilled health workers.
This key issues guide reviews current policy issues relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), examining questions of definition and exploring key debates. The guide also highlights current and future challenges for attaining greater levels of sexual and reproductive well-being, and considers the role of innovative technologies and approaches in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
Aimed at policymakers, donors and practitioners working in health and beyond, this Eldis Health key issues guide reviews current policy issues and explores cutting-edge debates relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also highlights current and future challenges for attaining greater levels of sexual and reproductive well-being, and considers the role of innovative technologies and approaches in achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.
A workshop was held in July 2007 hosted by MOSAIC at which the participating South African organisations reviewed goals set by UNGASs on reproductive health rights, discussed identified indicators, refined these and shared research and findings. In South Africa in 2007 Government in collaboration with many stakeholders (civil society, the private sector) launched the HIV and AIDS and STI National Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011. While there is substantive discussion noting key areas of gender and gender based violence, cultural attitudes and practices, sexual concurrency and sex workers, there is no overall conceptual lens unpacking sexual and reproductive health and rights. Currently reproductive health is not on the essential health priority list. This leaves gaps in terms of the continuum of care and there is a lack of integration, for example, HIV positive women’s sexual and reproductive intentions are not provided for, abortion services are not regulated
within HIV care, sexual violence is not part of the STI syndromic approach.
In this paper, the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida) sets out its policy on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). It argues that violations of the right to sexual and reproductive health both cause and are caused by poverty. Therefore, realising SRHR is not only a goal in itself, but a means to fight poverty, underpinning all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The paper considers sexual and reproductive health from the perspective of human rights and of the poor, emphasising the need to address power structures and their impacts.
This report demonstrates the relationship between sexual health, human rights and the law. Drawing from a review of public health evidence and extensive research into human rights law at international, regional and national levels, the report shows how states in different parts of the world can and do support sexual health through legal and other mechanisms that are consistent with human rights standards and their own human rights obligations.