Tell D.C., San Francisco and New York: Condoms Aren’t a Crime!
Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne presented $40,000 worth of office equipment and furnishings to Acting Minister of Women’s Affairs Hussan Ban Ghazanfar, Deputy Minister Sayeda Mezghan Mustafawi and Director of the Legal Rights Department Fowzia Amini for the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA).
In addition to the equipment donation, Ambassador Wayne announced the assignment of an Afghan Legal Consultant with the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement/Narcotics Affairs Section (INL/NAS) Justice Sector Support Program who will work in the Legal Rights Department as an advisor. The Legal Consultant will assist daily with active casework, interviewing victims and mentoring attorneys.
INL/NAS purchased the equipment and furnishings for the Legal Rights Department based on an assessment conducted in June 2009 by its Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP). The $40,000 worth of equipment donated ranges from paper, binders, and file cabinets to computers, digital cameras, a copy machine, and desks. The equipment and furnishings will enable the Legal Rights Department to perform its mandate of securing and expanding the legal rights of women and ensuring the rule of law in their lives.
The United States is committed to its partnership with the Ministry and its Legal Rights Department, which provides legal assistance to the 15 million women in Afghanistan and their families, and is the first stop for nearly all Afghans seeking any kind of legal assistance from the ministry. Welcoming the assistance, Acting Minister Ghazanfar said, the support for the Legal Rights Department comes at a “critical moment” for women’s issues in Afghanistan.
Over the past two years, the United States has provided over $150 million on programs for Afghan women and children as part of its deep commitment to improving the lives of Afghan women and their families.
Source: U.S. Department of State
This article is co-authored by Adrienne Germain, President of the International Women’s Health Coalition, and Serra Sippel, President of the Center for Health and Gender Equity.
This
afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver a major speech to mark
the 15th anniversary of the United Nations International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), which set ambitious goals
for improving sexual health and reproductive rights throughout the world.
Prior
to the ICPD, the importance of securing women’s health and rights was largely
absent from international development discourse. It took the mobilization—and
action— of grassroots women’s groups from across the Global South to persuade
governments that women’s health and human rights are imperative in their own
right—and crucial to sustainable global development. In response to this
movement, 179 governments agreed to a 20-year action plan.
Since ICPD, we have seen progress on securing the health and
rights of women and young people.
Despite these gains, much remains to be done. Women and girls in many parts of the world still face
egregious violations of their basic human rights, and lack access to the
comprehensive reproductive health services they need to stay healthy: contraception,
comprehensive sexuality education, testing and treatment for reproductive
cancers and prevention, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV; maternity care, and access to safe abortion
services.
Recognizing the urgent need for concrete action, more than 50
faith-based, human rights, health, and environmental organizations and program
implementers—including CHANGE and IWHC— are advocating for specific
steps the U.S. can take to fulfill the goals of ICPD. The core
recommendations include:
-
Ensure that U.S.
policies and programs address the real-life circumstances of individuals and
communities being served and ensure equitable and maximum access to services
and information;
-
Ensure that U.S.
programs and policies protect and promote the human rights of women and youth,
including their right to decide freely and responsibly on matters related to
their sexual and reproductive health free of coercion, discrimination and
violence;
-
Increase the amount of U.S.
funding that goes directly to innovative, local and women’s organizations that
advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality; and
- Re-engage with
international organizations on meeting global goals (such as ICPD) related to
sexual and reproductive health and rights through increased financial support and
enhanced coordination.
This afternoon, the world will be watching for a renewed U.S. commitment
to reaching the ICPD goals, and other related UN agreements such as the Millennium
Development Goals. The
Congress is working on a similar statement of commitment, though a resolution
introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee
(D-CA).
These statements of commitment by the Administration and the Congress now
need to be turned to action – in program implementation, funding levels, and
diplomatic endeavors to ensure the right of all people to make decisions about their own
sexuality and access the services needed to make that right a reality. And we all need to be behind them and
support them in taking those steps forward.
The speech will be streamed live on www.icpd2015.org starting at approximately 2:30
pm EST. A transcript and video of the speech will be posted on this site
following the event.
link
Published January 11, 2010 @ 03:16PM PT
Thursday, I pointed out that police in D.C., which has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the country, are reported to use possession of condoms as evidence of sex work. (Yeah, they can clearly afford to discourage safe sex techniques.) Turns out, the nation’s capital isn’t the only one.
After being tipped off by a commenter that San Francisco police use an unspecified number of rubbers as evidence of sex work, I investigated further and was shocked to discover that safe-sex devices have been used as evidence in my own hometown, New York — which is particularly ridiculous given that New York City has been distributing free condoms to combat STDs since 1971. Some businesses are even afraid to offer the city’s snazzy free condoms because they can also be used as evidence of “maintaining a premises for prostitution.”
(Hello, readers: do you know of any other places where condoms are misused as evidence of sex work?)
Knowing that planning ahead for a night out could be used as evidence against you is enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but most people needn’t worry about getting randomly arrested for condoms. The major problem is the impact of discouraging sex workers — which do include men, though women are the majority — from using protection. (Although the Urban Justice Center states that many transgender women, even those who aren’t sex workers, fear carrying condoms because they are frequently profiled by police.)
San Francisco police defend the practice by claiming that “a pocket full of condoms alone is not a basis for arrest.” Guess what: condoms shouldn’t factor at all into potential arrest for sex work. It’s a health disaster.
The mere possibility that condoms could be used against them in a court of law deters sex workers from protecting themselves, putting their own lives in danger and contributing to the spread of STDs — furthering epidemic rates of HIV/AIDS. With enforcement practices like this one, it’s no wonder a UCSF study found that only half of sex workers use condoms with first-time clients, and fewer with repeat customers.
In D.C., San Francisco, and New York, the use of condoms as evidence is not specified under law as either acceptable or unacceptable, so the practice has been left to the discretion of cops and prosecutors.
However, the harmful health repercussions of this practice have long been apparent. Back in the 90s, a San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution recommended, in no uncertain terms, that condoms stop being confiscated or used as evidence for prosecution. And in New York, a bill has been introduced (repeatedly … and let die, repeatedly) in the state legislature banning this improper use of condoms as evidence. This time, it’s supported by a campaign by the Sex Workers Project, which has seen momentum starting to build.
It’s time to stop throwing up dangerous obstructions to practicing safe sex, and start protecting the health of both sex workers and the public. Please sign the petition telling the mayors of D.C., New York, and San Francisco to issue a statement that fighting STDs, especially HIV/AIDS, is their top priority — and that nobody should be afraid carry condoms, because it won’t be used against them as evidence of sex work.
Updated Jan 2010
