[NEWS] UN Report Says in Asia, Criminalizing Sex Work Fuels HIV/AIDS

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By Brian Bonci

A new report from three UN agencies, “Sex Work and the Law,” finds no evidence from countries of Asia and the Pacific that criminalization of sex work has prevented HIV epidemics among sex workers and their clients.”  The new report, from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNAIDS examines 48 countries in Asia and the Pacific to assess laws, legal policies and law enforcement practices that affect the human rights of sex workers and impact on the effectiveness of HIV responses.

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[NEWS] Dr. Wang Shuping: How I Discovered China’s HIV Epidemic and What Happened to Me Afterwards

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By Mike Frick

The website Seeing Red in China recently published a translation of Dr. Wang Shuping’s first-person account of how she discovered China’s HIV tainted blood disaster while working as a physician in Henan Province in the early 1990s. A hepatologist by training, Dr. Wang first observed widespread hepatitis C contamination in samples collected from plasma donors. Knowing hepatitis C and HIV could both be transmitted through blood, Dr. Wang used her own savings to establish a center that began testing blood donors for HIV. Among the first 409 samples she tested in 1995, she found that 13% tested positive for HIV. These findings earned her rebuke and harassment from local officials, who shut down her clinical testing center and tried to suppress her findings.

Dr. Wang’s story provides a personal account of the early years of the Chinese HIV epidemic when physicians began to discover the frightening extent of central China’s contaminated blood supply. Subsequent efforts to secure compensation for the tens of thousands of people affected by the disaster have been unsuccessful, as a January 2012 joint report by Asia Catalyst and the Korekata AIDS Law Center showed.

In 2001, Dr. Wang left China for the United States, where she worked as a hepatitis C researcher for many years. She
is currently studying for a degree in public health.

Read the English version of her account on Seeing Red in China and the original Chinese on the overseas advocacy website Can Yu.

[NEWS] South Korea to Represent Asia-Pacific on United Nations Security Council

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On October 18th, South Korea was elected to the Asia-Pacific non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council, after human rights activists highlighted rights abuses in Cambodia, its main challenger.  In a press release issued earlier this week, Global Witness argued,”Cambodia should not be given a seat on the United Nations Security Council while its ruling elite continues to commit widespread human rights abuses and sell off vast tracts of land and forest for private gain.”

[NEWS] Asia Catalyst Letter on the New Funding Model for the Global Fund

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Below is the letter Asia Catalyst Executive Director Sara “Meg” Davis sent October 5, 2012 to Michael O’Connor at The Global Fund, commenting on the Fund’s new funding model.
Dear Mr. O’Connor,
Thank you and Ms. Wong for sharing the Global Fund’s new funding model and inviting us to join the call this week. We strongly support the Global Fund’s efforts to redesign the funding mechanisms and as part of the Developing Country NGO Constituency, and appreciate the opportunity to comment on he proposed new plans.
As you know, Asia Catalyst works with networks and CBOs led by sex workers, drug users, MSM, people living with HIV/AIDS, ethnic minorities and other communities directly affected by the three diseases in China and Southeast Asia. Our work focuses on capacity-building of these groups and networks, especially in the areas of nonprofit management, community mobilization, and human rights. Civil society is growing rapidly in East and Southeast Asia, thanks in part to the Global Fund’s financial support and to its promotion of the principle of community consultation.
Most of our work is in China, where Global Fund support has helped to develop a flourishing
community of CBOs. Based on our consultation with these groups, we are encouraged that the new funding model will include a band of funding for Most At-Risk Populations (MARPs) and we urge the global Fund to ensure that funding is available for MARPs in countries that may not be eligible to submit proposals, such as China.
The Global Fund’s planned exit from China has not yet inspired the national government to rush to fill the gap in civil society support. Given the widespread and severe restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association in China, it is extremely challenging for Chinese activists to advocate on their own behalf. When we meet Chinese CBOs in workshops, conferences and other settings, they express great anxiety about the future and about their ability to continue to provide treatment, care and support to their communities once the Global Fund leaves. Please do all you can to ensure that the new funding model includes these past GF partners.
We will share this letter with our CBO partners and we thank you in advance for taking these
recommendations under consideration.
Sincerely,
Sara L.M. Davis
Executive Director

[EVENT] SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 China’s Comrades: New Developments in LGBT Rights

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[1.5 CLE credits available]

Social and political attitudes towards sexual orientation and gender identity are changing rapidly in China.  Vibrant new LGBT networks have sprung up around the country.  Authorities tacitly accept a degree of activism by social organizations working on LBGT issues.  And official attitudes toward the legal status of LGBT individuals and communities are evolving, as represented by the first tentative (but unsuccessful) legislative proposals to recognize gay marriage. At the same time, activists report widespread discrimination against LGBT people, and Chinese media have reported on several hate crimes in recent years. 

What do these changes signify? This talk will feature American and Chinese legal experts and NGO activists on the legal status of LGBT communities in China, and on efforts by Chinese activists to strengthen anti-discrimination and promote social inclusion. The event is organized by the Catalyzers, a group of professionals who raise awareness about health and human rights and generate support for our partners in Asia. A short reception will follow.

Location:              Fordham University Law School

Time:                    Wednesday November 7, 2012, 4 to 6 pm

Registration is limited. Email us at info@asiacatalyst.org to get on the list; we will contact you when registration opens. 

UPDATE: Registration is now open.  Please register at: https://chinascomrades.eventbrite.com/