by Hayley Curry
The rule of law can be a powerful and effective tool
for building a society that is free of injustice and filled with opportunities
for all, but the operational environment that accompanies human rights advocacy can limit its effectiveness. This summer, while working as a legal intern at an NGO in Kathmandu,
Nepal, I experienced these challenges firsthand.
Microbicide gel: A major breakthrough in AIDS fight
In one of the most attention-grabbing
sessions of the conference, the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in
South Africa reported that a clinical study of 889 women has found that a microbicide
gel used before and after sex could reduce risk of HIV infection by nearly 40
percent. The findings are especially encouraging
as six previous microbicide trials have failed over the past fourteen years.
The self-applied gel could make it possible for women to reduce the risk of HIV
infection.
杀微生物凝胶：艾滋病战役中的主要突破
在其中一场引人注目的会议中，南非艾滋病研究项目中心报告道，通过对889名妇女进行临床研究，他们发现妇女在性活动前后使用一种杀微生物凝胶后，其感染艾滋病病毒的风险将降低40%。在经历过去14年来，
6次杀微生物剂研制的失败之后，这次的发现令人精神为之一振，这种可自主使用的凝胶使得降低妇女感染艾滋病的风险成为可能。
By Marcus Swanepoel
Marcus and his wife, Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, are in the
early stages of founding a new reproductive health NGO in the rural
Philippines, Roots of Health. This is one in an occasional series of blogs
about their experiences.
“Who can tell me the answer….
Marcus?” I hear the voice of my second grade teacher calling on me to answer a
question to which I have no answer. The feeling of humiliation that I’d feel
still haunts me today. In class I would always sink into my seat when my
teacher uttered those dreaded words. At that point of my life, school was
stressful for me, and I didn’t like going. My negative experiences regarding
school however, pale in comparison to those of the children at Pulang Lupa [in
the Philippines].
Globally, 30% of women suffer physical violence
at least once from a male partner, and in multi-country studies done by the UN,
nearly 20% of women say that their first sexual experience was forced.
全球30％的女性至少遭受过一次来自男性伴侣的暴力。联合国开展的多国研究表明，将近20％的女性声称她们的第一次性经历是在被迫的情况下发生。
Violence against women and girls is a gross
violation of human rights. It is both a consequence and a cause of women’s
social, economic, cultural and political disempowerment and marginalization.
针对女性的暴力是对人权的粗暴践踏，这是女性在社会、经济、文化和政治上的弱势地位及边缘化导致的结果，也是这一现象出现的原因。
by Ami Evangelista Swanepoel
Earlier this week we returned to an area in Santa Lourdes called Purok Matahimik, which means “quiet place”. It is also known as “Pulang Lupa” or red earth because of the color of the soil, or simply known as “Dumpsite” because of the community’s proximity to the Puerto Princesa landfill. This community is a top runner for where we might begin our services as it is quite isolated and very poor, with high numbers of malnourished children.
