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MESSAGE FROM THE WAS PRESIDENT
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| It is a pleasure to briefly share with you the main activities of the new elected WAS administration during the last four months. After a very successful congress in Prague last May and the setup of the new WAS advisory board and its Committees the Executive Officers prepared a Working Plan Meeting that was held in Porto (October 13th-15th). The meeting was attended by the majority of the new Advisory Committee members and was successful in achieving its main goals: Developing a team spirit, discussing the WAS collective vision for the future, and drafting the WAS 2017-2018Work Plan (See the report below).Besides the meeting, a public session at Porto University was organized, where WAS representatives (Pedro Nobre, Esther Corona, Alain Giami, Itor Finotelli Jr.) presented on the topic of Sexual Health and Sexual Rights for All (A brief video is included in this newsletter).
In the newsletter you will also find information about the 2017 World Sexual Health Day (September 4th) which was celebrated for the 8th consecutive year in more than 40 countries around the world (See the brief report below), as well as an important statement about sexual and reproductive rights in Brazil.
I would like to conclude by expressing my gratitude to all professionals from inside and outside the WAS family who are working for the promotion of sexual health and sexual rights across the world.
Best wishes and season‘s greetings,
Pedro Nobre
President of the World Association for Sexual Health |
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WAS INSTITUTIONAL BULDING AND PROGRAMMING WORKSHOP
PORTO, PORTUGAL
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| With the arrival of the end of the year and the end of four years of management of the last Advisory Committee (AC) of the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), new AC members have been working carefully from Prague at this important moment of transition so that the new management can continue the work of WAS. With this in mind, the new team met for three days in October 2017 in the city of Porto to project its vision and initiate actions for the construction of a Strategic Plan for 2018.Unlike the AC meetings, which is established by the entity’s statute, this meeting was exclusively of a strategic nature, aimed at stimulating critical thinking, strengthening teamwork and awareness of how WAS exists in technical, economic and political terms. This type of planning is an important step in the success of the new AC, because the more knowledge its members have of what needs to be done, the easier it will be for the new management to complete its tasks.
This Porto meeting represented a great intellectual investment for the institutional and financial health of WAS, as part of the costs were financed by the University of Porto and the other part by the members of the AC itself. These voluntary actions serve to strengthen the commitment and credibility of the WAS as an internationally committed institution dedicated to addressing sexual rights and sexual health in their different dimensions.
Learn about everything that was discussed in the report below. |
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| WAS representatives in cooperation with Porto University a organized public session on the topic of Sexual Health & Sexual Rights for All. You can read more information here or watch the video below. |
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| Public session: Sexual Health and Sexual Rights for All |
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WORLD SEXUAL HEALTH DAY 2017
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| World Association for Sexual Health (WAS)2017 marks the 8th consecutive year in which World Sexual Health Day (WSHD) was celebrated. Year after year, since 2009, the interest and enthusiasm of the general public , organizations, institutions and governments, has been growing to commemorate this day through different and diverse activities. The groundswell of support for WSHD demonstrates not only commitment, but also creativity to promote information and education for sexual health and sexual rights, this time centered around the theme of “Love, Bonding and Intimacy as a possibility for all».
WSHD was celebrated on or around September 4th. Until now there are reports of 39 cities in 25 countries, where there were more than 88 activities that ranged from 10 to hundreds of participants. Celebrations of WSHD included workshops, seminars, lectures, talks, round tables, panels, publications, fairs, social meetings, concerts, raffles, writing and drawing contests, human chains, bicycle races, artistic exhibitions, literary meetings, collection of signatures, press conferences, interviews, television programs, articles in the written and digital press, campaigns, videos, as well as great activity in social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. The organizers report great satisfaction with reactions and contributions.
Of note is the promotion from UNAIDS, UNFPA, and WHO at the world level. At a National level several Mexican Government ministries centered around Health and Human Rights.
We want to thank Cenesex in Cuba for sharing their graphic art for worldwide use, Nadine Terein for coordinating this year’s preparation and the WSHD committee for implementation. The 2018 slogan and proposal will be ready early next year.
The countries that have reports so far are: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Japan, India, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela.
If you want to follow or see details of some of the activities, these are the links for the web page, Facebook and Twitter pages, in English and Spanish, of World Sexual Health Day:
Website and www.diamundialsaludsexual.org
English Facebook
Spanish Facebook
Twitter English @sexualhealthday
Twitter Spanish @diasaludsexual
IMPORTANTE NOTE: It is important that all organizations and individuals send their respective reports to be included in the database. Please, send the information as soon as possible to worldsexualhealthday@gmail.com or post them on Facebook or Twitter.
Thank you very much.
Luis Perelman
Chair of WSHD Committee
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WAS STATEMENT ABOUT LIMITATIONS OF ABORTION RIGHTS IN BRAZIL
(PEC 181)
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| In Brazil, abortion is only permissible in cases of rape, when a pregnancy threatens the woman’s life, and in the case of very serious brain damage of the fetus (anencephaly). Consequently, around one million abortions are performed illegally each year, with many of these under unsafe conditions. The Brazilian Ministry of Health reported that at least 181,000 women were treated in 2015 for complications of illegal abortion, of which 59 women died.Reports indicate that 60% of complicated abortions occur in women under 20 years of age, because they do not have access to contraception or legal abortion. Clandestine abortions cause 1 in 8 maternal deaths and between 10 to 50% are complicated by incomplete abortion, infection, hemorrhage, perforation of the uterus, sterility and psychological traumas.
Despite acknowledging the risks and high rates of complications, the federal government is planning to make all abortions illegal. The bill — PEC 181 — will, if approved, remove all exceptions for a legal abortion. This measure is part of a Constitutional Amendment.
Several Brazilian organizations are currently challenging PEC 181 and the limitations it imposes on women’s sexual and reproductive rights.
The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) denounces the bill, PEC 181, and reaffirms its support for the sexual and reproductive rights of women. Article 12 of the WAS Declaration of Sexual Rights (2014) states that everyone has the right to make reproductive decisions on their own terms, and this right includes unobstructed access to sexual health services, including safe abortions.
Beyond the clear violation of human rights recognized by international statutes concerning sexual and reproductive health and rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, WAS considers that obstacles to safe abortion will result in an increase of illegal and unsafe abortions, causing serious harm to women.
Unsafe abortion is one of the major causes of maternal mortality in Brazil. WAS is an international organization, with more than one hundred member organizations across the globe, that promotes and advocates for sexual health and sexual rights throughout the lifespan and across the world by advancing sexuality research, comprehensive sexuality education, and clinical care and services for everyone. |
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FIRST TRANSGENDER CHANNEL WAS LAUNCHED IN INDIA
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| Rachana Mudraboyina decided to launch the First YouTube channel in India conceptualised and actualised by transgender individuals. Read the article HERE. |
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SEXUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH!
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| Successful conference and annual meeting in The Nordic Association for Clinical Sexology in Trondheim, Norway 12-15 October 2017.The annual NACS conferences venues alternate between the Nordic countries; in 2016, the conference was held in Tartu, Estonia, in 2018 it will be held in Turku, Finland. This year the conference was held in Trondheim, Norway on the topic ”Sexuality and mental health”.
To highlight the international work on sexuality and mental health, Lale Say, from WHO attended the conference and presented the WHO operational framework, where sexual health is intertwined with reproductive health. She also presented the proposition for the ICD-11 to add a new chapter on sexual health where both sexual dysfunctions and gender incongruence are included, and hence excluded from the chapter of mental disorders.
The NACS conferences are attended by many practitioners who are more interested in obtaining new knowledge than presenting their own research; the conferences can therefore put more effort in giving space for interesting lecturers to present their work on relevant topics.
At this conference, Norwegian doctor Anna Louise Kirkengen presented her work under the title “Sexually abused –Bodily inscribed” – about the long-term consequences of sexual abuse. Consequences that can also be “read” in physiological changes in the CNS.
Jon Arcelus from University of Nottingham, UK, presented research on mental health in Trans youth, suggesting that it may benefit young trans people to start hormonal treatment earlier than what is common in present practice.
Specialist in clinical psychology Atle Austad from Norway talked about genital identity in men, and the need to teach young boys about what is a normal penis.
Specialist in psychiatry, Haakon Aars and specialist in clinical psychology Cecilie Brøvig Almås, both from Norway, talked about the need to be aware of sexuality in psychiatric patients. Aars highlighhted problematic consequences of medication on sexual function, and Brøvig Almås went into depth on psychotic patients´ ambivalence concerning intimacy. Professor Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair form the University in Trondheim presented research about risky sexual behaviour and health outcomes.
Specialist in clinical psychology, Elsa Almås described options of using modified sex therapy to help clients repair sexuality after sexual trauma.
Professor Janniko Georgiadis from Groningen, Netherlands gave an instructive presentation of a theoretical framework of the human sexual brain and gave examples from studies focusing on sexual response.
In addition to the invited speakers, there were 21 oral presentations and 6 posters from all the Nordic countries, and from Turkey and Morocco on topics such as gender incongruity, social sexology, sexual problems, medical sexology, sexuality and culture, and sexological counselling.
Participants expressed great satisfaction with the scientific programme as well as the social program. The organising committee in Trondheim had organised a magnificent organ concert in the great cathedral Nidarosdomen, live chamber music at the get-together at Litteraturhuset on Thursday night, and live ballroom music at the gala dinner on Saturday night. The food, the hotel, the surroundings were all very satisfactory for the 150 participants from the Nordic countries and our guests from England, Netherland, Morocco, Palestine and Turkey!
We now look forward to the 40th anniversary of NACS in Finland next year!
Elsa Almås
President NACS 2017-2018 |
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THE AFRICAN FEDERATION FOR SEXUAL HEALTH AND RIGHTS (AFSHR) 
ASIA-OCEANIA FEDERATION FOR SEXOLOGY (AOFS)
EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF SEXOLOGY (EFS)
FEDERACIÓN LATINOAMERICANA DE SOCIEDADES DE SEXOLOGÍA Y EDUCACIÓN SEXUAL (FLASSES)
NORTH AMERICAN FEDERATION OF SEXUALITY ORGANIZATIONS (NAFSO)
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