Sex & Sexualities

Criminalising the sex work industry does not eradicate it, but simply makes it impossible to control or regulate. This in turn means that sex workers are vulnerable to violence and exploitation and cannot rely on the law or the police to protect them. Constant harassment and arrests cause much harm to sex workers, the majority being women who are economically dependent on this work.

The discovery of two brothels where underage girls worked for just food in a township in central Swaziland has triggered both shock and sympathy in a country struggling with chronic poverty and food insecurity.

The jailing in Senegal of nine gay men for eight years over "indecent conduct and unnatural acts" has been condemned by an international gay rights group.

On the 18th of December, 2008, a Statement on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with the backing of 66 states including six African countries, was read at the General Assembly. The statement reaffirmed "the principle of the universality of human rights amongst other things. But a counter-statement arguing against the statement supported by 60 states including a multitude of African countries.

On the 18th of December, 2008, a Statement on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with the backing of 66 states including six African countries, was read at the General Assembly. The statement reaffirmed "the principle of the universality of human rights amongst other things. But a counter-statement arguing against the statement supported by 60 states including a multitude of African countries.

In this essay that shows the discrepancy between universal human rights and their selective application, Lawrence M. Mute asks: Why did the whole of Anglophone Africa decline to support the Statement? Why did such little empathy flow from many discriminated groups to LGBTI communities? Why would many a group discriminated on grounds of race, disability or gender still find it rational to perpetuate discrimination on homosexuals or lesbians?

A study by the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing and Union Theological Seminary shows seminaries aren't doing much to prepare clergy-in-training to deal with sexuality issues. 

New York (MMD Newswire) January 12, 2008 -- Combining science with the latest in technology, Natural Research & Development, Inc., led by Canadian businessman, Joseph Gagliano, has created one of the most revolutionary natural breast enhancement methods to come along in decades. As with any new and original product or idea, the company spent years researching which natural methods produced the greatest results on the growth of women's breasts while eliminating those that did absolutely nothing.

MARTIN Luther described it as "the richest ornament of women"; Rapunzel shook hers loose in an attempt to get suitors to climb up it into her bedchamber; Venus used hers to protect her modesty. And Britney Spears shaved hers off, in an apparent attempt to purge herself of her all-American sweetheart image.

Have you had "the talk" with your kids yet?  I remember getting the talk when I was about 12, and over the years I've discovered that not very many of my friends got one.  

Amy Lang says that sex education should start early and be a natural part of conversations to take away the mystery and make it a basic fact of life.  She also knows parents are the best resources for this kind of information because they can also transfer their values along with the facts.

Amy's business - www.birtdsandbeesandkids.com - helps parents learn how to talk about sexuality with their kids, from toddlers through teenagers.  I had the opportunity to interview Amy and you can get a sense of her no-nonsense approach in the audio below.