Sex & Sexualities

Certain sections of the long-awaited Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, No. 32 of 2007, came into effect on the 16th of December 2007 after being signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki. Section 72 of the Act provides for the implementation of Chapters 1 to 4 and 7, which mainly deal with the creation of statutory sexual offences, special protection measures for children and persons who are mentally disabled, certain transitional arrangements and evidencerelated matters. The Act will help intensify South Africa's efforts to fight sexual crimes against all persons and, especially, sexual offences being committed against vulnerable groups, including women, children and people who are mentally disabled.

"Sexuality" is a major life function that is an integral part of relating to others, building self-esteem and building social relationships. The ability to make choices related to sexuality and act on those choices by people with developmental disabilities contributes to healthy community living.

If the involvement of children in crime is under discussion, one can distinguish between crimes by children and crimes  against children. Crimes committed by children (delinquents) are investigated by the relevant unit, for example the Vehicle Theft Unit, Detective Branch, etc. 

The need to establish a unit within the South African Police Service to prevent and combat crimes against children, was identified during 1986. The primary task of the Child Protection Unit is to render a sensitive service endearing to the child victim.

An African lesbian group on Tuesday called on governments in the largely conservative continent to stop treating homosexuals like criminals.

The Coalition of African Lesbians is holding a conference attended by about 100 people in Mozambique to highlight discrimination against lesbians.

"Our main goal is that lesbian and homosexuality can no longer be seen as a criminal offence," the group's director and conference spokeswoman, Fikile Vilakazi, told Reuters. "You should not be arrested and charged for how you use your own body."

The movie The Kite Runner may inspire many South Africans to dust off their childhood kites and let them loose over the rooftops of their neighbourhoods. Frivolous fun, reminiscent of carefree days and not hurting anyone? Well, not if you are a Johannesburg resident.

We've been down this road before but it's a road we shall travel constantly until we get to a more understanding and equal environment. A group of people branding others evil and their acts illegal because they are having sex differently is quickly becoming a broken record.

As the media world buzzed about the "pregnant man," trans activists stayed relatively mum. Now we're asking: Has Thomas Beatie's public exposure hurt the transgender movement?

When Oregon trans man Thomas Beatie first told the world that he was pregnant in The Advocate in March, readers learned that he transitioned about 10 years ago, underwent a double mastectomy, and began testosterone injections. He and his wife, Nancy, decided to have a child, but because of a hysterectomy years ago, Nancy couldn't carry the baby. So Beatie stopped his hormone injections, underwent artificial insemination, and, after several doctors refused to treat him, finally found an obstetrician who would. His pregnancy, he wrote, was "free of complications." Health complications, maybe, but it would not be without other difficulties.

Transgender man Thomas Beatie set off a firestorm in the LGBT population and the world when he announced that he is having a baby and continues to identify as a man. His article in The Advocate, "Labor of Love," left many, even some transgender people, wondering how someone can identify as male and yet be pregnant. Some have even gone so far to suggest that by bearing the child he is less, or even not, male, despite Beatie's declaration that he continues to identify as male.

Thomas Beatie gives The Advocate a first-person account of how it feels to be pregnant and carrying a child for his wife and himself.

To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don't appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.

In Western society we are bombarded with messages about sexuality from the popular media, and yet it can be embarrassing to talk about our personal sexuality, especially any sexual concerns we may have. Sexual problems can have a ripple effect on many other areas of our lives including intimate relationships with a partner, the family, and work, and our general well being. At the same time all of our life interactions and activities can affect our sexuality The media tends to present sex as easy, good, and spontaneous, and it implies that we should always be in the mood for it. If only sex were that simple.