As the COVID-19 pandemic increases gender, economic and racial inequalities, the UN on Friday marked the upcoming International Day of the Girl, with a youth-driven virtual townhall to demand a more just and equitable world for girls.
IDG 2020: Working Group on Girls Town Hall
For International Day of the Girl, the Working Group on Girls is hosting a town hall meeting on Friday, October 9th, where girl activists, gender equity thought leaders, and United Nations representatives from around the world, come together to discuss progress and gaps around girls rights and articulate the possibilities for realizing gender equality for all girls.
COVID19: Impact on LGBTIQ Adolescents and Youth in Southeast Asia, survey
Seizing the opportunity: Ending AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa
Countries Around the World Just Pledged to Provide Decent Primary Health Care to All Their Citizens
The African Union and UNAIDS, as Chair of the H6 partnership, join forces to tackle sexual and gender-based violence and health in humanitarian crises
Thailand: HIV Workers from across Asia Explore Innovative Use of Social and Digital Media to Combat HIV
Asia-Pacific’s alarming AIDS rise
There are now 220,000 adolescents living with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region, with large cities the hubs of new infections. Risky behaviour is on the rise, and policymakers need to address the problem, Wing-Sie Cheng Regional Adviser, HIV and AIDS with UNICEF, covering East Asia and the Pacific writes.
At a time when we are tantalisingly close to ending the global HIV and AIDS epidemic, a new trend gives cause for concern. Although new AIDS-related deaths are falling in most countries, they are rising among certain groups of adolescents in Asia-Pacific. The rise in new infections coincides with an increase in risky behaviour, such as multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom use.
These trends are not limited to Asia-Pacific. In parts of Africa, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among adolescents. In Asia-Pacific, the epidemic is growing fastest among young gay and bisexual men, and the rise of mobile dating or hook-up apps play a role as enablers of risky behaviour. Gay men are now using mobile dating apps to meet up for sex and are having more casual sex with more people with the convenience of geographic tracing of the nearest sexual interest. Read more via Policy Forum
UNICEF releases its first official, public position on sexual orientation, gender identity and children
The 6-page position paper is available now: All children, irrespective of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, have the right to a safe and healthy childhood that is free from discrimination. The same principle applies to all children irrespective of their parents sexual orientation or gender identity.
Both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights make clear that human rights are universal. No person — child or adult — should suffer abuse, discrimination, exploitation, marginalization or violence of any kind for any reason, including on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Read More