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Well, it looks like the federal justice committee has just cleared the way for the passage of Bill C-22, which will raise the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16. The Conservatives are calling it the "age of protection," and are falling all over themselves, claiming to be protecting children from exploitation.

I've made my opinions on this issue known in Capital Xtra, and for a short while, I was Egale Canada's spokesperson on the issue.

In a nutshell, this law is bad news because it will only serve to repress young people's sexuality, put them in more danger of contracting STIs while also giving a nod to the religious right who would prefer if parents could keep their teenagers locked up until they turn 21. The law is also as superfluous as it is dangerous. Canada already has strict laws that criminalize any sexual relationship with a young person when there is any evidence of a power imbalance or any form of abuse or exploitation.

To add icing to the cake, the justice committee has also held up one of the last vestiges of Canada's anti-sodomy laws, by refusing to strike down section 159 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes anal sex unless it's being performed by two people over the age of 18 (unless they're married).

Yep, you heard me right. There is a separate age of consent for anal sex. And it's still on the books.

So in tribute to to all of the young people from the Age of Consent coalition that faced insurmountable odds when they presented in front of the justice committee, I offer you this video from Vancouver's The Wet Spots (WARNING: not suitable for work):

Cross-posted to Dykes Against Harper

More entries on: Sexual Health

April 11, 2007

Greeks, Sex and Alanis

Posted by aaron at 08:33 PM ET | Comments (4)

Some things have been bugging me a lot lately. I worked a sorority ball the other night and it was by far the most embarassing thing I've ever witnessed. My university didn't allow greek associations and so until now I never quite understood what my friends meant when they admitted to hating these people.

I'm not one to rail against debauchery, I have no problems with people doing silly things and getting wasted, partying, having meaningless sex or whatever, but these people, the "sisters" and their fratboy dates, really bothered me. On the way in, girls already had to be helped into the washrooms to puke, they could barely stand up. The conversation ranged from meaningless to insecure. "There's this brand, kinda edgier than American Eagle, but not, like Abercrombie or anything like that..."

The drunk organizer couldn't understand how to speak into the microphone and even the seniors were basically illiterate. Their "roasts" of the graduating class were the saddest excuses for rhyming couplets I've ever heard, and, even in this hyper-sexual day and age, genuinely shocking, but more for the sheer magnitude of mainstream sex acts described rather than anything subversive.

On the other hand, I saw Alanis Morissette's parody of The Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" video which everyone is talking about. It's brilliant, but wasn't the original song satire to begin with? That's the only way I can explain lyrics that bad. My question, if the original song is a commentary on the commodifying nature of mainstream culture then what is Alanis' version?

More entries on: Sexual Health

March 08, 2007

International Women's Day Special Report: Women's Health in Haiti

Posted by shawnsyms at 04:09 PM ET | Comments (0)

Getting the word out about a free hospital for pregnant Haitian women
(photo by Isabelle Jeanson for Médecins sans Frontières)

The poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, Haiti has suffered as a result of international intervention for over five hundred years. The damage continues to this day, in the form of desperate poverty and extreme brutality. Some of those at greatest risk are women.

Last year, the medical journal The Lancet estimated that in the year following 2004's armed insurrection against the Haitian government, 8,000 murders and 35,000 acts of sexual assault occurred in the area surrounding the capital Port au Prince alone. More recently, the BBC reported that some UN troops deployed in the distraught nation have been accused of sexual violence against children.

And with Haiti's for-profit healthcare model, the most vulnerable suffer. In the dozens of slums surrounding Port au Prince, women were forced to give birth at home in unsanitary conditions, without the benefit of electricity, latrines or even running water. Until Médecins sans Frontières got involved, that is. MSF opened Jude Anne Hospital one year ago, strategically locating it so the poorest women in the capital city could easily travel there. The hospital offers emergency obstetric care to poor pregnant women, for free. It also offers support for those who have been sexually assaulted, and provides anti-retroviral treatment to deter mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

In the Post Marchan slum, thousands live surrounded by garbage and open sewage
(photo by Isabelle Jeanson for Médecins sans Frontières)

The hospital has just over 50 beds—but hundreds of women seek help there every day. So a fast turnaround is essential. About 4 hours can be devoted per standard birth; women who undergo Caesarean sections can recuperate there for two days. Still, the efforts of the hospital staff greatly increase the odds for women and children in a country where, the MSF points out, there are 523 maternal deaths for every 100,000 childbirths (compared with 20 deaths on average in Western nations).

Jude Anne Hospital saves lives. Many of its patients experience high-risk medical complications where an attempt at home birth would likely kill the mother, or child, or both. Still, even managing to get to the hospital can be a fateful risk. In the slums of Port au Prince, random violence such as shootings and kidnapping are daily occurrences. A lot of the births take place in the hallways or even in the parking lot. As Sarah Senbeto, one midwife working at Jude Anne, told MSF: "Sadly enough, we can only help a small portion of the women in Port au Prince. We can only save those who make it this far."

MSF is on a mission to let the world know the struggles facing the poor women of Haiti. Find out more here.

More entries on: Feminism | Healthcare | Poverty | Sexual Health

THIS MAGAZINE. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL

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THIS MAGAZINE: BECAUSE EVERTHING IS POLITICAL

April 19, 2007

A Little Matter of Consent

April 11, 2007

Greeks, Sex and Alanis

March 08, 2007

International Women's Day Special Report: Women's Health in Haiti