[YCIG] Fwd: Announcement: New exploratory study on sex, rights and the internet

[Wieke Vink]

Dear all,

 

Pls find below an exploratory research study on sex, rights and the internet. Might be interesting to take into account when discussing sexuality in the IGF context.

 

As my organization most likely will not be involved in IG processes the coming years, I request you to please remove me from this listserve, while wishing you all the best!

If there's anything related to young people's off- and online sexual and reproductive rights that I can help out with in future, please do let me know.

 

Best wishes,

Wieke

Wieke Vink

member, netherlands
youth coalition for sexual and reproductive rights
wi...@youthcoalition.org  / www.youthcoalition.org
Tel: 0031 (0)6 516 46 780
 
working internationally for sexual and reproductive rights.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sonia Correa <sco...@abiaids.org.br>
Date: 11 August 2011 03:14
Subject: ISRRC - Fwd: Announcement: New exploratory study on sex, rights and the internet published today by APC

 

EROTICS: Sex, rights and the internet (An exploratory research study)

Dear friends

You are some of the first to be alerted to the publication of this breakthrough three-year study published today by APC.

Carried out in Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa & USA the research looks at how the internet plays host to critical information about sex education, health, fighting sex discrimination and defining one’s own sexuality. It debunks the commonly-held view that sexuality online is just about pornography.

The EROTICS project took place between June 2008 and June 2011 and was funded by The Ford Foundation. The primary research goal was to respond to the question:

How may emerging debates and the growing practice of online content regulation either impede or facilitate the different ways women use the internet and the impact on their sexual expression, sexualities and sexual health practices, and the assertion of their sexual rights?

Each of the country teams engaged with diverse sections of society and communities, including young women (India), library users and particularly young people among them (US), transgender people (South Africa), lesbian women (Lebanon, India and Brazil), sexual rights advocates (Lebanon and Brazil), social networking users (all countries) and men who advocate for relationships with young people (Brazil).

The five EROTICS country reports map the current landscape of sexual and internet rights, and examine the value of the internet in the exercise of rights by people of diverse sexualities:

• South Africa report unpacks in detail how transgendered women and men converge at a popular transgender site to share their struggles in transitioning, including treatment options, unlearning dominant gender norms, celebration of achieved milestones and exchange of experiences in discrimination faced.
• Lebanon report highlights the registration of www.gaylebanon.com – also the only known website to face legal prosecution in the country – as being recognised to mark the beginning of an organised movement.
• Brazilian report documents the “Mega No” online campaign against a proposed law that could significantly hamper the free flow of information on sexuality and sexual health online demonstrates the potency of civil society engagement and mass mobilisation of support through the internet.
• India report uncovers ways in which young women are able to push the boundaries of cultural and social barriers that place intense scrutiny on their sexuality.

Jump to sections of the report directly or download the full findings.

Emerging threads and common gaps: A synthesis – page 6 Jac sm Kee

Brazil: Internet regulation and sexual politics in Brazil – page 19
Sonia Corrêa, Marina Maria and Jandira Queiroz (Sexuality Policy Watch)
and Bruno Dallacort Zilli and Horacio Federico Sívori (Latin American Center on Sexuality and Human Rights, CLAM)

India: Negotiating intimacy and harm: Female internet users in Mumbai – page 66
Manjima Bhattacharjya and Maya Indira Ganesh

Lebanon: Who’s afraid of the big bad internet? - page 109
Nadine Moawad and Tamara Qiblaw

South Africa: The internet and sexual identities: Exploring transgender and lesbian use of the internet in South Africa - page 135
Jeanne Prinsloo and Nicolene C. McLean (Rhodes University)
and Relebohile Moletsane (University of KwaZulu-Natal)

United States: Restricted access to information: Youth and sexuality - page 176
Kevicha Echols and Melissa Ditmore, Sex Work Awareness

Best wishes
Karen
-- Karen Higgs Communications Manager / directora de comunicaciones Montevideo, Uruguay Tel +598 2 400-6460 Skype/yahoo karen_apc ------------------------------------------- www.apc.org in English French and Spanish www.facebook.com/APCNews @APC_News www.facebook.com/APCNoticias @APCNoticias www.facebook.com/APCNouvelles @APCNouvelles

-- 
Sonia Corrêa
Sexuality Policy Watch
Observatório de Sexualidade e Política
(at ABIA), Av. Presidente Vargas, 446, 13o andar,
Rio, Brasil
55-21-2223104

-- 

[Tim Davies]

Dear Wieke,

Many thanks for forwarding this study on. Whilst it's disappointing that the introduction suggests the researchers weren't able to involve young people directly in their research (something that's vital - with the potential for young people to be involved both as 'researched' and as co-researchers), it looks like there will be many useful insights for the debate in the report.  

You should be able to unsubscribe yourself from the list at https://groups.google.com/group/ycig - I don't seem to have admin ability to do that (Who are the list admins on this list?) 

Before you go though - and for one of our workshops at this years IGF - if there was one big 'myth' about young people's sexual and reproductive rights and the Internet that we should address in the myth busting workshop: what do you think we should focus on?

All best wishes 

Tim

--


http://www.timdavies.org.uk
07834 856 303.
@timdavies

Co-director of Practical Participation: http://www.practicalparticipation.co.uk
--------------------------
Practical Participation Ltd is a registered company in England and Wales - #5381958.

[Rafik Dammak]

Hi Tim,

You should be able to unsubscribe yourself from the list at https://groups.google.com/group/ycig - I don't seem to have admin ability to do that (Who are the list admins on this list?) 

Wieke is already unsubscribed to the list, I am the admin of the list as I created it at the beginning and I manage the requests I am receiving to join the group.

Rafik

[Nyx McLean]

Dear Tim

I was involved in that research, and was a (young) co-researcher for the South African study. We also involved young trans and young lesbian/bisexual women in our research. 

Nyx McLean

[Tim Davies]

Hey Nyx,

Thanks for clarifying. The introduction to the report included a section on ethics considerations meaning young people were not included. I suspect this was centred on under-18s? Were there under-18s involved in the South African study?

(As Wieke wasn't on the list to catch the question on what's the top 'Myth' about young people's sexual and reproductive rights and the Internet, if you had any ideas on that on Nyx I'd be most grateful...)

All best wishes

Tim

[Nyx McLean]

Hi Tim

Well, there was a trans youth involved in the study - well, the interview process component. There were other under 18s involved in the questionnaires/survey and general internet 'background' discussions. Mostly, young people were over 20. 

We dealt mostly with access, use of the net, and performance of gender/sexuality to a degree. 

If I think, off the top of my head, I would say that a myth that exists around young people's sexual and reproductive rights and the net is that people assume young people are too young to begin exploring this aspect of their lives. So, they're told to not access sites, or sites are blocked (e.g. Turkey - almost no access to LGBTIAQ sites/content; not sure about other sites dealing with sexual and reproductive aspects), instead of spaces being created where they can discuss, safely, elements of sexual and reproductive life. It's that assumption that to "protect" young people you must hide content from them, instead of enabling them to access it in a way that is healthy and leads to their individual growth. 

I would encourage discussion around this, among young people, so that they are able to determine for themselves what they need. Instead of net regulators et al taking this power into their own hands. 

Dont know if that helps

All the best,

Nyx

[Tim Davies]

Hello Nyx,

That's really helpful indeed. 

I'm hoping to make some progress on the background paper for the Myths workshop shortly - so I've dropped this myth into the draft. I think it's definitely one we should address - as it was certainly the 'restrict access to protect young people' myth that I heard a lot of in Vilnius that encouraged me to propose the workshop. 

Draft paper (not much there yet): https://docs.google.com/document/d/18qUqUWfx0XVO5AViOIDtOy0PZ3LZAYY1vjLqCltQe3M/edit?hl=en_GB

Will you be in Nairobi this year?

Tim

[Nyx McLean]

I just checked out the myths listed, they're all super relevant at the moment if I think about the sort of stuff I hear in everyday conversation. The paranoia around Facebook etc is unbelievable - creating these notions in kids that they cant trust anyone and that everyone they chat/tweet at is a potential criminal/predator. Instead of breeding a sense of awareness in them so they are able to determine whether spaces are safe for them or not. 

Unfortunately I wont be attending this year, I'm lecturing during that period and cant risk leaving my students so close to their final evaluations. I will definitely be following online/participating where possible.

Take care