Hey- Red Violet here. Here’s the write up of news during the last two weeks.

A court in Argentina has convicted 11 former military, police and government officials of crimes against humanity committed during the country's last dictatorship from 1976-1983.

The 3-year trial focused on atrocities committed in 4 secret detention and torture centres near Buenos Aires, including forced disappearances, torture, rapes and killings.

It was the first time that the court heard testimony from trans women who were held in these detention centres, tortured, sexually abused and forced to work.

The court categorised the acts as crimes against humanity and part of a genocide. 10 of the defendants received life sentences, 1 received 25 years and 1 was acquitted.

Since 2006, over 1,100 people have been convicted for crimes related to military dictatorship in Argentina. However, the current government has tried to play down the atrocities of that time.

The trial brought new information to light, including the experiences of trans victims and the names of previously unidentified disappeared people.

A staggering" rise in women with reproductive health problems near cobalt mines in DRC

A paediatrician who has been recording patient data since 2016 explained that rates of genital infections and skin diseases among female patients had exploded. She believed this was due to these populations being the main users of ‘unclean water’, making them particularly vulnerable to disease.

Cobalt is used to make batteries for a range of household items, including electric vehicles. The transition to green energy has led to an increase in production at cobalt mines over the past decade.

Women are more likely to come into contact with cobalt than men, as they bathe in it, wash their clothes and carry out other household cleaning tasks with it.

Taliban is to resume stoning women to death again.

The Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, announced at the weekend that the group would begin enforcing its interpretation of Sharia law in Afghanistan, including the reintroduction of public flogging and stoning of women for adultery.

 Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, “Two years ago they didn’t have the courage to vow the public stoning of women, but now they do.

“They have tried one draconian policy after another and have reached this point because there is no one to hold them accountable for the abuses. Through the bodies of Afghan women, the Taliban demand and command moral and social orders. We should all be warned that if we do not stop them, more and more will come.”

Western Australia has decriminalised abortion, making it the last state/territory in Australia to remove abortion from the Criminal Code.

The new laws in Western Australia will abolish doctor referral and mandatory counselling and remove abortion from the Criminal Code. In addition, the gestational limit for late-term abortions will be extended from 20 to 23 weeks.

While decriminalisation is an important step, access to abortion services is still not equal across Australia. There is a "postcode lottery" in availability, particularly in regional/rural areas and for people who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

Other Australian states and territories have decriminalised abortion over the past two decades, with WA being the last holdout until 2023.

This development in Australia contrasts with the dismantling of abortion rights in the United States following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, where many states have introduced a near-total ban on abortion.

Overall, decriminalisation in WA is seen as a positive step towards ensuring reproductive rights for all Australians, although more needs to be done to improve equal access to abortion services nationwide.

The US-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an influential Christian anti-abortion group, has significantly increased its lobbying and spending in the UK in recent years.

The UK branch of ADF, called ADF International UK, has more than doubled its spending since 2020 and actively engages with UK lawmakers, including by providing policy briefings to MPs.

ADF International UK has publicly opposed the decriminalisation of abortion in the UK. It has also developed close links with Fiona Bruce, the UK Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Religious Freedom, whom it flew in to attend one of her conferences.

The increased activity of the ADF and other anti-abortion groups in the UK has raised concerns about transparency, potential conflicts of interest and threats to reproductive rights as the UK parliament prepares to vote on a bill to decriminalise abortion.

Other anti-abortion groups such as Right to Life and the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform UK have also increased their lobbying, advertising and staffing in the UK, coordinating letter-writing campaigns and producing briefings for lawmakers.

The scale of the anti-abortion movement's spending and influence in the UK has been described as "worrying" by reproductive health experts, who warn of the threat posed by these US-based Christian nationalist groups.

Thanks for reading!

I appreciate you being here.

If you found it useful please share with a friend!

Received from a friend? Subscribe by clicking the button below!