When the 2010 series of earthquakes struck Haiti, hundreds of charities and organizations began aiding the country through increased funds, developmental aid, medical care, etc. Since then, sexual misconduct claims have come to light regarding two aid organization in Haiti – Oxfam of Great Britain and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Beginning with the ICRC, 21 staff members… Read more »
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/22/news/economy/colombia-venezuela/index.html Colombia was once the rising economic star of Latin America. Now it has a long list of challenges — and the latest is an unprecedented refugee crisis. Venezuelans are pouring in to flee the humanitarian disaster in their home country. Colombia was already dealing with corruption scandals, record cocaine production, proposed cuts in American aid, oil headaches and a… Read more »
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/talk-military-intervention-venezuela-absurd-180220074231779.html In early February, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson embarked on a Latin America tour aimed at promoting “democratic security”. But just before he set off on his trip, he speculated on the possibility of a military coup in Venezuela. “In the history of Venezuela and South American countries, it is often times that the military is the agent… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/24/world/icrc-sex-scandal/index.html (CNN)The International Committee of the Red Cross said 21 staff members have been dismissed or resigned for “paying for sexual services” since 2015. An additional two staff members suspected of sexual misconduct didn’t have their contracts renewed, Yves Daccord, the ICRC’s director-general, said in a statement Friday. “This behavior is a betrayal of the people and the communities we… Read more »
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/22/americas/oxfam-report-haiti-threats-intl/index.html Haiti has suspended the international poverty charity Oxfam Great Britain from operating in the country after reports of sexual misconduct by some of its employees. “The Haitian government has decided to suspend temporarily the authorization of Oxfam GB to operate in Haiti,” Bocchit Edmond, the chief of mission at Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in London, tweeted directly… Read more »
Since the news broke of Harvey Weintstein’s prolonged sexual abuse towards hundreds of women in Hollywood, there has been a widespread movement of woman seeking equal rights and the end to men getting away with sexual misconduct. This movement, however, began in Brazil when woman decided to speak out against a “leading man in Brazilian soap operas.” Celebrities created t-shirts… Read more »
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42938510 Costa Rica’s presidential election will go into a runoff after evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado won the first round but failed to secure enough votes to win outright. He will face Carlos Alvarado of the centre-left Citizen’s Action Party (PAC) in the second round on 1 April. The election was dominated by the issue of same-sex marriage, after a court… Read more »
https://latinamericanpost.com/index.php/other/277-latam/19065-latam-s-metoo-moment The revolt against sexual predation in the workplace is in full cry in the United States. But what about in Latin America, where machismo was branded and the border between seduction and assault has been elastic and riddled with legal indulgences? The outrage may be more selective and change agonizingly slow, but even in the most patriarchal societies of… Read more »
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/el-salvador-frees-woman-imprisoned-abortion-180215164922658.html A woman in El Salvador serving a 30-year prison term for allegedly aborting her child has been released after the country’s Supreme Court reduced her sentence. Teodora del Carmen Vasquez was convicted in 2008 of aggravated homicide, after being charged under a strict abortion law prohibiting abortion or miscarriages. Carmen Vasquez, her lawyers and human rights groups always maintained she… Read more »
http://www.france24.com/en/20180205-anti-gay-marriage-candidate-leads-costa-rica-presidential-election A conservative, evangelical lawmaker who fiercely opposes same-sex marriage emerged as the frontrunner to become Costa Rica’s next president, according to preliminary results from a first round election Sunday. Fabricio Alvarado of the right-wing National Restoration Party received 25 percent of the vote, according to a tally of more than two-thirds of the ballots published by the country’s Supreme… Read more »