December 2021

Hello there Caddyshacker’s

Wow, what a year 2021 has been. It feels like a mash between “Mad World” by Tears for Fears and the movie “While you were sleeping”.

Our team was separated for close on 5 months, something that we all found challenging given how close knit we are. Thank goodness for Zoom! We were still able to witness each other’s bad lockdown haircuts and styles, house pets and children and be motivated by our happy, smiley faces as always.

Kaitlyn’s awesomeness was needed at the Public Health Unit, where she will remain until 2022. Maddy’s skills and expertise were required by the STI Program Unit, where she went on statewide secondment as the Communications and Health Promotion Programs Manager and will return to us in Jan 2022. That left long standing work wives (14 years together) Jen and Naomi running the mothership.

While we rode the waves of this year’s rollercoaster we were so proud of what Caddyshack Project has continued to maintain and deliver in 2021.

Nuff NOw, only positive news please

There is no denying the news has been far from upbeat and encouraging.

So this blog specifically targets the great news stories of 2021 from across the globe, related to our work.

Thanks Future Crunch a group of scientists, artists, technologists and entrepreneurs who think there are new and better ways of doing things in the 21st century for all the following info. Their mission is to foster intelligent, optimistic thinking about the future, and to empower people to contribute to it.

Grab a snack, get comfy & enjoy the good vibes :)

Same sex marriage & relationships – love is love

In 2009, Mexico City became the first Mexican state out of 32 to legalize same-sex marriage. In 2021 that number has reached 23 states onboard!

A court in Japan, the only G7 nation that still doesn't recognize gay marriage, has boosted the campaign to legalize it, after deciding it was ‘unconstitutional’ to deny same-sex couples the right to wed. Judges ruled the government's lack of recognition for three same-sex couples suing for psychological harm was in breach of a section of the constitution that requires equal laws for everyone.

A new law decriminalizing same-sex relations has gone into effect in Angola. It overturns a criminal code that had been in place for 134 years, from when the country was still a colony. Activists have heralded it as “a great step forward” in the fight against state-sponsored discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community in southern Africa.

After a two-year legal battle, Bolivia has recognized its first same-sex civil union, after the country's constitutional court agreed that by refusing to recognize the relationship, Bolivia’s civil registry was practicing discrimination. Gay marriage has become increasingly accepted in Latin America, and activists hope the ruling will pave the way for full legalization in Bolivia.

Gender and sexuality diversity

A landmark victory for LGBTQ+ rights, with a Taiwan court overturning a rule that required trans people to have surgery to remove their reproductive organs before they could be legally recognised in their correct gender.

“Self-determined gender is a cornerstone of a person’s identity, and this ruling highlights the advancement of gender equality and human rights in Taiwan.”

A big step forward for LGBTQIA+ rights in Israel after the government lifted restrictions on blood donations by gay men. It follows the United Kingdom and the United States, who have both eased similar restrictions over the past year.

Another step forward for transgender rights in America with Utah's Supreme Court overturning a district judge’s decision to deny two transgender people the right to change their birth certificates. The ruling comes after a three year deliberation and creates an important precedent not just for the state, but the country as a whole.

Back in Australia, a bill banning LGBTQI+ conversion therapy has passed Victoria's Upper House. That means it is now illegal to try to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity in our state. Following similar reforms around conversion therapy in Queensland and the ACT, it's another important step in the fight for tolerance and equality in Australia. 

Cultural diversity

Some of Australia's most beautiful natural sites, including the Daintree, the oldest tropical rainforest in the world, have been returned to Aboriginal custodianship. After years of negotiations, four parks covering more than 160,000 hectares will now be co-managed by the Queensland government and the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people, and eventually transition to being run solely by First Nations people.

Saudi Arabia has officially allowed single, divorced or widowed women to live independently in a house without permission from a father or any other male guardian.

“An adult woman has the right to choose where to live. Families can no longer file lawsuits against their daughters who choose to live alone.”

Contraception

From 2022 France will offer free birth control for all women aged 25 and under to target a decline in contraceptive use among young women due to cost. Contraceptive methods are already free in Britain, and Spain offers free birth control pills and subsidizes other forms of contraception.

The UN released its latest data on family planning. The total number of women and girls around the world using modern contraception now stands at 320 million, with 60 million new users in the last seven years, and nine million in the past year alone. Progress has been particularly strong in Africa, where the number of modern contraceptive users has grown by 66% since 2012.

Reproductive health

Mexico’s Supreme Court has made it legal for all citizens to choose what happens to their bodies, in a landmark decision to decriminalize abortion. It's a major human rights victory in a country with one of the world’s largest Catholic populations, and a sign of changing attitudes across Latin America, following a similar move by Argentina earlier this year.

Argentina has legalized abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, becoming the largest Latin American nation to give women autonomy over their bodies.

"When I was born, women did not vote, we did not inherit, we could not manage our assets, we could not have bank accounts, we didn’t have credit cards, we couldn’t go to university. When I was born, women were nobody. Now, for all the women for fought for those rights and more, let it be law.”

Some good news from Tanzania too, which will allow pregnant girls and teen mothers the opportunity to resume secondary education, overturning a 4-year ban. 

Sexually Transmitted Infections and Blood Borne Viruses

A new report from the WHO says there were 1.5 million new HIV infections in 2020, a decline of 30% since 2010, and the lowest total number since 1990.

The same report says that 9.4 million people around the world are now receiving treatment for Hepatitis C, an almost 10-fold increase from the baseline of one million at the end of 2015. This scale-up of treatment has been sufficient to reverse the global trend of increasing mortality from Hepatitis C for the first time ever. 

Human rights, body rights and inclusion

A major human rights victory in Somalia’s Puntland region, after the government approved a bill to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM) in a country where most girls are still forced to undergo the practice. The bill includes harsh penalties for hospitals, midwives, and traditional circumcisers who perform the barbaric practice.

Afghanistan has passed a new law that will, for the first time, include mothers’ names on their children’s birth certificates and ID cards. It's a major victory for women’s rights activists, who for several years have campaigned for both parents to be named under the social media hashtag #WhereIsMyName. It's especially significant for women who are widowed, divorced, separated, or dealing with abusive partner.

A court in Pakistan has abolished the outdated practice of virginity tests on rape victims after human rights activists filed a lawsuit in the eastern city of Lahore. Activists have called it “landmark judgment” against a “demeaning and absurd” practice that will help improve the investigative and judicial process for victims of sexual violence. The judgement could also pave the way for further bans of the practice in other areas of Pakistan.

Lebanon has criminalized sexual harassment with a landmark law that penalizes perpetrators with four years in prison and up to 50 times the minimum wage. The new law expands the definition of sexual harassment to “any recurring bad behaviour that is out of the ordinary, unwanted by the victim” and includes electronic harassment. It’s hoped the harsher penalties will serve as a deterrent and lead to broader cultural change.

Egypt's cabinet has toughened its laws on female genital mutilation (FGM), imposing jail terms of up to 20 years as part of efforts to stamp out the horrifying tradition (90% of Egyptian women between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM). The new law hikes the maximum sentence from the current seven years, and will ban any medical practitioners involved from practicing for five years.

The Dominican Republic has definitively banned child marriage. Previously, girls from the age of 15 were allowed to marry, and 36% of Dominican girls and adolescents married before the age of 18, the highest rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. Men or family members who now attempt to force a child to marry will be imprisoned for five years and the marriage annulled.

The Philippines has lifted the age of consent for sex from 12 to 16 after decades of lobbying from children’s rights activists. Campaigners say the legislation is a major milestone in efforts to protect the country's young people from sexual abuse, and where 500 teenagers get pregnant and give birth every day. “This is a victory for Filipino children."

Denmark has passed a law recognizing that sex without consent is rape. It is the 12th country in Europe to do so, as momentum for change builds in other countries.

“This historic day did not come about by chance. It is the result of years of campaigning by survivors who, by telling their painful stories, have helped to ensure that other women do not have to go through what they endured.”

Now back to you Caddyshack Project

No funny, fancy, flamboyant photoshoots from us this year.

Instead, we bring you the last photo that was taken of us together on Tuesday 22nd June 2021!

We thank you all for your continued support and encouragement throughout 2021.

We truly love what we do here at the Caddyshack Project and cannot wait to be back for more in 2022.

Take care over the festive summer period, stay safe, stay cool, stay fabulous!

Peace, Love & Protection

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