Men tuning into Insta-spiration

Clothed or bare-chested, is influence growing?

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY MARIKA TIGGEMANN. view more 

CREDIT: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

New research confirms men and teens are affected by Instagram influencers who set global benchmarks for ideal body shape, fashion and even facial trends.

While perhaps not as focused on 'thinness' as women appear to be from female influencers, the Flinders University study confirms males are responding to the body image and fitness messages shared by Instagram leaders, some with millions of followers.

This may mean men are less exposed to some of the negatives of social media but confirms the influence of fitspiration ('fitspo') and body image on this online platform, says psychology Professor Marika Tiggemann and Isabella Anderberg in a new paper in Body Image.

"Despite the rise in use of social media, there haven't been many studies into its effect on men and our new study found there are similarities and differences between women and men," says lead author Professor Tiggemann, who has extensively researched the power of social media images on body image, eating and other behaviours in women.

"While participants all had some vulnerable responses to some types of social media imagery, results typically obtained for women cannot simply be generalised to men."

Co-author Isabella Anderberg says the new study shows there is a high level of response to fitspiration goals via Instagram influencers.

"It is interesting that both the fitspiration and fashion images made participants feel more inspired to exercise, and we have certainly seen a rise in men following international fitspo and professional sporting hero influencers."

The Flinders research studied responses from 300 US adult men aged 18-30 who were randomly shown images of bare-chested (fitspiration), clothed (fashion) and control images, similar to those posted by Instagram influencers.

It was found that exposure to bare-chested and muscular images resulted in significantly lower body satisfaction relative to viewing clothed fashion images or scenery images.

"It's important to expand this research, including on the 'Brotox' facial ideals set in social media which is leading to more men reportedly using skin products and even cosmetic fillers and botox to keep up to influencers," Ms Anderberg adds.

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The new paper, Muscles and bare chests on Instagram: The effect of Influencers' fashion and fitspiration images on men's body image (2020) by Marika Tiggemann and Isabella Anderberg has been published in Body Image DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.10.001 Volume 35, December 2020, Pages 237-244

 

Area burned by severe fire increased 8-fold in western US over past four decades

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION

Research News

 

WASHINGTON--The number of wildfires and the amount of land they consume in the western U.S. has substantially increased since the 1980s, a trend often attributed to ongoing climate change. Now, new research finds fires are not only becoming more common in the western U.S. but the area burned at high severity is also increasing, a trend that may lead to long-term forest loss.

The new findings show warmer temperatures and drier conditions are driving an eight-fold increase in annual area burned by high severity fire across western forests from 1985-2017. In total, annual area burned by high severity wildfires -- defined as those that kill more than 95% of trees -- increased by more than 450,000 acres.

"As more area burns at high severity, the likelihood of conversion to different forest types or even to non-forest increases," said Sean Parks, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and lead author of the new study. "At the same time, the post-fire climate is making it increasingly difficult for seedlings to establish and survive, further reducing the potential for forests to return to their pre-fire condition."

Parks will present the results Wednesday, 9 December at AGU's Fall Meeting 2020. The findings are also published in AGU's journal Geophysical Research Letters, which publishes high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.

Scientists have known for years that wildfires are on the rise in the western U.S., coincident with recent long-term droughts and warmer temperatures. Many western states, especially parts of California, have undergone several multi-year droughts over the past four decades, a fact scientists attribute to human-caused changes to the climate. However, it is less clear how fire severity has changed over the past half century.

In the new study, Parks and John Abatzoglou, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California Merced, used satellite imagery to assess fire severity in four large regions in the western U.S. from 1985 to 2017. Rather than analyze the amount of area burned each year, they instead looked at the area burned at high severity, which is more likely to adversely impact forest ecosystems and human safety and infrastructure.

"The amount of area burned during a given year is an imperfect metric for assessing fire impacts," Parks said. "There was a substantial amount of fire in the western U.S. prior to Euro-American colonization, but that fire did not likely have the extreme effects that we're seeing now."

Beneficial fires

Wildfires were historically a common component of many forest ecosystems, especially in dry areas that receive little or sporadic rainfall. Fire was such a common occurrence in some regions that many tree species - especially certain species of pine - evolved traits that allow them to not only survive fires but to facilitate their ignition as well.

In the mountainous slopes of California, for example, ponderosa pines, sugar pines and giant sequoias sport thick bark that keeps the living tissue underneath insulated from extreme heat. Some tree species also drop the branches growing closest to the ground, which might otherwise allow fires to climb up into the canopy.

Species like jack pines are so dependent on fire that their seeds are unable to effectively disperse until a passing blaze melts the resinous coating surrounding their cones. And the slender, needle-like leaves of pines dry out more quickly than the broad leaves of deciduous hardwoods, making them excellent kindling.

The catch is these trees evolved to cope with frequent, low-intensity fires. During a severe fire, even the most well-adapted plants can succumb to mortality. If too many trees die, forest regrowth can be impeded by the lack of viable seeds.

"Forest burned at high severity bears the biggest ecological impacts from a fire," said Philip Dennison, a fire scientist at the University of Utah who was unaffiliated with the study. "These are the areas that are going to take the longest to recover, and in many places that recovery has been put into question due to higher temperatures and drought."

A 2019 study authored by Parks found up to 15% of intermountain forests in the western U.S. are at risk of disappearing. In dry regions, such as the southwestern U.S., that number increases to 30% when assuming fires burn under extreme weather.

As western North America continues to reel from the vice-like grip of droughts and increasing temperatures, scientists expect severe fires will become even more common.

"One take home message is that fire severity is elevated in warmer and drier years in the western U.S., and we expect that climate change will result in even warmer and drier years in the future," Parks said.

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AGU supports 130,000 enthusiasts to experts worldwide in Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, we advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

Notes for Journalists

This research study is freely available through December 31. Download a PDF copy of the paper here. Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo.

Sean Parks will present the results of this work at AGU Fall Meeting 2020. The oral presentation has been pre-recorded and will be available online starting 1 December to members of the press who are registered for Fall Meeting 2020. Register for the meeting here. A live Q&A with Parks will take place on Wednesday, 9 December during a scientific session on ecosystem resilience.

Session information: B044 - Fire-Vegetation Interactions and Ecosystem Resilience in a Warmer World I, Wednesday, 9 December, 23:30-00:30 PT.

Presentation abstract: B044-01 - Observed and Expected Increases in Fire Severity Weaken Stabilizing Feedbacks that Promote Forest Resilience

For information about Fall Meeting 2020, including the schedule of press events, visit the Fall Meeting 2020 Media Center.

Neither the paper, presentation, nor this press release is under embargo.

This press release and accompanying images are available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/area-burned-by-severe-fire-has-increased-8-fold-in-western-u-s-forests-over-past-four-decades/

Area burned by severe fire has increased 8-fold in western U.S. forests over past four decades

AGU press contact: Lauren Lipuma, +1 (202) 777-7396, news@agu.org

Contact information for the researchers: Sean A. Parks, U.S. Forest Service, sean.parks@usda.gov (U.S. Mountain Time, UTC-7)

 

Report assesses promises and pitfalls of private investment in conservation

Leading scientists, lawyers, investors and economists explore how privately financed conservation projects can generate both financial returns and positive conservation outcomes

ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Research News

 

IMAGE: A SHADE-GROWN COFFEE FARM NEAR THE TOWN OF JARDÍN IN THE ANTIOQUIA DEPARTMENT OF COLOMBIA. COFFEE BEANS GROWN UNDER TREES ARE HIGHER QUALITY, SUPPORTING THE LIVELIHOODS OF FARMERS AND THEIR... view more 

CREDIT: AMANDA RODEWALD

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) today released a report entitled "Innovative Finance for Conservation: Roles for Ecologists and Practitioners" that offers guidelines for developing standardized, ethical and effective conservation finance projects.

Public and philanthropic sources currently supply most of the funds for protecting and conserving species and ecosystems. However, the private sector is now driving demand for market-based mechanisms that support conservation projects with positive environmental, social and financial returns. Examples of projects that can support this triple bottom line include green infrastructure for stormwater management, clean transport projects and sustainable production of food and fiber products.

"The reality is that public and philanthropic funds are insufficient to meet the challenge to conserve the world's biodiversity," said Garvin Professor and Senior Director of Conservation Science at Cornell University Amanda Rodewald, the report's lead author. "Private investments represent a new path forward both because of their enormous growth potential and their ability to be flexibly adapted to a wide variety of social and ecological contexts."

Today's report examines the legal, social and ethical issues associated with innovative conservation finance and offers resources and guidelines for increasing private capital commitments to conservation. It also identifies priority actions that individuals and organizations working in conservation finance will need to adopt in order to "mainstream" the field.

One priority action is to standardize the metrics that allow practitioners to compare and evaluate projects. While the financial services and investment sectors regularly employ standardized indicators of financial risk and return, it is more difficult to apply such indicators to conservation projects. Under certain conservation financing models, for example, returns on investment are partially determined by whether the conservation project is successful - but "success" can be difficult to quantify when it is defined by complex social or environmental changes, such as whether a bird species is more or less at risk of going extinct as a result of a conservation project.

Another priority action is to establish safeguards and ethical standards for involving local stakeholders, including Indigenous communities. In the absence of robust accountability and transparency measures, mobilizing private capital in conservation can result in unjust land grabs or in unscrupulous investments where profits flow disproportionately to wealthy or powerful figures. The report offers guidelines for ensuring that conservation financing improves the prosperity of local communities.

According to co-author Peter Arcese, a professor at the University of British Columbia and adjunct professor at Cornell University, opportunities in conservation finance are growing for patient investors who are interested in generating modest returns while simultaneously supporting sustainable development.

"Almost all landowners I've worked with in Africa and North and South America share a deep desire to maintain or enhance the environmental, cultural and aesthetic values of the ecosystems their land supports," Arcese said. "By creating markets and stimulating investment in climate mitigation, and forest, water and biodiversity conservation projects, we can offer landowners alternative income sources and measurably slow habitat loss and degradation."

Rodewald sees a similar landscape of interest and opportunity. "No matter the system - be it a coffee plantation in the Andes, a timber harvest in the Pacific Northwest, or a farm in the Great Plains - I am reminded again and again that conservation is most successful when we safeguard the health and well-being of local communities. Private investments can be powerful tools to do just that," said Rodewald.

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The report is No. 22 in a series of reports published by the Ecological Society of America that use commonly understood language to present the consensus of a panel of scientific experts on issues related to the environment. Previous reports in the series are available at https://www.esa.org/publications/issues/.

CAPTION

Ancient Haida mortuary totems at SGang Gwaay llnagaay, Haida Gwaii, which are protected under the Constitution of the Haida Nation and commemorated by the Government of Canada as a National Historic Site. In 2009, a reconciliation protocol established co-management of the islands by the Haida Nation and the Province of British Columbia. The Haida Nation subsequently purchased a large forest tenure and established a Nation-owned and operated logging company that follows strict environmental and social standards for responsible forest management. The investment was supported by funding from Coast Funds (www.coastfunds.ca), an Indigenous-focused conservation finance organization that invests in First Nations-led sustainable business development initiatives.

CREDIT

Brodie Guy

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Report:

Amanda Rodewald, et al. 2020. "Innovative Finance for Conservation: Roles for Ecologists and Practitioners." https://www.esa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ESA_IssuesInEcology_no.22.pdf 

Author contacts:

Amanda Rodewald (arodewald@cornell.edu">arodewald@cornell.edu)

Peter Arcese (peter.arcese@ubc.ca">peter.arcese@ubc.ca)

Authors:

• Amanda D. Rodewald, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY; Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Peter Arcese, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Janis Sarra, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
• John Tobin-de la Puente, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
• Jeffrey Sayer, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
• Frank Hawkins, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Washington, DC
• Tara Martin, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
• Brodie Guy, Coast Funds, Vancouver, BC
• Kelly Wachowicz, Catch Together, Chatham, MA

 

CAPTION

Cover of Issues in Ecology No. 22. Innovative Finance For Conservation: Roles For Ecologists and Practitioners.

Funding:

Production of Issues in Ecology 22 was funded by a Purchase Order Agreement (PO#1063592) between ESA and the Charles Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Other funding and services were provided by the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the UBC Faculty of Forestry, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada.

 

The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world's largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 9,000 member Society publishes five journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society's Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.

Issues in Ecology is an official publication of ESA, using commonly-understood language to report the consensus of a panel of scientific experts on issues related to the environment. Issues in Ecology aims to build public understanding of the importance of the products and services provided by the environment to society. The text for every Issues in Ecology is reviewed for technical content by external expert reviewers. https://www.esa.org/publications/issues/

 

Link found between drought and HIV among women in less-developed countries

New research explores the consequences of drought and lack of environmental resources on women in less-developed countries and shows the direct and indirect associations to women's percentage of HIV.

LEHIGH UNIVERSITY

Research News

Current research predicts that by 2025, 1,800 million people are expected to be living in countries or regions with insufficient water resources, and models show increased severity of droughts in years to come. Food insecurity and other consequences of droughts will become intensified, influencing disease vulnerabilities among populations in less-developed countries. New research from Kelly Austin, associate professor of sociology at Lehigh University, explores how droughts shape gender inequalities in the HIV burden, indirectly through increased food insecurity.

The paper, "Drying Climates and Gender Suffering: Links Between Drought, Food Insecurity, and Women's HIV in Less-Developed Countries," is published in Social Indicators Research.

This study builds on previous attempts to explain women's disproportionate share of global HIV cases through biological, cultural and socioeconomic inequalities by bringing the environment and climate-related disasters into the discussion.

"While many infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS do not have a direct link to the environment in their transmission patterns or vectors, disasters such as drought can still have a significant influence on the social conditions that shape and enhance vulnerabilities," said the researchers, adding that hunger and food insecurity are key factors motivating women's engagement in early marriage, commercial sex, transactional sex relationships, and other forms of risky sex engagements.

Using a structural equation modeling approach, Austin and her colleagues were able to test the indirect and direct links between food insecurity and HIV as well as the causal chain of factors involving drought, food insecurity, and women's HIV.

The results from the study found that drought escalates food insecurity, and food insecurity has indirect, negative impacts on women's status, including lower participation in education, higher fertility rates and reduced access to medical care. Since women's status and the use of contraceptives are tightly linked, these impediments directly increase the percentage of HIV cases among women, confirming the researchers' hypothesis.

"Uncovering these mechanisms would not have been possible with more mainstream approaches," said Austin.

It's common to see strict gender norms in place where women are typically the household managers, carrying the responsibility for growing and harvesting food, collecting firewood, fetching water, and other tasks that provide household needs through environmental resources. In less-developed countries, droughts are the most common cause of severe food shortages, affecting agriculture first. As a result, changes to the environment are likely to compromise women's health in these unique ways.

According to the research, when a crisis hits, women are typically the first to sacrifice their own food to ensure their children and others have enough to eat. Food insecurity directly leads to infection risks through nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, food insecurity indirectly intensifies gendered inequalities that limit women's access to healthcare, education, and improved autonomy, potentially putting women in a more vulnerable position of contracting HIV.

"Women in less-developed countries disproportionately bear the burden in terms of ill health when facing food insecurity or a shock or disaster like drought that impacts the ability to get food or harvest food," said Austin. "This information would be useful for policy makers and people working in international development and disaster response."

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Austin investigates this subject in a sister paper, "Drought and Disproportionate Disease: An Investigation of Gendered Vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS in Less-Developed Nations," published in Springer Nature's Population & the Environment.

Swedish government sidelines epidemiologist who steered country's no lockdown experiment as deaths rise


Richard Orange
Sat, November 28, 2020

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency of Sweden listens during a news conference - REUTERS

The high-profile epidemiologist who led Sweden's no lock-down strategy in the spring appears to be being sidelined by the government after his prediction that greater immunity would mean a lighter second wave proved badly wrong.

Anders Tegnell's biweekly press conference was on Thursday pushed into the shade by an overlapping press conference fronted by Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, where new scenarios prepared by the Public Health Agency were announced.

"There's certainly a split, and I'm pretty sure that many in the government have rather lost faith in the Public Health Agency," said Nicholas Aylott, an associate politics professor at Stockholm's Södertorn University.

"By some counts, we've now got exactly the same level of spread of the virus that we had in the spring, and that's about as clear a refutation of Tegnell's strategy as you could wish for."

Dr Tegnell has always insisted that his Public Health Agency has never pursued a herd immunity strategy, but he repeatedly suggested in the summer that his counterparts in Norway, Finland and Denmark would face a tougher task over the winter because of lower levels of immunity in their populations.

This month, though, the number of deaths in Sweden has again begun to soar above that of its Nordic neighbours, with 630 deaths so far registered as a result of Covid-19. That is about ten times the per capita death rate in Norway -- where just 30 Covid-19 deaths were registered between October 28th and November 25th.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control expects Sweden to next month surpass the peak death rates it suffered in April, with between 100 and 140 people projected to die of the virus each day.

Ewa Stenberg, a political commentator for the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, said the agency's failure to predict the severity of the second wave had damaged its standing.

"There is criticism against the Public Health Agency in the government because of that, and because of their lack of stringency in their advice to people," she said.

Shaken by the worsening situation, Sweden's government has started to itself take the initiative, imposing a ban on alcohol sales after 10pm and reducing the maximum allowed public gathering to eight people - a measure Lofven described as having "no equivalent in modern times".

"In the spring, there was a proposal first from the Public Health Agency, but in these latest decisions, the government has made a proposal, and then they have asked for The Public Health Agency to respond," Ms Stenberg said.


Both Dr Tegnell and Mr Lofven have denied that there has been a breakdown in trust.

"All rumours about a rift between the government and the agency are completely false. We have a continuous very strong dialogue and a strong level of trust between us," Dr Tegnell said on Thursday.

His comments were echoed by Mr Lofven in an interview with Sweden's Expressen newspaper. “There is no rift whatsoever. I imagine there sometimes might be a temptation in media to portray conflicts. But here there is none,” he said.

Sweden's newspapers, however, have been reporting the growing friction. "The split grows: how Tegnell lost his veto," read the headline of the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper's Sunday feature.

An article in Expressen depicted growing pessimism within the government, with one anonymous civil servant telling a journalist that they now feared that pandemic would grind on for years, creating a "new normal".

"You're probably never going to be able to let your ageing parents look after your snotty kids ever again," he said.

Football in hijab: Thai Muslim lesbians tackle stereotypes

By Rina Chandran
NOVEMBER 29, 2020

PATTANI, Thailand (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Anticha Sangchai did not come out to her family until she was 30 and married with a child. It was her own struggle confronting the conservative community in southern Thailand that led her to create a place where women like her might feel more at home.

In the bookshop she set up in Pattani city, discussions on gender and sexuality led to the birth of Buku Football Club for lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) girls and women four years ago.

Buku means book in Malay - and the club is now thriving.

Last month, Buku FC hosted its first LBQ futsal tournament, a hardcourt game similar to five-a-side football.

Among six teams from three southern provinces, many players wore hijab and were cheered on by family in the stands.

That would have been unthinkable when she was growing up, Anticha said.

“Football is very popular in Thailand, yet not many girls play it - especially Muslim girls, who face more hurdles because many consider it a sin,” said Anticha, 43, who was raised Buddhist in the Muslim-majority province.

“Playing football allows them to be free, be themselves, and also helps them face up to the bullying and bias they face,” she said, watching a Buku FC team take on a rival team.

Thailand, a largely conservative Buddhist society, is known for its relaxed attitude towards gender and sexual diversity, with homosexuality decriminalised as early as 1956.

Yet LGBT+ people face widespread discrimination, particularly outside the country’s capital Bangkok, and are often rejected by their families, human rights activists say.

Like Safiyah Awea, 22, a member of Buku FC for three years, whose father is an imam - a Muslim religious leader - and had opposed both her playing football and identifying as lesbian.

So Safiyah left home, cut her hair short, and only wears a hijab at work and at religious functions.

“I don’t see a conflict between my faith and my lesbian identity or my playing football,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation alongside her team mates.

“But I don’t engage with people who question my belief, as their minds cannot be changed,” said Safiyah, dressed in shorts and a Buku FC jersey.

OPEN DISCUSSION

The Thai cabinet earlier this year approved a Civil Partnership Bill that would recognise same-sex unions with almost the same legal rights as married couples.

The legislation, which is awaiting parliamentary approval, would make Thailand only the second place in Asia to allow registration of same-sex unions, with couples able to adopt children, and with rights to inheritance and property ownership.

LGBT+ Thais are increasingly visible in politics, with last year’s election bringing four LGBT+ first-time lawmakers, as well as the first transgender candidate for prime minister.

Young LGBT+ Thais have also been a big part of ongoing anti-government protests, pressing their demand for equality.

These are key to greater acceptance, said Anticha, who wants to marry her partner as soon as the law allows.

She and other LGBT+ campaigners favour an equal marriage law, which the government has shied away from, as it would require a change to the Civil Code to amend the description of marriage, now defined as between a man and a woman.

“Our goal is equal marriage at the end. But we choose to go step by step - like many other countries have done,” said Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom, director of the international human rights division in the Ministry of Justice.

“It is a big change for Thai society. People will take time to understand and accept - and we need to reach a compromise with religious groups and others,” she said, without giving a timeline for the bill’s passage.

Anticha said religion - particularly Islam - complicates the question for the LBQ players at Buku FC.

“The question of reconciling being Muslim and LBQ comes up often, and the takeaway generally is that they should have the right to be themselves, no matter what religious belief they have,” she said.

“In making my intention of marrying my partner public (on social media), I wanted to show the community you can choose how to live your life and live openly,” said Anticha, who teaches religion and philosophy at a university in Pattani.

SHINY SEQUINS

The Buku FC club began with about 20 members, and now has more than 70. Members meet for three hours on Saturday and Sunday, except during the holy month of Ramadan.

Anticha and other staff also offer counselling for families if requested.

With two regional tournaments this year, which Anticha hopes will become a regular annual feature, Buku FC has secured the support of local authorities, as well.

“A tournament like this helps us reach the larger community, who otherwise don’t acknowledge or accept us,” she said.

“It is a chance for them to see how confident the girls are, how we are not that different from anyone else,” she said.

Fadila Ponsa, 16, is among the newest members of Buku FC, having joined just a month earlier.

“It feels very empowering to play football, and to be with other girls like me who are not straight,” she said.

“I don’t think Islam has a problem with girls playing football or being gay,” said Fadila, who wore a black hijab with coloured sequins, and shorts over black leggings.

For others in Buku FC, the tug of war between religion, their sexual identity and football takes longer to resolve.

“Islam does not allow my identity, and says it’s a sin. My family also think it’s wrong. But I want to be myself,” said Najmee Taniong, 26, dressed in shorts and a jersey.

“Being Muslim is who I am. Being lesbian and a footballer is also who I am. I don’t think there should be a conflict between these, or that I should be forced to choose between them.”


Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit news.trust.org

Thai Student group sues prime minister for misuse of laws resulting in civil liberty violations


ByJames Wilson November 27, 2020


A student group is suing the Prime Minister for misuse of the state emergency at the Bangkok Civil Court on Friday.

The student group said that they are suing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on the grounds that the imposition of the Severe State of Emergency Decree was unwarrted and led to the violation of people’s rights and liberty.

The group said the decree resulted in the misuse of force and led to a crackdown on protesters of October 16 at Pathumwan intersection – an operation carried out by security forces which violated international norms.

“We are suing the government because we want the Sever State of Emergency to be fully removed because just withdrawing it does not mean it is fully removed”, said Sugreeya Wannayuwut, one of six students that is suing the Prime Minister.

“The excessive use of the Severe State of Emergency has resulted in the violation of people’s rights, violation of their body, their freedom of expression, and freedom of public assembly.”

The Severe State of Emergency in Bangkok was announced on October 15 by Prayut Chan-ocha citing security concerns. It was later withdrawn on October 22.

Poland: Police persecution of journalists and protesters must end
Poland|Freedom of Assembly


ARTICLE 19

26 November 2020



A woman chants slogans on a megaphone while standing in front of a line of riot police during a Women’s Strike protest, Warsaw, Poland, 23 November 2020, 

Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Poland: Police persecution of journalists and protesters must end

For over a month, hundreds of thousands of people have protested across the country against the decision of the Constitutional Court to ban abortions in cases of foetal abnormality. Police have responded with excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions.

This statement was originally published on article19.org on 26 November 2020.

ARTICLE 19 strongly condemns the ongoing crackdown on protests against the abortion ban in Poland, and police brutality against protesters and journalists. We call for the immediate cessation of persecution and violence against those exercising their right to protest and to report on protest related issues. The protests concern a matter of crucial public interest for women’s reproductive rights, and participation in public life, and the right to protest on this issue must be protected.

For more than a month, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered and protested across the country against the decision of the Constitutional Court to ban abortions in cases of foetal abnormality. The Constitutional Court has been criticised for its lack of independence in recent years. The protests, led by women and organised by the Women’s Strike initiative, have reached an unprecedented scale including in small towns and communities.

Since the beginning of the protests, ARTICLE 19 has been concerned about a number of violations of the right to protest in Poland:
Use of excessive force against protesters and journalists by law enforcement: Police have used tear gas to disperse protests, dragging protesters from the crowd to detain them. On 18 November, in the center of Warsaw, in a practice known as kettling, police units cordoned off several hundred participants in a protest, mainly women and young people, blocking their ability to move or leave the protest. No reason was given for the use of containment strategies.
Arbitrary detentions: Protesters are being detained, often following violent arrests by law enforcement. In many cases, protesters detained in Warsaw are brought to neighbouring towns outside Warsaw to impede supporters gathering and protesting outside police stations. Detained protesters are being denied access to a lawyer or contact with family members, in violation of human rights standards.
Persecution of and retaliatory actions against protesters: According to Women’s Strike, protesters are being targeted by the police and visited at home by law enforcement in an effort to intimidate them. A 14-year old student from Krapkowice, Maciej Rahut, was visited by the local police that threatened him with criminal charges for re-posting information on Facebook about the upcoming local Women’s Strike protest that he planned to participate in. The police accused him of calling for and organising an illegal protest. They indicated to his mother that he could get eight years in juvenile detention and then prison for co-organising such protests. Police officers also went to the boy’s school to falsely inform the head teacher that he was the organiser of the protest, resulting in the boy receiving a warning at school. In another case, a 17-year old from a small town in the south of Poland has been accused by the sanitary-epidemiological station of violating sanitary COVID-19 restrictions and faces a fine for organising a local protest during the pandemic. Additionally, according to media reports, especially in small towns, policemen are requesting the local sanitary-epidemiological stations to fine protesters for participating in “mass gatherings” which are banned under the temporary COVID-19 response restrictions. Activists have also reported cases where policemen ask protesters to take off their masks and then take pictures of them which are later shown as evidence for breaking the rules of not wearing a mask.
Attacks, violence, detentions and criminal charges against journalists reporting on protests: On 23 November, photojournalist Agata Grzybowska was detained, forced into a police van and taken to a police station. She was released later that day after protesters gathered in front of the police station where she was kept, however, she is facing charges of assaulting an officer. Angelika Pitoń, a journalist for Gazeta Wyborcza, is facing charges of using “indecent” words and not wearing a mask during the protest in Zakopane. The journalist stated that she had her face covered. On 18 November, Onet.pl journalists Krzysztof Sójka and Bartosz Rumieńczyk, photojournalist of Gazeta Wyborcza Jędrzej Nowicki, photojournalist of Gazeta Polska Codziennie Konrad Falęcki, citizen journalist Włodzimierz Ciejka and OKO.press reporter Maciej Piasecki were tear gassed. During the 11 November Independence March in Warsaw organised by right-wing groups, journalists were also beaten with batons by the police, including Renata Kim from Newsweek who was hit in the kidneys, Adam Tuchliński from Newsweek, Jakub Kamiński of East News Agency and Dominik Łowicki from Gazeta Wyborcza. A photojournalist, 74-year-old Tomasz Gutry from Tygodnik Solidarność, was injured by a rubber bullet in the face and had to undergo surgery.
Use of force by unidentified plain-clothed officers: On 18 November in Warsaw, masked plainclothes police officers appeared in a protest, beating people and pulling individuals out of the crowd. They used tear gas against protesters, telescopic batons and stun guns to disperse, contain and attack individuals. They were also carrying firearms. These police officers were initially working as groups, threatening the safety of the protesters and seeking to provoke violence. Those that tried to disarm them in order to prevent the escalation of violent incidents are now facing charges of assaulting police officers. Inhabitants of neighbouring houses helped the protesters to escape through their backyards after they were targeted by these officers. As reported by the media, these were officers from the Central Counterterrorist Subdepartment of the Police “BOA”. The authorities have not provided the basis and necessity assessment of the law enforcement decision to use such excessive force and exceptional measures against protesters.

The Polish authorities claim that the use of force against protesters is necessary for the purposes of fighting COVID-19 and is in response to protesters breaking the temporary movement restrictions. Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro announced that activists will be prosecuted for organising and instigating ‘illegal gatherings’ “on the basis of causing danger to the health and life of people by spreading the virus”. He also ordered the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw to initiate criminal proceedings against all persons who made public the names and faces of the police officers that practiced brutal and violent tactics against protesters and journalists.

The criminalisation of protesters and those monitoring and reporting on protests in Poland is aggravated by two factors, on one hand, the lack of legal certainty on the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions related to public gatherings, and by an ongoing campaign to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

ARTICLE 19 urgently calls on Polish authorities to protect protesters, journalists and protest monitors, and respect and guarantee the right to protest in compliance with their international and regional human rights obligations, including during a health emergency. The right to monitor protests is of utmost importance and does not cease if a protest is dispersed or declared unlawful, and it applies to independent reporters and citizen journalists as well as traditional journalists and media workers. Mandatory identification of journalists in the context of protests goes against international human rights standards, and journalists as well as citizen journalists have a right to report on abuses by police in the context of protests.

We call on the Deputy Prime Minister for Security and head of the ruling Law and Justice party Jarosław Kaczyński, Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, as well as the Minister of Interior and Administration Mariusz Kamiński to:
Immediately stop violence against protesters and journalists covering the protests and ensure the protection of the right to protest.
Stop arbitrary detention and retaliatory criminal proceedings initiated against protesters. Authorities should drop all the charges against protesters and journalists where there is no evidence of, nor participation in, actual and serious acts of violence;
Refrain from criminalising the participation, organisation, promotion and monitoring of protests, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Limit the use of containment measures against protesters that unnecessarily and disproportionately deprive them of their freedom of movement.
Ensure accountability for the actions of law enforcement officials during protests.
Effectively investigate the use of excessive force against protesters and journalists, and other abuses and human rights violations by law enforcement officials.
Respect and protect the right of protesters and journalists to record law enforcement officials in the context of protests.
Refrain from imposing mandatory accreditation requirements on media and journalists to cover manifestations.
Comply with authorities’ transparency obligations regarding the use of special police units, and stop intimidating protesters with groups of plainclothes policemen aiming to provoke the crowd;
Ensure that the police engage in de-escalation of tensions and effective communication with protesters instead of engaging in provocation and excessive use of force.





This statement by ARTICLE 19 is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Polish opposition party wants lack of consent added to legal definition of rape

NOV 27, 2020

The Polish left has launched an effort to expand the legal definition of rape in Poland to include cases where there is a lack of explicit consent.

“There must be a change so that it is not the rape victim who has to prove that she defended herself,” says Anna Maria Żukowska, spokeswoman for The Left, which is the third largest group in parliament. “Anyone who has not obtained clear and conscious consent to sexual contact is to be held criminally responsible.”

Currently, Polish law classifies rape as an act that subjects another person to sexual intercourse through force, unlawful threats or deception. It does not specify lack of consent as a criterion.

Earlier this year, that resulted in a court overturning a rape conviction against a man because his 14-year-old victim did not resist. The judges deemed that rape did not occur “because my client did not scream, which means that the perpetrator did not use violence”, said the victim’s lawyer.

The Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women defines sexual violence as including “non-consensual” sexual acts. Poland is a signatory to the convention, but has not yet fully implemented it.

In August, the justice minister began the process of seeking to withdraw Poland from the convention, saying that it “promotes LGBT” and arguing that Poland’s existing laws already protect women.

Żukowska said that The Left “want to implement all the provisions of this convention, one of which is to change the definition of the crime of rape”, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

“There must be a radical change so that it is not the victim who has to prove that she was…defending herself and that she did not want sexual context,” added Żukowska.

Some commentators responded negatively to the proposal. Waldemar Kuczyński, a former minister, expressed concern that the wording of the proposed legislation would “allow any man to be charged with rape unless he asks the lady for permission in writing or secretly records the whole event”.

Responding to such criticism, Anna Błaszczak-Banasiak, a lawyer from the office of Poland’s human rights commissioner, said that such language is necessary to allow people who were drugged, unconscious or drunk to show that they could not give informed consent.

Żukowska noted that many EU countries, including the UK, Germany and Greece, have laws defining rape as meaning sex without consent.

There has been no response yet from the government or ruling party to the proposed change in the law. The left-wing MPs did, however, welcome the recent introduction of a law, authored by the justice ministry, that will allow police to immediately remove those suspected of domestic violence from the home. It enters into force on 30 November.





Daniel Tilles
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Poland abortion protests: EU Parliament extends support to protestors, passes resolution

It accused Poland’s government of improperly influencing a court that has imposed an almost complete ban on abortion.

Police try to remove demonstrators taking part in a pro-choice protest at the gate to the Polish Ministry of Education, Warsaw, on November 23. 

| Wojtek Radwanski/AFP


The European Union’s Parliament on Thursday accused Poland’s government of improperly influencing a court that has imposed an almost complete ban on abortion, reported Reuters. The European Parliament said this showed that the rule of law in the country had collapsed.

Hundreds of thousands of protestors have come out onto the streets of Poland to demonstrate against an October ruling of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal that tightened the country’s already restrictive abortion laws. The top court had ruled last month that abortion in cases of anomalies among foetuses is unconstitutional.

The EU Parliament passed a resolution in the matter with 455 votes in favour, 145 against, and 71 members abstained from voting. A majority of European politicians, who debated on abortion rights in Poland, expressed solidarity with protestors. Dutch MEP from the Renew Europe Group Samira Rafaela also pledged to “join them in this battle till the very end”, according to Euronews.

“To the women of Poland I would like to say, we are standing right next to you and we will join you in this battle till the very end,” Rafaela added.

The resolution followed after the governments in Poland and Hungary vetoed the Union’s budget and a coronavirus recovery fund earlier this month.

A legal impediment against Poland’s abortion law, enforced in 1993, in cases of severe disabilities among foetuses was initiated by MPs from the ruling nationalist Law and Justice Party in 2019, according to BBC. In Poland, 98% of the abortions are done citing the anomalies.

Meanwhile, police in Poland have used violent means against peaceful demonstrators, Euronews reported on Wednesday, citing activists. Officials have thrown people on the ground, assaulted them with batons, and made use of kettling, a method of using blockades to limit movement of a crowd in a specific area, according to a human rights lawyer.

At least 60 protestors, including a 17-year-old, have been detained in the last few weeks, but the actual number is rumoured to be much higher. The police also charged a photojournalist, Agata Grzybowska, for assaulting an officer on Monday. This was the first time a journalist was detained during the month-long protests, reported Associated Press. She was reportedly dragged away as bystanders urged officers to stop as she was a journalist. Following this, a group gathered outside a police station in central Warsaw, where she was taken, and protested against her detainment. She was released later.

“We know that a lot of the protesters are being manhandled once they are taken to police cars and during the detainments themselves,” human rights lawyer Eliza Rutynowska told Euronews.

However, the Polish government has not published the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgement, which meant that the recent restrictions are not enforceable, according to Reuters. The ruling Law and Justice party said it was waiting for the court to give a more detailed justification of its ruling.Support our journalism by