As we approach Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about my mom and the women from Guatemala who cared for me when I was young and the millions of other mothers who are undermined because of inhumane policies and practices.
Today, in post-conflict Guatemala, there is a war against women. At least two women die daily as a result of femicide, and the crime often includes torture and rape.
Being one of many stories of force, fraud, and coercion, Loyda’s case is particularly compelling because all of the steps in the legal system have been followed. Still, there has been no justice.
Court Orders U.S. Mother Must Provide Child Support for Abandoned Russian Adoptee. Start of a Trend?
This past week Torry Hansen was ordered, by a Tennessee judge to pay $150,000 child support for her adopted son, whom she returned to Russia by plane, unaccompanied.
Weekly global roundup: Understanding rape in the Congo; Mobile phones prevent maternal deaths in Kenya; Ontario puts safeguards in place for sex workers; Teen pregnancy rises swiftly in Guatemala.
Adolescent fertility rates in Latin America and the Caribbean surpass the world average, and more than 1 in 3 women in the region give birth before the age of 20. In rural areas, the adolescent birth rate is even higher. Peer education is one strategy for reaching large numbers of youth in rural areas.
Because much of my research has focused on reforming intercountry adoption and most especially Guatemala, I opened Siegal’s “Finding Fernanda” cautiously. By the end of this captivating read, it is impossible to see Alvarado as anything but a strong and resilient woman who is determined to fight circumstances of poverty and oppression.
There are so many courageous women around the world engaged in peace work at all levels, including protest. But they are often met with violence, rape, or torture.
Since the publication of my original article on surrogacy in Guatemala, a number of people have thanked me for exploring global surrogacy. But the director of one adoption agency requested a retraction of the story. More on that here.
As international adoption has become more difficult, the global surrogacy industry has begun to surge to meet the fertility demands of individuals and couples seeking to secure healthy infants.
