July 2, 2010 letter from UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi on the establishment this month of UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women:

Dear Say NO friends and partners,

Today is a historic day. This afternoon, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously decided to establish UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of a strong UN organization that will be a champion to promote and advance the rights of women and girls worldwide has been a goal we have been advocating for many years, and I know that you will join me in celebrating and embracing this momentous achievement.

Read the complete letter here.

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Deadline for articles: February 28th, 2011

Special Issues: Health Equity and Qualitative Methods
Guest Editors:  Miriam Stewart and Wendy Austin

Qualitative methodologies provide a unique way to link methodological approaches with issues of health equity and social justice.  The aim of this Special Issues edition of IJQM is to: elucidate methodological insights and issues related to investigation of health equity; highlight the relationship between qualitative methodologies and equity; generate dialogue; and promote greater theoretical and practical integration of issues of health equity in qualitative research. We invite authors to explore health and social justice from diverse perspectives. This can involve the investigation of the complex factors that influence health equity, the testing of interventions designed to reduce inequities experienced by vulnerable populations, and the examination of implications for programs, practice, and policies in health and health-related sectors.  We invite articles by scholars, practitioners, and service providers from diverse disciplines, as well as from community members and encourage submissions from an international perspective.

See the call for submissions here.

July 29, 2010, 11am-12pm PDT
Building Health Care Leadership: A Systems Advocacy Approach to Addressing Domestic Violence in the Health Care System

Learn the basic elements of working collaboratively with health care systems to establish an institutionalized response to domestic violence. This webinar will assist domestic violence advocates and health care providers in gaining administrative buy-in, building leadership to sustain a response, understanding the health care system's infrastructures and how they can contribute to strengthening the response to patient's experiencing domestic violence, setting realistic goals and objectives and evaluating progress. The webinar will also identify available materials and tools that can assist in developing a successful health care response to domestic violence.

For more information, visit the website.
Register for the webinar here. 

Women of Diverse Origins and the International Coordinating body invites you to register now for the Montreal International Women's Conference taking place August 13-16 2010.

Women from around the world will gather under the theme: For a Global Militant Women's Movement in the 21st Century!  They will review the last 100 years of the women's movement, honour its pioneers and draw up an action plan to advance the movement, with the forming of an International Women's Alliance.

For more information and to register now, please visit the website.

In this recent article from the New York Times, author Gretchen Reynolds reports on a study that shows that women’s and men’s bodies react differently to exercise. She notes that scientists “often rely on male subjects exclusively, particularly in the exercise-science realm, where, numerically, fewer female athletes exist to be studied. But when sports scientists recreate classic men-only experiments with distaff subjects, the women often react quite differently.”

Read the whole article here. 

This Joint Policy Brief by the World Health organization on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies examines how to reduce gender inequities using health systems.

The key messages are:
- Data on mortality, morbidity and use of health services reveal some important differences in health experiences between women and men.
- Health systems can make important contributions to gender equality and gender equity by addressing gender in a variety of ways.
- Identifying gender inequalities and addressing gender equity are also central to good stewardship of health systems.

Download the brief from the WHO website.

Birthing the World, is a conference organized by the Association pour la santé publique du Québec (ASPQ; Quebec Association for Public Health), in partnership with the Association des omnipraticiens en périnatalité du Québec (AOPQ; Quebec Association of Perinatal Care Family Physicians), the Regroupement Les Sages-femmes du Québec (RSFQ; Quebec association of midwives) and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC).

The event is intended as a major step forward in how we conceive and perceive perinatal care, with a view to fostering greater family autonomy in the matter, a more judicious utilization of medical technologies when necessary, the implementation of innovative practices, and stronger attachment to their young in mothers and fathers alike.

Take part in Birthing the World: Register online now!

The Canadian Research Insititue for the Adcanvement of Women is asking for support to strengthen this unique Canadian feminist organization. Status of Women Canada denied project funding for CRIAW in 2010, for the first time ever.  Your membership and financial donation will keep feminist analysis and advocacy in Canada alive.

Your renewed membership and support will go a long way to helping CRIAW continue to play a key role advancing women’s equality. CRIAW is asking you to renew your membership and make a donation today on their website.

The Benefits and Challenges of Preserving Physiologic Birth
July 20-23, 2010
Coast Coal Harbour Hotel
Vancouver, British Columbia

Visit the conference website.

In the lead up to XVIII International AIDS Conference, scientists and other leaders are calling for reform of international drug policy and urge others to sign-on. On 28 June 2010 in Vienna, Austria, the International AIDS Society, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration, a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The Vienna Declaration is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), the biennial meeting of more than 20,000 HIV professionals, taking place in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 23 July 2010.

The Declaration also calls for the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs in developing, monitoring and implementing services and policies that affect their lives.

To read and to sign the Vienna Declaration, please visit the official website.

New Deadline - July 31, 2010

Please be advised that the National Research Day 2010 call for presenters deadline has been extended to July 31, 2010.  The National Research Day 2010 - Engaging our Communities: Working Together to End Intimate Partner Violence will be held on November 3, 4, & 5, 2010 at the UNBF Wu conference Centre.  Details about the Research Day (organized by the Muriel McQueen Fergussen Centre at the University of New Brunswick) are posted on the MMFC website.

Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) is excited to announce a new project with York University's Centre for Feminist Research called "Women's Human Rights, Macroeconomics, and Policy Choices".  This is a year-long project designed to equip women across Canada with tools to better understand how the federal government makes decisions about spending and how those decisions impact women.  FAFIA will be holding five meetings across the country in the coming months to discuss how federal budgets have affected the lives of women in Canada and how women can advocate for change at the local and the federal level.

Act Now: Pre-budget Consultations and how you can be involved!

The Standing Committee of Finance is hosting its cross-Canada pre-budget consultations this fall in September and October.  We encourage all of our members to take part in this process and are here to support you. 

If you are interested in appearing before the Committee you need to submit a written brief not exceeding five pages, in either English or French, to the Committee Clerk no later than August 13, 2010. These briefs will be translated and distributed to Finance Committee members. FAFIA will be preparing a submission and a request to appear before the Committee.  If you would like to use portions of FAFIA's submission or use it as a guide, please let them know. They will try to have our submission complete in the next month and will be distributing it to all of their member groups. Briefs can be submitted electronically to FINA@parl.gc.ca or can be mailed to:
Jean-François Pagé, Clerk
Standing Committee on Finance
6-14 131 Queen Street
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Beginning in September, the Committee will hold hearings in Ottawa and in designated Canadian cities (see below) . For these hearings, an invitation will be extended by the Committee Clerk, on behalf of Committee members, to selected individuals and groups. Those invited to make a presentation to the Committee should expect to be contacted by the Committee Clerk no later than the last week of September. The Committee anticipates that its schedule will be:

– Surrey, British Columbia: September 27, 2010
– Kamloops, British Columbia: September 28, 2010
– Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: September 29 and 30, 2010
– London, Ontario: October 18 and 19, 2010
– Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Québec: October 20, 2010
– Saint John's, Newfoundland: October 21

If your organization submits a brief and a request to appear before the Standing Committee, please let FAFIA know!

If you have any questions about this new project; the Standing Committee on Finance or pre-budget consultations, contact:
Julie S. Lalonde
Communications Officer / Agente de communications
FAFIA - AFAI
communications@fafia-afai.org
613-232-9505 x 113

New multilingual resources from the South Asian Women’s Community Centre in Toronto!

Project Éco-santé tous ensemble's environmental health educational tools were created through a two-year partnership between the South Asian Women's Community Centre (SAWCC) and McGill University with help from our Community Consultation Group.

Our health is linked to the quality of our social and physical environments. Project Éco-santé tous ensemble explores the links between women’s heart, breathing, and mental health and their environments through a photo-video and a graphic booklet available in 10 languages (French, English, Urdu, Dari, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Portuguese, Creole and Spanish), and three brochures (available in French and English).

All the project tools are available electronically on this page. Scroll down the page to find them.

The 2010 report reviews progress over 2000–2010. Countdown to 2015 Decade Report (2000-2010): Taking stock of maternal, newborn & child survival was launched at the Women Deliver conference in Washington D.C., 7-9 June 2010.

Countdown to 2015 is a global movement of academics, governments, UN agencies, foundations, health care associations and nongovernmental organizations formed in 2005 to track progress in reducing maternal and child deaths in the 68 countries where over 95% of these deaths occur. The movement aims to raise awareness and stimulate country action to accelerate progress towards reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

Read the report here.

July 6th from 1-3pm
193 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON

The launch will also be available via videoconference and webcast through the Ontario Telemedicine Network.

The POWER Study (Project for an Ontario Women's Health Evidence-Based Report), a multi-year project funded by Echo: Improving Women's Health in Ontario, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC), is producing a comprehensive provincial report on women's health.

For more information about the POWER Study, please go to: www.powerstudy.ca

Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection on Black Motherhoods.

Editors: Karen T. Craddock, Nicole Banton and Saundra Murray Nettles

Deadline for abstracts: September 1, 2010
Deadline for accepted papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages): September 2011
Pub Date: 2012/2013

This anthology will explore the multi-faceted expressions, experiences, constructs and contexts of black motherhood through an interdisciplinary lens. We invite submissions addressing the range of key factors that contribute to and are impacted by the notion of black mothering and black motherhood primarily through psychological, sociological, humanities and public health frameworks which include investigations of cultural, biological, socio-political, relational and historical perspectives that inform our thinking and practice as it relates to black mothers.

For more information, please see the complete guidelines. (PDF)

The World Health Organization Reproductive Health Library (RHL) is an electronic review journal published by the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. RHL takes the best available evidence on sexual and reproductive health from Cochrane systematic reviews and presents it as practical actions for clinicians (and policy-makers) to improve health outcomes, especially in developing countries.

See the journal here.

A new Consumer Side Effect Reporting Form was announced by Health Canada on June 17, 2010. The Consumer Side Effect Reporting Form, developed by Health Canada, has made it even easier for Canadians to report side effects to health products to the Canada Vigilance Program.  Health Products include prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, and natural health products.

The news release, including a link to the form, is available on the Health Canada Web site.

Ottawa, Canada, June 22, 2010—Five Canadian advocacy groups have for months been calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to address family planning and abortion care in the G8 maternal and child health initiative.  They now have the support of:

- more than 100 International organizations from the G8 and other countries,
- five former directors of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
- a former Prime Minister of Japan,
- parliamentarians in 18 different countries, and
- civil society organizations such as Save the Children Germany, Amnesty International, World Vision Germany, and Oxfam France

The National Abortion Federation Canada, Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD), the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights, the Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances (FQPN), and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) today again challenged Prime Minister Stephen Harper and G8 leaders to address family planning and abortion care in the G8 maternal and child health initiative.

The groups reminded Prime Minister Harper of the overwhelming scientific evidence that access to safe, legal abortion care preserves women’s health and saves women’s lives. Unsafe abortion remains one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in developing nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 70,000 women worldwide die from unsafe abortions annually and millions more are injured, many permanently. 

At last year’s G8 Summit in Italy, the G8 heads of government agreed that maternal and child health was one of the world’s most pressing global health problems. They committed to “accelerat[ing] progress…on maternal health, including through sexual and reproductive health care and services and voluntary family planning.”

It is imperative that the work done in Canada build on—not backtrack from—previous commitments.

The groups delivered letters signed by their supporters to Prime Minister Harper today.

Contact:

Melissa Fowler; National Abortion Federation Canada; 202-595-4395 cell; mfowler@prochoice.org

AWARD VALUE: $20,000
FUNDING PERIOD: September 9, 2010 to March 31, 2011

The National Network on Environments and Women's Health (NNEWH) Graduate Fellowship in Women's Health and the Environment is an annual award designed to support a highly qualified graduate student in extending her/his research experience by engaging in women's health research and policy advice with the support of a vibrant group of scholars. The fellow will be involved in a project preparing a sex- and gender-based analysis of the federal government's Chemicals Management Plan, and the preparation of a speaker series hosted by NNEWH on the related issues.

ELIGIBILITY
The Graduate Fellowship in Women's Health and the Environment is open to graduate students from all disciplines. Candidates must be registered at a Canadian university and they should be studying issues at the intersection of gender, the environment and health. Additional expertise in the area of the effect of chemicals on human health is an asset.

Evaluation criteria include:
- Relevance of the student's area of research/study to NNEWH's mandate;
- Demonstrated commitment to approaching environmental health and regulatory issues from a gender perspective;
- Academic excellence; and
- Commitment to community-based research and interdisciplinarity.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Completed applications for the NNEWH Graduate Fellowship in Women's Health and the Environment must be submitted by June 30, 2010.
Application packages must include:

- Cover letter indicating interest and background in this area
- Curriculum Vitae
- 2 reference letters in sealed envelopes

Submit your application by June 30, 2010 to:

Dr. Dayna Nadine Scott / Anne Rochon Ford Co-Directors National Network on Environments and Women's Health
5021 TEL Building, York University
4700 Keele Street
North York, ON M3J 1P3

Questions may be directed to Jyoti Phartiyal at 416-736-2100, ext 20715

NNEWH FELLOWSHIP IN WOMEN'S HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT -- TIMELINE
June 16, 2010 -- Opportunity launched
June 30, 2010 -- Full applications must be courier stamped or personally delivered by this date
July 5 to 12, 2010 -- Assessment and interview period
July 16, 2010 -- Anticipated notification of decision
September 9, 2009 -- Anticipated start date

As you may know, Madeline Boscoe recently moved on from her position at the Canadian Women's Health Network, and Susan White has stepped in to lead the Network in the interim.

The CWHN is excited to now be beginning the search for a new Executive Director. Below is the job description and application process. We'd like to ask your help in circulating this exciting opportunity as widely as possible, by forwarding to interested groups, organizations, and individuals in your network. The deadline for applications is July 20th, 2010.

Thursday June 24th, 2010, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Brain Research Centre, 1st Flr, UBC Hospital, Koerner Pavilion,

2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC
Refreshments provided.

Please RSVP by Friday June 18th, 2010 to: Laura Ralph, Faculty of Medicine, T: 604.827.3699 or E: rsvp.fom@ubc.ca

The University of British Columbia Chapter of Women in World Neuroscience cordially invites you to attend a symposium on Secrets of the Female Mind: Understanding Women’s Brain and Behaviour over a Lifetime.

Opening remarks: The Honourable Kevin Falcon, Minister of Health Services

Speakers: Three distinguished UBC faculty, Drs. Liisa Galea, Pam Arstikaitis and Teresa Liu-Ambrose, will share their expertise on the effects of hormones and exercise on memory and decision-making, and how advances in neuroscience can help you feel younger and age more gracefully.

Hosted by Dr. Gavin Stuart, FRCSC, Vice Provost Health and Dean, Faculty of Medicine

Call for Abstracts: Deadline: August 15, 2010

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Complex Realities and New Issues in a Changing World

MAY 29 to JUNE 1, 2011- MONTRÉAL - CANADA

CRI-VIFF (the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Family Violence and Violence Against Women) and its Women, Violence and Vulnerable Situations research team are pleased to invite you to the Second International Conference on Violence Against Women. Researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students are also invited to submit abstracts on topics related to the Conference theme and sub-themes for presentation in the Conference.

Four types of format can be submitted: oral presentation, poster presentation, symposium and workshop on innovative experiences. For more information, see the website.

Women who have had intrauterine devices (IUDs) fitted as contraceptives are less likely to become pregnant than those who have hormone injections, a new review by Cochrane Researchers has found. The review, which focused on women in developing countries, also found a possible link between contraceptive method and disease progression in HIV.

An IUD, sometimes known as a “coil” (although IUDs are no longer coil-shaped) is a plastic and copper device that sits in the womb preventing sperm from crossing it and making its lining less likely to accept a fertilised egg. There are also IUD’s which contain hormones rather than copper, which were not evaluated in this study. In many countries IUDs are not widely used, perhaps because they can only be inserted by skilled professionals. Women often experience pain after insertion, but IUDs may be preferred long-term to other contraceptive methods because they last for five to ten years and have no hormonal effects. Hormonal contraceptives, by comparison, have been associated with side effects and require more frequent visits to the health care provider for injections or prescriptions.

The researchers reviewed data from two studies comparing IUDs and hormonal contraceptives, which together involved 967 women. The first included women attending family planning clinics in Brazil, Guatemala, Egypt and Vietnam and the second focused on HIV-positive women in Zambia. In each study, women were randomly assigned to have an IUD inserted or to receive hormonal contraceptives. Hormonal contraceptives were given only by injection in the first study, but women were allowed to switch between pills and injections in the second. Overall, fewer became pregnant in the groups receiving IUDs. Drop-out rates were higher for those using hormonal contraceptives in the first study and for those fitted with IUDs in the second study.

Read the article here.

By Rob Stein, Washington Post

Saturday, June 12, 2010

A French drug company is seeking to offer American women something their European counterparts already have: a pill that works long after "the morning after."

The drug, dubbed ella, would be sold as a contraceptive -- one that could prevent pregnancy for as many as five days after unprotected sex. But the new drug is a close chemical relative of the abortion pill RU-486, raising the possibility that it could also induce abortion by making the womb inhospitable for an embryo.

The controversy sparked by that ambiguity promises to overshadow the work of a federal panel that will convene next week to consider endorsing the drug. The last time the Food and Drug Administration vetted an emergency contraceptive -- Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill -- the decision was mired in debate over such fundamental questions as when life begins and the distinction between preventing and terminating a pregnancy. Ella is raising many of those same politically charged questions -- but more sharply, testing the Obama administration's pledge to keep ideology from influencing scientific decisions.

Read the complete article here.