Forced Sterilization is Torture
Hailey Flynn
April 27, 2012
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More than a thousand people marched along the streets of Taksim Square in Istanbul to demand full economic, political, and human rights for women. Many demonstrators highlighted the problem of forced and coerced sterilization, which disproportionately affects poor and marginalized women.

What You Can’t Say Might Hurt You
Heather Doyle
February 10, 2012
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Federal courts have repeatedly invalidated the U.S.'s anti-prostitution pledge. Now the Obama administration must decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court or finally retire this harmful policy.

Centers for Change: Drop-In Centers Facilitate Sex Worker-Led Human Rights Advocacy
February 2012
Drop-in centers are often the only places where sex workers can access health care, legal counseling, and other social services. These centers also play a key role in mobilizing activism by sex workers to change the laws, policies, and practices that violate their human rights.

Why Are Doctors Still Performing Genital Surgery on Infants?
Lydia Guterman
January 30, 2012
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Medical studies show that performing genital reshaping surgery on intersex children at birth or soon after usually causes psychological damage to patients. Yet this remains the standard of care in most countries, despite protests from patient advocates.

Activists Discuss Best Practices for Improving Health Care for Transgender Communities
September 6, 2011
The Sexual Health and Rights Project brought together transgender and health policy activists from around the world to explore innovative and effective ways to improve access to quality and comprehensive health care for transgender individuals and communities.

Legal Empowerment Program Increases Access to Justice for Sex Workers in South Africa
September 5, 2011
In response to high levels of police violence against sex workers, the Open Society Foundations are supporting Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre and the Wits Institute for Sexual Reproductive Health and Related Diseases to establish a legal empowerment program for sex workers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Open Society Foundations to Host “Lawyering on the Margins” Meeting in Denmark
September 1, 2011
The Open Society Public Health Program will host a global gathering of lawyers working with marginalized groups, particularly people who use drugs, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. There is increasing recognition within the field of public health that increasing access to justice through legal aid and legal empowerment can effectively address barriers to health services and other social determinants of health.

Sex Workers, Sexual Minorities, and Gender Minorities Talk HIV and the Law
August 31, 2011
The Open Society Public Health Program has provided support to sex worker and LGBTI groups to participate in regional dialogues as part of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia and in Africa, civil society representatives and policymakers discussed how punitive laws increase the vulnerability of sex workers and men who have sex with men to HIV infection and lead to widespread human rights violations.