Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/jen-ross/page/2/)
As the world waits to hear who is chosen to lead the Catholic Church, women in Chile are divided on whether a new pope is likely to bring any change to the status of women in this deeply conservative and Catholic country.
In Chile, where two women lead the presidential race, emergency contraception has become an incendiary campaign issue after a health official said the government was planning free distribution of the “morning-after pill” and was fired within hours.
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Ten years after the U.N. called for the strengthening of women’s economic rights, Chilean women’s work-force participation lags Latin America. But some analysts say that’s not such a bad thing. The second of a seven-part series on the Beijing Platform.
In Latin America–as elsewhere in the world–domestic violence peaks during the holidays. The Chilean government has begun to face up to the problem, but advocates say stiffer laws are needed to prevent what new data reveal is an epidemic rate of abuse.
As Chile became one of the last countries to enact a law that makes divorce legal many women are celebrating their newfound ability to leave abusive mates and enjoy more legal and financial independence.
Five thousand women die from clandestine abortions every year in Latin America. It has one of the highest abortion rates in the world, despite its near-universal illegality.
The women of Calama, Chile, have been digging in the sand for loved ones lost during the Pinochet regime. A new photo-exhibit documents their efforts at a pivotal moment in their long struggle for justice.