Group for the Defence of Sexual Rights

Não te prives is an organization founded in 2002 with the goal to promote human sexual rights and combat discrimination based on sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
In the past year we were especially concerned with the public visibility of sexual rights, namely in the media and in the development of links with other organizations. Our main activities were related with the preparation and accomplishment of several workshops and major debates during the 1st Portuguese Social Forum, as well as in the city where we are based at. These activities at a local level comprehended debates and training workshops and focused issues such as prostitution, abortion and lesbian visibility.
We also devoted some of our energy to launching books on abortion and contraception or homosexual conditions in Coimbra, the city where we are based at.
In December 2003 we co-organised the Week of Human Rights, including a debate on Sexism and Homophobia, launching the women's rights journal Artigo Feminino (Female Article), a training workshop on LGBT rights and women's history and a colloquium on Human Rights and the City. This initiative allowed a very diversified amount of people (around 150 people, mostly students, teachers and researchers) to debate and reflect upon issues also related to sexual rights.
In 2004, our present activities have been much related with the political agenda currently operating in Portugal, that is, decriminalizing abortion upon request of the woman. In the first 2 months of this year we were organizing and promoting public debates and collecting signatures for the petition for a referendum on abortion law.
On the 8th of March we organised a very successful debate on Language and Prejudices in which we invited 4 specialists to talk to around 40 people, most of whom were women. Also in that week, in order to make media campaigning towards women's rights we asked 4 of our members to write about women's issues and we successfully...

Acção Jovem para a Paz (AJP) is a National Youth Association that belongs to an International Youth Movement (YAP Youth Action for Peace).

It belongs to and works closely with networks such as the Portuguese Social Forum (part of the World Social Forum), Portuguese Coordination for Fair Trade, Portuguese Platform for NGO's and maintains regular contacts with several local development associations and their platform (ANIMAR).

The central objectives of AJP are:

- the promotion of Human Rights, Justice, Democracy, Peace and Citizenship, against all kinds of discrimination and oppression, against distances and barriers

- the production of activities of non-formal education, seminars and trainings always associated with concrete projects and ideas, as much as with the production of knowledge

- the exchange of all times and spaces that exist in this global era: exchange of people, projects, methods, ideas and ideals all across the Globe (local, regional, international, transnational, trans-continental, and even global)

- The dynamisation, through this interests and priorities and trough its identity, of the village and region where its national centre is located: non-formal education for children and youth & resource centre, etc.

And the main topics or priorities are:

- Women, as being still discriminated

- Youth, as an important actor to the change and to build another world and globalisation

- The independence of the people, mainly East Timor, with whom we work for more than 20 years

- Democracy, as process that is still in it's beginnings and from which we are not close enough

- Human and Nature Rights, guaranteeing the equilibrium between both of them, that depend on each other, and willing to open this understanding of rights to strong demands of justice and to the notion of responsibilities

Activities:

- exchanges, seminars, trainings in the non-formal area

- youth voluntary work, long...

Gender equality and defend women's rights

UMAR is an organization founded in September 1976 with the goal to promote gender equality and defend women's rights. They hold a shelter for women victims of violence and organize many meetings and workshops aiming to empower women. They have always been committed to the struggle for decriminalising abortion in Portugal as well as in the World March of Women.

Contacts:
UMAR (União de Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta)
Rua de S. Lázaro, 111 - 1º andar
1100-330 Lisboa
Portugal
Tel (Lisboa): 00 351 218867096
Tel (Porto): 00 351 22 201 03 26
Fax: 00 351 218884086

A lesbian rights organization

In January 1996, the Clube Safo was formed by a group of friends with the goal to promote lesbian visibility and act against any discrimination in the fields of women?s sexual rights. Formally founded in February 2002, it now has a hundred members and sympathisers, who hold meetings, New Year's Eve parties, sports activities, and an annual Sapphic camp. Since 1996, it publishes the newsletter Zona Livre for the divulgation of information about lesbian issues, with a growing capacity to fight against discrimination. They also hold annual conferences with academics, technicians and activists concerning themes as diverse as lesbian visibility and homoparenthood.

Contacts:
Apartado 95
2000-029 Santarém
Portugal

clubesafo@clubesafo.com
www.clubesafo.com/

www.feminist.org