Domestic Violence: An Ongoing Threat to Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
To date, nearly 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region have enacted laws against domestic violence or have characterized the violence as a crime. Despite these laws, many women in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be failed by the legal system. (October 2001)

Pondering the Prospects for Lower Fertility in High-Fertility Countries
UN demographers are reviewing assumptions about the future fertility of today’s 46 high-fertility countries. (Population Today, October 2001)

Pesticides: A Threat to Central America's Children and the Region's Future
Pesticides pose a health threat to people of all ages, but children face the greatest danger of all. And while children all over the world are menaced by these chemicals, nowhere is the threat more serious than in Central America. (September 2001)

Brazil's Needle-Exchange Programs Reduce HIV Risks for Drug Users
HIV transmission rates among drug users have fallen by 7.6 percent in 1997 and 18 percent in 1998. A needle-exchange program, partly funded by the government, takes partial credit for the decline. (June 2001)

World's Youth 2000 (PDF: 260KB)

  This 24-page report, and its accompanying data sheet, give a profile of today's youth, providing data on population, education, and health, with a special focus on sexual and reproductive health. Topics include: education, sexual and reproductive lives of young people, use of contraception, sexual violence against young women, HIV/AIDS, and policy and program approaches.  (2000)

Early Sexual Activity Raises HIV Risk for Trinidad and Tobago Girls
In Trinidad and Tobago, among girls from 15 to 19 years old, six times as many young women as young men have HIV. This is a dramatic turnaround over the last five years. (December 2000)

Cervical Cancer Is Major Health Problem in Latin America
Cervical cancer is preventable and can be effectively treated. But it represents the most common cause of cancer for women in the region. Haiti has the region's highest cervical cancer rate — 91 cases per 100,000 women. (December 2000)

Caribbean Faces AIDS Epidemic
With the highest HIV prevalence rate of any region besides sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean has sprung into virus prevention and treatment mode. (Population Today, October 2000)

Urbanizing World (PDF: 619KB)
This Population Bulletin examines sources, trends, and challenges of urban population change in less developed and more developed regions. Among more developed countries, particular attention is given to the United States. (BUL55.3, September 2000)

Gender and the Environment: Reflections from Central America
Cristina Espinosa and Lorena Aguilar, from the Social Policy Program of the World Conservation Union, gave a seminar at PRB on "Gender and the Environment: Reflections from Central America." (August 2000)