This page brings together AffectionPlus’s documentary monitoring on “Rights”: scientific studies and academic publications first, followed by recent news items and posts spotted on social media.
To read our full guides, practical dossiers and detailed answers on this topic, visit the Rights section or return to the Stay up to date overview.
Scientific studies, clinical trials and systematic reviews published in international literature on this topic.
— A study in Violence Against Women involving 896 young adults shows that while 76% had an opportunity to intervene as bystanders in non-consensual intimate image sharing, only 33% stepped in. Meanwhile, France's 2026 e-Enfance / 3018 Barometer reports that 32% of 6–18-year-olds have faced cyberbullying and 25% turn to AI chatbots for help.
Recent news, legal developments and institutional announcements on this topic, summarised with their date and source.
— The European Parliament has approved extending the temporary 'Chat Control 1.0' derogation until 2028, allowing messaging and email providers to voluntarily scan non-end-to-end encrypted communications for child sexual abuse material, while maintaining its refusal of mandatory scanning that would weaken end-to-end encryption.
— Criminal charges brought by the Los Angeles County District Attorney against an Arcadia couple accused of child abuse involving more than 20 surrogate-born children—featured in a Sky News investigation on 1 November 2026—have highlighted the lack of background checks and limits on intended parents in California, in stark contrast to European judicial safeguards.
— Signed into US law, the Romance Scam Prevention Act (H.R. 2481, Public Law 119-129) requires dating apps to notify users within 24 hours if they have interacted with a profile banned for fraud. Meanwhile, a late-October 2026 Senate investigation reports that Tinder's biometric Face Check cut interactions with scammers by 70%, as federal prosecutors convict members of a $9 million romance scam ring targeting seniors.
— On 29 October 2026, the French Senate voted 252 to 80 in favour of a bill abolishing the criminal statute of limitations for sexual and incestuous crimes committed against minors. Currently set at 30 years after the victim reaches adulthood (age 48, with a sliding limitation mechanism), the time limit would be removed if the National Assembly passes the bill.
— Tabled in the French National Assembly on 28 October 2026 by MP Constance de Pélichy following the parliamentary inquiry into declining birth rates, a cross-party bill recommends lifting France's ban on preimplantation genetic testing for chromosomal abnormalities (PGT-A) in IVF and easing egg donation rules (LCP, 28 October 2026).
— The NCC reports court and tribunal outcomes concerning consumer suppliers.
— FSCA completed an investigation and announced an administrative penalty and debarment.
— The Commission stresses that life and dignity must be protected regardless of nationality.
— The Commission seeks remedial action while its investigation continues; a fuller report is still to follow.
— The regulator found unauthorised financial services and misuse of client funds in the Datum/Kgaphola matter.
— Parliament welcomes planned staffing and service expansion. These are future commitments.
— The Education Committee responds to an allegation and calls for protection, vetting and psychosocial care.
— A Black Wednesday statement addresses harassment and legal pressure. It does not claim a new survey of how often these occur.
— Parliament calls for a resolution and for safeguards against disruption to court proceedings.
— The NCC has invited comments on accreditation applications by consumer groups.
— At the ECD Leadership Summit, the education minister reported progress in registering early childhood programmes. Initial Bronze registration and completed Silver or Gold compliance remain different stages; registration figures alone do not establish that every programme has completed compliance.
— The SAHRC announces further scrutiny. This announcement does not publish findings against retailers.
— A government oversight announcement sets out questions to examine. It does not report completed findings.
— FSCA warns that individuals are using a fake website to impersonate First World Trader, trading as EasyEquities, and solicit investments.
— The NCC extended consultation on proposed opt-out registry guidelines to 6 November 2026.
— FSCA warns about a Telegram group impersonating Mattercap Investments and soliciting investments.
— The summit remarks repeat earlier priorities and call for implementation. They do not announce a new law.
— The Constitutional Court struck down an exclusion affecting certain marriages out of community of property without accrual. The ruling takes immediate effect within the redistribution framework, without reopening finalised divorces or creating an automatic equal split.
— The provincial plan covers police stations, care centres and shelters. Its implementation has still to be assessed.
— The city describes its family-planning offer. A list of services does not guarantee that every product is available.
— Statistics South Africa published an analysis of age at first marriage using the 1996–2022 censuses. Its indirect demographic measure describes longer-term patterns; it is not an average calculated from marriages taking place in 2026.
— On 27 September 2026, Geneva voters approved the initiative For free contraception with 58.46% of the vote, on a turnout of 44.24%, according to RTS. Geneva becomes the first canton to accept this principle. However, contraception remains at people's own expense elsewhere in Switzerland, and the Geneva arrangements will depend on an implementing law.
— A named opposition health spokesperson reports supply concerns ahead of a contract transition.
— Updated WHO recommendations must be kept separate from South African registration, guidance and supply.
— Municipal activity data describe city services. They do not show a national trend or compare effectiveness.
— The department explains procurement and product alternatives, while local availability remains a practical question.
— The education department described a proposed ECD reform at a parliamentary briefing. Its account concerns the preparation of a Bill, not a new registration regime already in force.
— The Mpumalanga High Court considered the applicants’ customary context alongside the Children’s Act when confirming their agreement. The decision concerns the particular family and does not create a blanket exception to the statutory surrogacy requirements.
— The ONPE survey published on 21 July 2026 counts 5,753 wards of the State on 31 December 2024, up 11% in one year. Only 1,089 of them, about 19%, are placed with a view to adoption, against nearly 40% ten years earlier (ONPE, 2026).
— Since 1 July 2026, each parent of a child adopted on or after 1 January 2026 may request additional birth leave of one or two months, on top of adoption leave. In the private sector it is paid at 70% of capped net salary for the first month and 60% for the second, and must begin within 9 months of the child's arrival (Service-public.fr, 2026).
— Regulation (EU) 2026/1818, signed on 17 June 2026, sets minimum welfare standards for breeding, sales and shelters, regulates online advertisements and will eventually require a microchip and registration for all dogs and cats, including those of private owners. It applies from 31 August 2028; for private owners who do not place their animals on the market (no sale, no donation advertised online or made regularly), this regulation will only require identification in 2036 for dogs and in 2041 for cats.
— The Supreme Court of Appeal clarified the duty to investigate dependants and nominees under section 37C. The reference to 12 months is not an automatic expiry of a dependant’s rights or a guarantee that payment will be completed within that period.
— The social development committee questioned the department’s revised timetable and called for faster progress. The announced schedule was a planning forecast, not a legislative commencement date.
— On 8 May 2026, the National Council's health committee decided, by 16 votes to 8 with 1 abstention, to continue work on the planned Cannabis Products Act. It has tasked its subcommittee with reworking the draft after a consultation that drew 162 responses, in which a majority of cantons were opposed. Cannabis remains prohibited in Switzerland apart from pilot trials and medical use.
— Ruling at first instance, the Paris judicial court held on 6 May 2026 that the division of property between unmarried, unregistered partners is governed by the law the partners chose. Without an explicit choice, that choice is presumed to be the law of the country of their first shared home.
— The FBI's complaint center (IC3) received 23,159 "Confidence/Romance" complaints in 2025, with $929,287,469 in reported losses, compared with 17,910 complaints and $672,009,052 in 2024. These are victims' reports, in a category that also includes the fake relative in distress scam; people aged 60 and over report more than half of the amount.
— Statistics South Africa released its 2024 marriages and divorces report. The publication draws on administrative records, whose coverage and time period matter: annual divorce and marriage totals cannot be converted into an individual couple’s probability of divorce.
— A full bench of the Gauteng High Court confirmed a route to civil divorce protections and reconsideration of interim support following talaq. The judgment applies the legislation’s temporal limits; it does not bring every historical dissolution within the same rules.
— On 5 March 2026, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared Peru responsible for the forced sterilization and the 1997 death of Celia Edith Ramos Durand. It found that the 1996-2000 family planning programme, which led to more than 314,000 sterilizations of women and 24,000 of men, many under coercion, was a State policy, and ordered reparations.
— Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee completed nationwide public hearings. The Bill remains a legislative proposal in the sources reviewed; ending consultation does not itself change marriage ages or replace the existing Acts.
— Bill No. 8676, tabled in the Chamber of Deputies on 6 January 2026, provides for a single tax class from the 2028 tax year. People who marry or register a partnership (PACS) on or after 1 January 2028 would be taxed individually; couples already married or in a PACS could keep joint taxation for 25 years, until 2052. The text has not been passed: it is still in committee.
Posts and videos from institutions, media, specialists and AffectionPlus spotted right now on social media.
— A local news report for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in which a W.A.R.M. representative suggests what people can do to support someone in an abusive situation. It is part of the station's Victims' Voices coverage.
TikTok · @pix11ny
— A South African family lawyer discusses a court ruling stressing stability, predictability and emotional security in care and contact decisions. The post notes that equal parental rights do not automatically translate into equal time.
TikTok · @familylawyersa
— One Family, an Irish charity for one-parent families, reminds separated and single parents that its support services are open to them. The post links to details of the family supports it offers.
Facebook · One Family
— A news segment on the City of Seattle's Victim Support Team, which works alongside police. It describes the kinds of help available to people affected by sexual abuse and domestic violence.
TikTok · @king5news
— Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights says people of every age and gender should have their bodily autonomy respected. It also stresses learning the skills and empathy needed to respect other people's bodies and choices.
Instagram · @actioncanadashr
— An Indian advocate explains that one parent cannot unilaterally cut the other off from a child. In custody disputes the court focuses on the child's welfare and best interests.
Instagram · @advocatemonikaarora
— A legal aid organisation's family law attorney walks through how child support is calculated and enforced. The video aims to explain the system in plain language for people dealing with it.
Instagram · @inlandcountieslegalservices
— A morning show segment in which a family law attorney responds to frequently asked questions about custody. It offers general orientation for parents facing a custody situation.
YouTube · Rickey Smiley Morning Show
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Text written with the help of AI, under the editorial responsibility of CAPIT. Human reviews are occasional (method: About). Spotted an error? Write to us.
