Mujeres que migran: atención en salud sexual y reproductiva a migrantes afrocaribeñas en Uruguay

Resumen

Uruguay has recently experienced a variation of its migratory balance, flows of Latin-American origin being the main engine of this change in many countries in the region. There is wide bibliography that accounts for the feminization of migrations at international level, basically in South-American and Caribbean flows. Given the characteristics of this population, the intersectional analysis is transversally used, because the gender variable cannot be considered as isolated from others like ethnic group or social class. Migration is a human right, and States must ensure the appropriate conditions for integration into their countries. Uruguayan Law 18.520 provides a human rights perspective and the equity of access to those rights for migrant people. Focusing this research on the access to sexual and reproductive health services enables to analyse these public policy lines from an intersectional gender perspective. Access to sexual and reproductive health services of quality strongly conditions the autonomy and migratory project of said women. The forms of segregation and exclusion suffered by this population in general and the ways in which these impact on the access to health are herein analysed, focusing on what happens inside the doctor’s office, where professional practices play a central role. Access to contraceptive methods and voluntary interruption of pregnancy are two specific aspects dealt with because although the laws guarantee their rights in that sense, there are evident difficulties of access for these Afro-Caribbean migrant women.