“We’re Constantly Fighting for That Opportunity”: A Qualitative Study of Access Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health for Hispanic Immigrant Women in The United States
“We’re Constantly Fighting for That Opportunity”: A Qualitative Study of Access Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health for Hispanic Immigrant Women in The United States

Author(s): Jessica Merone, Rossella De Falco, Paola Degani
Subject(s): Health and medicine and law, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Fighting; Opportunity; Qualitative Study; Access Barriers; Sexual;
Summary/Abstract: Immigrant women in the United States (US) face overlapping difficulties when accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services (Althoff, et al., 2017; Center for Reproductive Rights, 2014; Hasstedt, Desai, & Ansari-Thomas, 2018; Jain, LaHote, Samari, & Garbers, 2022; National Women's Law Center (NWLC), 2017; Smith & LeVoy, 2016; Alarcão, et al., 2019). This is due to several factors, such as difficulties in navigating immigration healthcare policies, language difficulties, gender, socioeconomic inequalities, and cultural barriers (Hasstedt, Desai, & Ansari-Thomas, 2018). Due to the feminisation of migration, female immigrants are considered “a formidable presence” in the US and have slightly surpassed the total number of male immigrants (American Immigration Council, 2020). Although immigrant women – including naturalised US citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPR), and undocumented immigrants – represent a substantial portion of the US immigration population, they are considered more vulnerable than men and continue to suffer from various human rights violations (Kawar, 2004). These human rights violations include lack of access to comprehensive and affordable healthcare, in particular SRH services (Hasstedt, Desai, & Ansari-Thomas, 2018). Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) encompass universal access to a wide range of reproductive health services, including family planning, safe pregnancy and delivery services, abortion where legal, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, information and counselling on sexuality, and elimination of harmful practises against women (such as female genital mutilation/cutting and forced marriage) (Alarcão, et al., 2019).

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