Access to sexual and reproductive services: Experiences of Venezuelan Migrants in Ecuador

Until 2023 approximately 7.2 million Venezuelans left their country due to political and economic crises. Ecuador was the third-largest recipient of Venezuelan migrants in the context of this ongoing human mobility crisis. Most people in this scenario experienced many vulnerabilities related to health services access, specifically Sexual and Reproductive Health, this represents risks on their health. The objective of this study was to understand the use of SRH services at the level of perceptions of access through the migratory journey; usage patterns and characteristics of SRH services; experiences of discrimination and mistreatment, and recommendations for improving access, aiming to improve the accessibility and utilization of SRH services by various populations experiencing situations of human mobility. To achieve this, we conducted focus groups with semi-structured interview guides with women, men, and people and those who self-identified as belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. We found that most participants encountered barriers to access SRH services throughout their migratory journey, while on Ecuador, men reported not using much SRH services, on the other hand women and teenage solicited mainly obstetric and contraceptive needs and the LGBTIQ+ community said that the services couldn’t meet their needs. The three groups of participants reported experiencing discrimination because of their nationality, however, women that had obstetric attention reported mistreatments because of bad medical practices that was directed to Ecuadorian women as well and the LGBTIQ+ reported being targeted mainly for their sexual/gender identity rather than their nationality. This study encompasses experiences along the migration route and in the destination country, helping to identify the underlying structural and contextual factors of these issues and suggests potential future actions to ensure unrestricted sexual and reproductive health rights.