Table 1 Barriers and facilitators that young migrants experience to access SRH services
Barriers (i) Legal, administrative, and organisational barriers • Health sector’s human resources: lack of available resources to ensure enough SRH specialists; high turnover rates of healthcare providers in general, and especially in rural and remote areas (experienced by the general and migrant populations) • Temporary ID sometimes asked as a requirement to access healthcare (illegal) • Lack of updated training for health workers in intercultural health and migrants’ health rights • Migrant’s fear of deportation limiting seeking healthcare (ii) Barriers derived from the healthcare system’s approach to SRH • Lack of comprehensive sex education in schools • SRH usually reduced to women’s reproductive health and pregnancy prevention • Health indicators required and evaluated without cultural specificity or regard to the characteristics of the population • Prevailing narrative locates the lack of prevention at the level of individual responsibility, neglecting structural factors, which is exacerbated in the case of young migrants • Little consideration for the role of men and their reproductive health needs • Heteronormative approach to SRH (iii) Stigma and discrimination • Perceived precocious initiation of sexual activity among foreign youth • Sexualisation of young migrants based on racial stereotypes • Foreign youth perceived to be engaging in risky sexual behaviour, which serves as a justification to explain unplanned pregnancy, STIs or HIV • Fear of testing for STIs and HIV among migrant youth • Obstetric violence exacerbated in young migrant women for being migrants | |
Facilitators • Good healthcare experiences: receiving good treatment from healthcare providers, friendly and respectful care • Accessible and easily understandable information on SRH • Easy access to condoms • Social capital regarding sex education among young migrants • Community interventions and initiatives by health workers targeting migrant communities |