Venezuelan Women Research Articles

Responding to the sexual and reproductive health needs of Venezuelan migrant women in LimaResposta às necessidades de saúde sexual e reprodutiva de migrantes venezuelanas em Lima

To present and analyze the Peruvian health system's response to the sexual and reproductive health needs of Venezuelan women living in the city of Lima, Peru, and to identify some of the reasons underlying this response. Information was collected through semi-structured, in-depth telephone interviews with 30 Venezuelan women, 10 healthcare workers, and two Ministry of Health officials. Based on the experiences of Venezuelan women who sought care through these services during 2019-2020 and the perspectives of healthcare personnel and health authorities, we present an analysis of the public health services' capacity and limitations in meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of this population. Migrant women's testimonies reported a positive experience with a health system that, despite shortcomings, responds to the most common sexual and reproductive health needs. These perspectives parallel the testimonies of healthcare personnel and authorities who emphasized the existence of priority policies for sexual and reproductive health care. This study shows how a national priority framework (reducing maternal mortality), accompanied by operational mechanisms for social protection (such as the Comprehensive Health Insurance program), represent complementary instruments that have a positive impact on and extend benefits to migrants, even though this population was not considered when designing these policies.

Cancer mortality predictions for 2023 in Latin America with focus on stomach cancer.

We estimated cancer mortality statistics for the current year in seven major Latin American countries. We retrieved official death certification data and population figures from the WHO and the United Nations databases for the 1970-2020 calendar period. We considered mortality from all neoplasms combined and for 10 major cancer sites. We estimated the number of deaths and age-standardized mortality rates for the year 2023. Age-standardized mortality rates for all cancers combined are predicted to decline in all countries, in both sexes, apart from Venezuelan women. The lowest predicted total cancer mortality rates are in Mexico, 69.8/100 000 men and 62.5/100 000 women. The highest rates are in Cuba with 133.4/100 000 men and 90.2/100 000 women. Stomach cancer is predicted to decline steadily in all countries considered, but remains the first-ranking site for men in Chile (14.3/100 000) and Colombia (11/100 000). Colorectal cancer rates also tended to decline but remain comparatively high in Argentina (14/100 000 men). Breast cancer rates were high in Argentinian women (16.5/100 000) though they tended to decline in all countries. Lung cancer mortality rates are also predicted to decline, however, rates remain exceedingly high in Cuba (30.5/100 000 men and 17.2/100 000 women) as opposed to Mexico (5.6/100 000 men and 3.2/10 000 women). Declines are also projected for cancer of the uterus, but rates remain high, particularly in Argentina and Cuba (10/100 000 women), and Venezuela (13/100 000 women) due to inadequate screening and cervical cancer control. Certified cancer mortality remains generally lower in Latin America (apart from Cuba), as compared to North America and Europe; this may be partly due to death certification validity.

Securitisation, humanitarian responses and the erosion of everyday rights of displaced Venezuelan women in Brazil

ABSTRACT This article explores the gendered securitisation of humanitarianism through the lens of Venezuelan women who have fled to Brazil, as part of the largest migration flow in South America. By the end of 2022, the number of displaced Venezuelans had grown to seven million, half of whom were women and girls. Alongside humanitarian programmes, measures of migration control, policing and deterrence are now routinely implemented. This article explores the interplay between securitised policies and humanitarian programmes in the everyday experience of rights of Venezuelan migrant women and girls. We ask: what happens when migrant women reach Brazil, a supposed place of safety? Do they experience rights restitution and protection, or do they continue to be subject to everyday gendered humiliations? Building on fieldwork in Boa Vista and Manaus in 2020–2022, we explore migrant women and girls’ experiences with shelter and healthcare, two central pillars of humanitarian programmes. Contributing directly to literatures on migration management, humanitarianism and control, this article focuses on ‘the receiving end’ of securitised humanitarian practices and deploys a gender lens to reveal how securitised humanitarianism reproduces disciplinary dynamics of governance and creates gendered risks and vulnerabilities that erode migrant women and girl’s rights and agency in everyday life.

Barriers and facilitators to confronting HIV/aids and syphilis experienced by Venezuelan women living in BrazilFactores facilitadores y barreras que tienen las mujeres venezolanas residentes en Brasil respecto de la infección por el VIH/sida y la sífilis

To describe the perception of Venezuelan women regarding access to health care, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV/aids and syphilis in Brazil. This is a descriptive, exploratory study employing a qualitative approach, performed from February to May 2021 in the municipalities of Manaus, state of Amazonas, and Boa Vista, state of Roraima. The interviews with participants were fully transcribed, with identification of themes based on content analysis. Forty women were interviewed (20 in Manaus and 20 in Boa Vista). Following transcription and translation of the accounts, two analytical categories were identified: barriers to healthcare access, with four subcategories - language, cost, adverse drug reactions, and COVID-19 pandemic; and facilitators of healthcare access, again with four subcategories - Unified Health System (SUS), National Policy of Comprehensive Women's Health, National Social Assistance Policy, and relationship between healthcare professionals and SUS users. The results showed the need to design strategies to mitigate the difficulties faced by migrant women from Venezuela living in Brazil regarding the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/aids and syphilis, going beyond the healthcare support guaranteed by law.

Vulnerabilities of Venezuelan refugee women: violence and intersectional social relations.

To analyze the vulnerabilities of Venezuelan women considering their experiences of violence in refugee situations. Qualitative study, developed with ten (10) Venezuelan refugee women in the southern region of Brazil, through individual in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework of analysis was Vulnerability, Human Rights, and Intersectionality. The greater the intensity of the intersection of social markers present, such as sex, racial, nationality, generation, cultural, bodily, territorial and other relations, the greater the range of vulnerable experiences in the social relations of these women, producing exclusions and violation of rights. The situations of vulnerabilities of refugee women are enhanced as more or less social markers intersect in their life experiences and established social relationships, causing impacts that allow the transition from 'vulnerable to violated subjects'. Thus, intersectional relationships were formed, either promoting oppression or producing resilience and resistance.

Perceptions of Health Needs among Venezuelan Women Crossing the Border in Northern Chile during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In parallel to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile has experienced a significant influx of international migrants, many of whom are Venezuelan women who have entered the country through unauthorized crossing points. In this context, gender and migration intersect as the social determinants of health, leading to their experiencing a range of adverse events. This poses important challenges in terms of short- and long-term health outcomes, the social determinants of health, and access to healthcare. This study aims at describing Venezuelan women's perceptions of their health needs as they migrate to Chile via an unauthorized crossing point, with a focus on adverse events throughout the migration cycle, self-reported health needs, and responses. A qualitative case study was carried out with 22 participants in the Antofagasta region of Chile, including Venezuelan migrant women, healthcare professionals, and social workers from the public healthcare system, stakeholders from non-governmental and international organizations, and local government officials. The semi-structured, individual interviews were analyzed thematically. The results show that Venezuelan women face a range of adverse events throughout the migration cycle. The perceived health needs that are reported are sometimes linked to these adverse events or existed prior to migration and were exacerbated throughout the migratory cycle. Addressing these physical and mental health needs is essential for short- and long-term individual and public health; however, despite substantial efforts to ameliorate the situation, persisting gaps in access to care are reported.

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in sexually active women in Venezuela

ResumenIntroducción. La infección genital por Chlamydia trachomatis es una de las más frecuentes en el mundo. Cada año se registran cerca de 85 millones de nuevos casos de esta enfermedad, que cursa con graves complicaciones en la mujer y recién nacido. Objetivo. Determinar las características clínico-epidemiológicas de la infección por C. trachomatis en mujeres venezolanas sexualmente activas.Materiales y métodos. Es un estudio descriptivo, transversal y de campo, sustentado en la historia clínica y el examen físico, la detección de infección con la prueba inmunoenzimática con anticuerpos policlonales anti-LPS y la confirmación de los resultados con la de biología molecular. La muestra estuvo conformada por 100 mujeres sexualmente activas mayores de 12 años de edad, del estado Carabobo, Venezuela.Resultados. La mayoría de las mujeres se encontraba entre los 20 y los 45 años de edad. En el 25 % de las mismas, se detectaron anticuerpos IgG anti-C. trachomatis y, en el 84 % de estas, se confirmó la infección mediante PCR; en ninguna de las mujeres se hallaron anticuerpos IgM anti-C. trachomatis.Conclusión. La infección crónica predomina en las mujeres entre los 20 y los 45 años de edad; la prueba inmunoenzimática arrojó falsos positivos corroborados por PCR.

Militancy, feminism and cinema: The case of Grupo Feminista Miércoles

This article contextualizes and characterizes the Venezuelan feminist film collective Grupo Feminista Miércoles. Founded by Venezuelan Josefina Acevedo and Italians Franca Donda and Ambretta Marrosu, among others, Grupo Feminista Miércoles (1979–88) produced the documentary Yo, tú, Ismaelina (‘I, you, Ismaelina’) () and the videos Argelia Laya, por ejemplo (‘Argelia Laya, for example’) (), Eumelia Hernández, calle arriba, calle abajo (‘Eumelia Hernández, up and down the street’) () and Una del montón (‘One of the bunch’) (), and participated in several activities organized by the Venezuelan women’s movement. On the one hand, this article pays attention to both the cinematic and political contexts that allowed the emergence of this collective, with a focus on the influence that Italian cinematic and feminist ideas had in these contexts. On the other hand, it also provides formal analysis of the collective’s filmography and explores how feminist ideas and praxis are deployed in its films. The overall aim of this article is to restore the contributions of Grupo Feminista Miércoles to both Latin American political cinema and transnational feminist cinema.

Predisposing and enabling factors associated with Venezuelan migrant and refugee women's access to sexual and reproductive health care services and contraceptive usage in Peru

ObjectiveOver 6 million migrants and refugees from Venezuela have left their country in the past decade; 1 million of them reside in Peru. Venezuelan migrant and refugee women are known to have limited access to sexual and reproductive health care services (SRHS) and contraceptive usage. To date, research to understand factors influencing access to those services is limited. This study aims to determine which enabling and predisposing factors influence Venezuelan migrant and refugee women's access to SRHS and contraceptive usage. MethodsThis is a retrospective cross-sectional study of the first survey administered to the Venezuelan population residing in the Peru in 2018. The survey covered six cities in the country (Metropolitan Lima, Callao, Tumbes, Cusco, Trujillo, Arequipa). The sample for the study included Venezuelan migrant women of reproductive age (15–49 years old). Anderson's Behavior Model of Health Services is the conceptual framework of the investigation. Logistic regression models were fit to examine the relationship between different predisposing and enabling factors and women's access to SRHS and contraceptive usage. ResultsThe sample size includes a total of 3378 Venezuelan women of reproductive age. 50.7% of the women were between the ages of 21–30 and over 90.6% of the sample were residing in Metropolitan Lima. Only 20.2% of the women reported they had access to modern contraceptives. Results from the study suggest having insurance, residing in Trujillo, and having a higher socio-economic status were associated with more access to certain sexual reproductive health care services and contraceptive usage. ConclusionThis study identified different predisposing and enabling factors relevant to the access to SRHS and contraceptive usage. Difference in access and usage are particularly pronounced based on insurance status, geographical location, and socio-economic status. Displaced Venezuelans will remain abroad for an extended period of time, if not permanently. Focus should shift from providing humanitarian aid to integrating the migrants and refugees, particularly the most vulnerable groups, into the local economic and healthcare system.

Forced migration and reproductive rights: Pregnant women fleeing Venezuela

Numerous pregnant Venezuelan women have fled Venezuela, given the health system crisis that has increased risk to their lives and their children. Thousands of them have arrived in Colombia in search of reproductive health care. Notwithstanding Colombia’s government efforts to provide some relief measures to the massive influx of Venezuelan migrants, pregnant women are not receiving the prenatal and postnatal care they need. One of the primary barriers to health care access is their immigration status and the health system structure regarding migrants. Therefore, this paper studies Colombia’s international human rights obligations concerning their immigration status and the right to reproductive health to conclude that government measures have been insufficient to meet these obligations.

The Regulatory Network Played by miRNAs During Normal Pregnancy and Preeclampsia: A Comparative Study.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome, characterized by hypertension, proteinuria, and edema. Affecting between 2% and 8% of gestations worldwide, it accounts for 10% to 15% of maternal deaths. Although its etiology remains unclear, it includes complex pathological processes involving microRNAs, small non-coding RNA molecules with post-transcriptional repression effects on target mRNAs. To assess the expression of miRNAs during normal pregnancies and those complicated by preeclampsia, a sample of Venezuelan women were studied. Nine placental microRNAs (hsa-miR- 20a-5p, 21-3p, 26a-5p, 181a-5p, 199a-5p, 210-3p, 222-5p, 223-3p, 424-3p) were measured in maternal plasma during the second and third trimesters of normal pregnancies, using a SYBR Green®-based real-time PCR, and compared the results against women affected by preeclampsia. All assessed miRNAs were detected in maternal plasma in pregnancies with and without preeclampsia. All except miR-222 were over-expressed during disease when compared to the second and to third-trimester controls. miR-20a, miR-21, miR-26a, and miR-223 were down-regulated in the third trimester in comparison to the second trimester in normal pregnancies. The variation of the miRNAs expression through normal pregnancies suggested their involvement in normal physiological pregnancy processes. In contrast, the significant deregulation of the nine studied miRNAs during preeclampsia indicated the involvement of their target genes in the pathogenesis of the disease. miR-199a and miR-21-3p showed the greatest changes in expression. This study shows for the first time the presence of miR-20a, miR-199, and miR-424 and the variations they undergo in the plasma of pregnant women with preeclampsia.

Searching for the ‘Chilean Oasis’: Waiting and Uncertainty in the Migration Trajectories of Venezuelan Women

Venezuelans escaping from the crisis in their country count currently among the largest displaced populations in the world. Chile seems to offer them an oasis of political and economic stability. This ethnographic study explores the migrant trajectories of Venezuelan women. We disentangle their migration process, including destination imaginaries, the journey, and their life in Chile. We discuss how uncertainty is permanent in their trajectories and how the imagined oasis turns out to be just a mirage. The women end up waiting, perhaps perennially, to be able to return home. Meanwhile, they develop strategies to survive in an oasis without water.

Venezuelan women's perception of sexual and reproductive health services in Lima, Peru.

To know the perception of Venezuelan women about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Lima, Peru. This study had a qualitative methodological approach; 50 migrant women in Lima and three obstetricians who provide SRH care by the United Nations Population Fund were interviewed, information was collected from July to December 2019. The SRH service in Lima was analyzed using the theory of "reproductive governance". Migrant women seek reproductive health and contraceptive information from pharmacists and pharmacies. There is an information deficit on free SRH care, concerns about lack of health insurance, cost barriers, and their migration status. "Reproductive governance" could be employed by pharmacists to support migrant women and to inform about public SRH services available in Lima.

Reconstructing Racialised Femininity: Stories from Venezuelan migrant women

ABSTRACT This paper critically analyses how Venezuelan migrant women negotiate, challenge and at times reproduce oppressive gender relations as they navigate their new socio-economic realities within Trinidad and Tobago. These socio-economic realities include the ways they attempt to meet their financial needs within feminised labour markets such as engaging in care and domestic work. We focus on how the pervasive constructions of their femininity, based upon the social and cultural expectations they migrated with from Venezuela, re-produce unequal power relations in their everyday lives. We also examine how the gendered stereotypes of Venezuelan migrant women within Trinidad and Tobago reflect how their racialised identities are situated as desirable and exploitable within the Trinidadian labour market. We engage in a feminist narrative analysis that employs the qualitative method of in-depth interviews to gain gendered insights from Venezuelan migrant women about their lived experiences. We share these migrant women’s stories of survival to highlight how their liminal racialised identities lead to hypervisibility and invisibility, resulting in them experiencing multiple forms of discrimination, including xenophobia and stereotyping. Yet, despite these challenges, we explore how they remain empowered to find ways to challenge stigma, discrimination and xenophobia and access necessary material resources.

Aya—a digital tool co-designed with Venezuelan women to safely facilitate self-managed medication abortion and contraception access

Objectives The ongoing complex humanitarian crisis in Venezuelahas disproportionately affected access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Restrictive abortion laws lead to unsafe abortions and increased maternal mortality/morbidity. We sought to understand whether a digital tool that safely facilitates self-managed abortion and contraception access would be acceptable and feasible for Venezuelan women and their community. Our study aimed to: Understand how Venezuelan women access SRH information and services; Understand their preferences for design of a digital tool that will safely facilitate self-managed abortions and contraception access; Co-design a user-centered digital tool, Aya, that includes their preferences and experiences. Methods This is a mixed-methods implementation research study with a focus on co-design with Venezuelan women, grassroots community-based organizations, healthcare providers, SRH advocates and program experts: Results 30% of surveyed Venezuelan women had an abortion, half used unsafe methods. 83% own a smartphone, 77% have internet access. Qualitative interviews highlighted the impact of the humanitarian crisis and COVID-19 on access to SRH services, safe abortion, and contraceptive methods. Venezuelan women were supportive of a digital tool that would safely facilitate self-managed abortion and contraception access. Aya is being co-designed and will be ready for pilot testing in Spring 2021. Conclusions We conducted user-centered research to understand the complexities around safe abortion care and contraception access in a humanitarian setting. We are co-designing Aya to ensure successful implementation, sustainability, and scalability within Venezuela.

Venezuelan Women in Peru: at the Borders of Nationality, Gender, and Survival Migration

How is the migration experience of Venezuelan women in Peru different from their male counterparts? Where are Venezuelan women employed? How does their gender position them in the labor force and in Peruvian society? To what degree do social-racial hierarchies configure their integration and opportunities for socioeconomic mobility? Based on the early phases of qualitative research on Venezuelan women’s migration experience in Peru, we draw from 15 short surveys and in-depth interviews with women in Lima between 2018 and 2019, national data, and migration literature. We analyze the intersection of a triple jeopardy—nationality, gender, and condition as survival migrants—that is casting Venezuelan women in informal, precarious, feminized, and racialized work in Peru. Likewise, we observe women’s resistance to a recipient country culture that is deeply rooted in socioracial hierarchies. We argue that these migrant women are vulnerable to inferiorized socioeconomic positioning in this situation, and aim is to contribute to a conversation about how south-south migration and gender combine with the socioeconomic and cultural context to determine available options for survival migrant women.

Necesidades en salud de las migrantes venezolanas en Barranquilla

El artículo reporta una investigación realizada en 2019 en Barranquilla. El objetivo fue analizar, mediante el método de observación participada, las respuestas de actores públicos, cooperación internacional y ONGs locales frente a la salud de las migrantes venezolanas en Barranquilla. Para corroborar el estudio, se entrevistaron a 21 mujeres venezolanas y se analizaron las implicaciones de la política migratoria colombiana para el acceso a la salud de los migrantes. El estudio destaca necesidades en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva y se presenta como un insumo para la formulación de políticas sensibles a la salud de las mujeres migrantes venezolanas.
 Palabras claves: salud; mujeres venezolanas; Barranquilla; sociedad civil; política migratoria.

Maternal health among Venezuelan women migrants at the border of Brazil

BackgroundGuaranteeing the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of populations living in fragile and humanitarian settings is essential and constitutes a basic human right. Compounded by the inherent vulnerabilities of women in crises, substantial complications are directly associated with increased risks of poor SRHR outcomes for displaced populations. The migration of Venezuelans, displaced due to current economic circumstances, is one of the largest in Latin America’s history. This study aims to provide an overview of the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues affecting migrant Venezuelan women in the state of Roraima, Brazil.MethodsFace-to-face interviews were conducted from 24 to 30 November 2019. Data collection covered various issues involving access to and use of SRH services by 405 migrant Venezuelan women aged 18–49 years. The Minimum Initial Service Package readiness assessment tools, available from the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises, were used in the data collection.ResultsMost commonly, the women reported unmet family planning needs. Of these, a significant proportion reported being unable to obtain contraceptive methods, particularly long-acting reversible contraceptives, either due to the woman’s inability to access them or their unavailability at healthcare centres. Although a significant proportion of women were largely satisfied with the attention received at the maternity hospital, both before and during childbirth, 24.0% of pregnant or postpartum women failed to receive any prenatal or postnatal care.ConclusionMeeting the essential SRHR needs of migrant Venezuelan women in Roraima, Brazil is a challenge that has yet to be fully addressed. Given the size of this migrant population, the Brazilian healthcare system has failed to adapt sufficiently to meet their needs; however, problems with healthcare provision are similar for migrants and Brazilian citizens. Efforts need to be encouraged not only in governmental health sectors, but also with academic, non-governmental and international organisations, including a coordinated approach to ensure a comprehensive SRHR response. Given the current high risks associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, meeting the SRHR needs of migrant populations has become more critical than ever.

Perinatal outcomes among Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction In the last decade, Venezuela suffers a humanitarian crisis, leading to massive emigration to border countries, including Colombia. One of the most vulnerable migrant groups is pregnant women. They face social and economic challenges, in addition to the barriers to access public health care services. These circumstances might increase adverse perinatal outcomes. This study aims to analyse the perinatal outcomes of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia and determine if the migration factor impacts on the perinatal results. Methods Data were obtained from the 2017 Colombian national birth register (n = 1,085 births in Venezuelan migrants and n = 654,829 in Colombian women). The premature birth (PB), low birth weight (LBW), 1-minute, and 5-minute Apgar score were compared to identify any association with the demographic, obstetric and neonatal characteristics, considering motheŕs origin as the primary exposure variable. Logistic regression models were used for the binary outcomes and linear regression models for continuous outcomes. Results The main difference was found in the low prevalence in health insurance coverage among Venezuelan women in comparison to natives (2.5% vs. 86.4%), and antenatal care visits (Mean 3.35±2.60 vs. 6.37±2.56). Venezuelan women were more likely to have newborns with LBW (OR 1.27; 95%CI 1.01, 1.58), lower Apgar scores at 1-minute (ß -0.09; 95%CI -0.14, -0.025) and 5-minute (ß -0.13; 95%CI -0.17, -0.08) in comparison to Colombians. Conclusions Our findings support that some neonatal outcomes among the Venezuelan migrants differed significantly from those of the Colombian women. The disadvantages found in health insurance coverage and antenatal care among migrants group were considered influencing factors. More effort among public health policies is needed to allow the migrant population having effective access to health care services, in order to improve the conditions of these women and their offspring. Key messages Pregnant migrant women are a vulnerable group in Colombia, facing health access barriers with neonatal consequences. The action is required by the application and reinforces of inclusive health policies among migrant population in Colombia.

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: COVID-19 and mental health

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia: COVID-19 and mental health