Visual Narratives of Care and Reproduction in Forced Migration: Women Displaced from Venezuela to Brazil

Abstract

Migration is deeply gendered, yet little is known about the lived experiences of displaced women or how they manage their reproductive health challenges. Here, we explore the meaning of sexual and reproductive health for displaced Venezuelan women in Brazil, using photovoice. This methodology revealed that women interpret ‘sexual and reproductive health’ in ways that go beyond medicalised understandings and include concerns more usually associated with ‘social reproduction’ or care work. Caring, for Venezuelan migrant women, is complex: many take comfort from their roles as carers, but they also experience depletion and anxiety. Our research suggests the need for wider understandings of what reproductive health in displacement means and for support for migrant women that goes beyond addressing their biological reproductive roles.