Culture, Health & Sexuality最新文献

This article examines the perspectives of Africans living in Poland on infertility and associated cultural stigmatisation. By situating the discussion within the broader context of African cultural frameworks and the sociocultural dynamics of contemporary Poland, the study investigates how members of this community reconcile their cultural identities with their lived experiences in a European setting. Supported by a review of the literature on gender roles, childbearing and reproductive health issues on the African continent, this study provided insight into the small and diverse African diaspora in Poland. Using in-depth interviews with participants from various African countries, the research explores gender roles, societal pressures, and the impact of stigmatisation on reproductive health perceptions. It also addresses participants' connections to their countries of origin, and their attitudes towards the adoption and the use of reproductive technologies.

Violence against women is prevalent in South Africa. This qualitative study sought to describe female village residents' perspectives on intimate partner violence (IPV) in their communities. As part of a multi-year collaborative mixed-methods study on IPV and alcohol-related sexual risks, a culturally tailored vignette was developed to prompt verbal reflection from 31 female community residents aged 18 to 40 years in rural Limpopo. Participants discussed the controlling and abusive behaviour described within the vignette. Audiotapes were transcribed and underwent thematic analysis. Major themes included traditional male dominance, addressing violence against women, and victim's consequences. While most women opposed the husband's violent behaviour in the vignette, some viewed it as acceptable, believing that a wife should 'submit'. Notably, certain participants attributed blame to women for provoking their husbands' violent acts. Some suggested that the woman in the vignette had implicitly accepted such treatment from the outset, thus bearing responsibility for its continuation. Proposed solutions ranged from ending the relationship and seeking family advice, to acknowledging that the husband's violent tendencies require professional intervention beyond mere advice. In rural areas like Limpopo, traditional male-dominant behaviours often remain unchallenged. To reduce male-perpetrated IPV, interventions at the community, family, and professional levels are needed.

Resisting menstrual shame is both an act of personal liberation and a critical step towards gender equality. While feminist discourse on social media is growing, systematic research on the use of multimodal discursive resources to challenge menstrual stigma remains limited. This study employed multimodal critical discourse analysis to examine how menstrual shame is resisted on Xiaohongshu, a female-dominated social media platform in China. By analysing both textual and visual semiotic resources, the research identified three key themes: (1) unveiling the cultural and social manifestations of menstrual shame; (2) advocating for menstrual normalisation and educational outreach; and (3) reconstructing female power and identity. Within these themes, Xiaohongshu users utilise legitimation strategies including authorisation, moral evaluation, rationalisation, and mythopoesis to expose gender-based inequalities, challenge societal norms, advocate for menstrual normalisation, and contribute to the empowerment and reimagining of female identities. Study findings deepen our understanding of how social media platforms facilitate resistance to menstrual shame and offer valuable theoretical and practical insights for advancing gender equality and fostering social change.

Sexual consent is central to healthy sexual relationships and helps prevent sexual violence. Despite its importance, however, the subject has rarely been studied in Ecuador, a country where rates of sexual violence against young women are particularly high. This study explored adolescents' and young women's views on sexual consent. Using a qualitative approach, four focus groups were conducted with 30 participants aged between 15 and 24 years from public and private schools and universities in the Ecuadorian cities of Cuenca and Azogues. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings suggest is a lack of good quality sexuality education in the formal education system. This means that adolescent girls and young women do not know how to communicate consent assertively. Based on traditional gender roles, they are expected to be available to satisfy male desires, often giving false consent and minimising their emotions, failing to recognise violence for what it is. Study findings results highlight the need for a better understanding of sexual consent. This would make women more aware of their own sexual desires and how to communicate them, which could help to prevent violence.

The construction of womanhood and perceptions of sexual pleasure are among the many reasons women worldwide engage in vaginal practices. This article contends that some women engage in these practices to create an ideal state of the vagina and the body so as to enable them to achieve optimal womanhood and experience sexual pleasure. It draws on data from a qualitative ethnographic study that examined the use of vaginal practices by women in Tshitatshawa village in the Tsholotsho district in Zimbabwe which explored common vaginal practices in that setting. Vaginal practices have a catalytic role to play in achieving sexual pleasure and in shaping the concept of an 'ideal' woman. The impact of both primary and secondary socialisation on the perpetuation of vaginal practices by women was explored. Issues related to women's agency and autonomy vis-à-vis vaginal practices use were examined. The research concludes that vaginal practices are integral to the construction of womanhood and the attainment of women's sexual pleasure. Through these practices, women exercise bodily autonomy and express their agency in ways that also enable them to attain sexual pleasure.

Group-based IPV prevention programmes use participatory learning to impart new information, encourage critical reflection on gender and power dynamics, and develop new skills. Understanding whether and how these programmes are internalised and acted upon can allow for programme designs to enhance facilitators of positive change, inform efforts to adapt and scale the programme, and understand the potential for sustained change. This paper presents a qualitative study that explored men's and women's perceptions, experiences, and learning from participating in HIKA, a group-based couples' IPV prevention programme, together with facilitator experience. HIKA, a 22-session participatory curriculum, was adapted from the Indashykirwa couple's programme for couples living in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Men and women described important shifts in the way they perceived and used power, conflict, violence, and communication. Despite some resistance and ongoing gendered roles, the programme's group-based, couple-centred approach, underpinned by safe spaces, empathy-building exercises, and skills for managing power and conflict, demonstrated promise in encouraging new non-violent behaviours and strengthening relationships.

Research has shown that Black and Latinx patients in the USA have poorer outcomes in sexual and reproductive health due to systemic racism. While the harm against Black and Latinx communities has been documented, gaps exist in understanding how modern racial dynamics in contraceptive care perpetuate inequity. The objective of this study was to assess how racism manifests in contraceptive care by exploring healthcare providers' experiences of racism and discrimination. Between August 2022 to August 2024, we conducted in-depth interviews with 41 providers delivering contraceptive care across the USA. We engaged in a thematic analysis drawing upon Public Health Critical Race Praxis. We found several providers were able to recognise racism in healthcare, but there were mixed findings regarding their own race consciousness and cultural humility amidst systemic inaction. Providers described evidence among their colleagues of obstetric harms through informed consent violations, medical concealment, and paternalism. Providers also displayed prejudiced beliefs by attributing their patients' sexual behaviours and contraceptive decision making to race. Contemporary racism in contraceptive care is perpetuated by both healthcare providers and the systems they work within. While some providers exemplified anti-racism, our results largely reveal the complicity of healthcare professionals in perpetuating systemic racial injustice.

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of mortality among women in Ethiopia, particularly in rural areas where sociocultural and religious norms significantly influence health behaviour. Despite the inclusion of the HPV vaccine in the national immunisation program, uptake among adolescent girls remains low. This study explored sociocultural and religious factors that shape vaccine acceptance among adolescent girls in rural Ethiopia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions with adolescent girls (vaccinated and unvaccinated), parents, public health workers, and community leaders in Gurage and Hadiya zones. Thematic analysis was conducted. Five key themes were developed: (1) limited knowledge and awareness; (2) cultural stigma surrounding reproductive health; (3) religious resistance to biomedical interventions; (4) parental and community influence; and (5) fear of vaccine-related side effects such as infertility. Parental and community influence appeared to both facilitate and discourage vaccine acceptance, while lack of knowledge and awareness, cultural stigma, and fear of vaccine-related side effects acted as discouragers. HPV vaccine acceptance in rural Ethiopia is shaped by complex social, cultura and religious factors. Interventions must go beyond awareness campaigns to include community engagement, religious leader advocacy, and parental education to improve vaccine uptake.

This paper explores the profound physical, psychological and emotional challenges experienced by women who are subjected to forced marriage in the Ganderbal district of the Kashmir division of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India. It argues that the forced marriage of women significantly impacts their physical and mental well-being, and reduces their standard of living. It focuses mostly on the loss of autonomy, reproductive health, social stigma and other hard-to-adjust-to challenges that lead to their poor quality of life. This qualitative study involved 15 purposively selected respondents and was conducted between November and December 2024. Its findings reveal that forced marriages function as a site of ongoing emotional and bodily regulation, which places severe restrictions on women's personal freedom, reproductive choice and access to healthcare.

This study explored the experiences of pregnant women in Mawadza rural community, Mutasa District, Zimbabwe, regarding the use and non-use of a waiting mothers' shelter during pregnancy, childbirth, and the post-partum period. Guided by the Second Delay in Thaddeus and Maine's Three Delays Model, it examines how spatial, infrastructural, and socio-economic barriers influenced women's ability to reach maternal health facilities in time. The Second Delay highlights obstacles between deciding to seek care and arriving at a facility, including transport availability, distance, affordability, and social responsibilities that constrain mobility. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen women who had used the waiting mothers' shelter at Bonda Mission Hospital since 2015 and thirteen key informants. Findings showed that while the shelter offered skilled birth attendance, antenatal education, and postnatal monitoring, utilisation remains low and inconsistent. Barriers included indirect costs, household labour demands, and stigma, particularly for HIV-positive women. Enabling factors include peer support, trust in biomedical care, and engagement of religious institutions. The study concludes that shelter use was influenced by structural, cultural, and economic factors, including gender power dynamics, and offers insights into policies aligned with Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), the Maputo Protocol on Health and Reproductive Rights, and SDGs 3 and 5 to improve maternal health access.