Throughout the past couple weeks I have had the opportunity to become more acclimated to the health proceedings in Colombia, and there is certainly one trend amongst the women that has been most profound. As I first started researching, I realized that women are still not treated as equal to men in Colombia, which oftentimes results in a seemingly endless cycle of gender-based oppression. Specifically, many of these women have faced sexual violence for generations. There is no doubt that this continuous abuse takes a large toll on women from a physical and psychological perspective, and I was intrigued to learn more. In an article titled, Violence against women: the hidden health burden, this violence is described as being a hidden obstacle to economic and social development by draining a woman’s energy and confidence, therefore depriving society of full participation. With such physical and psychological scars, women are unable to lend their labor or ideas fully (Heise 1993). 

Perhaps one of the most unfortunate things about this occurrence is that the perpetrators are most often the women’s male partners or husbands. This common relationship between intimate partner violence has strong ties to unintended pregnancies amongst Colombian women. In 2000, the Demographic and Health Survey for Colombia explored this relationship and found astonishing results. It seemed that 55% of Colombian respondents had at least on unintended pregnancy, and 38% were physically or psychologically abused. Estimates show that an elimination of partner violence in Colombia would result in about 32,000-44,000 fewer unintended pregnancies annually (Pallitto, et al 2004). In an effort to find more data on the subject, I turned to an executive summary of the survey on the prevalence of sexual violence against women from 2010-2015. In this summary, the researchers analyzed the context of the Colombian armed conflict during this time and its relation to the current, known abuse of women in the country. It was found that one in every six women was a victim of rape, and women from the ages of 25-34 were the most affected by rape, forced prostitution and abortion, while those in the youngest age group were most affected by sexual harassment, forced pregnancy and sexual control. It was an interesting finding that although this study was focusing on armed forces, it was still the case that family members (husbands) were the main perpetrators amongst most of the violence. Further research proved that the presence of armed conflict actually increased and shaped the risk of sexual violence against women, even if the principal perpetrators are not those involved in with the armed groups (Envise 2015). 

All of this harassment and unintended pregnancies that women face in Colombia have certainly began to spark movements from not only public health but also a political standpoint. Each article that I have analyzed has posed their own opinions and suggestions for change that can come of this conflict to improve the well-being of women. Although the recognition may be slow, it is building. In an effort to implement a safer women’s healthcare system, the country partially liberalized its abortion law in 2006. Unfortunately, this did not stop women from having abortions outside of the law and resulting in complications. We must acknowledge the fact that this country has finally understood the problems that it’s citizens are facing, but continue to push them for further development. It is true that provision of post-abortion care and legal abortion services at higher-level facilities results in high health care costs, but these can be reduced significantly by providing such services in a timely manner at primary-level facilities (Prada, et al 2013). In 1991, the Pan American Health Organization sponsored a conference in Managua, entitled “Violence against women: a problem of public health” which issues an action agenda including “prevention of abuse and attention to victims of violence” (Heise 1993). The findings of the research in 2004 indicate that there is a strong need to include intimate partner violence screening and treatment in reproductive health programs in an effort to promote men’s involvement in fertility control programs, and to improve the social and political response to intimate partner violence (Pallitto, et al 2004). Finally, the executive summary makes many recommendations to the Colombian state to fulfill its duty to act with due diligence to guarantee the rights of women to truth, justice, reparation, and non-recurrence. They suggest the national and local governments be accompanied in implementing new policies, support women’s organizations and the proposals and agendas of women for development, and many more (Envise 2015). Perhaps if the country considers some, if not all of these proposals generated by scholars across the globe, a new and more prosperous world for Colombian women may form. 

Prada, Elena, et al. “The Cost of Postabortion Care and Legal Abortion in Colombia.” JStor, Guttmacher Institute, Sept. 2013, www-jstor-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/stable/1566490?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Pallitto, Christina, and Patricia O’Campo. “The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy; Analyses If a National Sample from Colombia.” JStor, Guttmacher Institute, Dec. 2004, www-jstor-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/stable/1566490?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Heise, Lori. “Violence against Women: the Hidden Health Burden .” WHSQ, 1993, apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/48688/WHSQ_1993_46_No.1_p78-85_eng.pdf.

Envise. “Survey on the Prevalence of Sexual Violence Against Women in the Context of the Colombian Armed Conflict.” OXFA America, 2015, www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/COLOMBIA_SURVEY_SEXUAL_VIOLENCE_EXEC_SUM.pdf.