The LGBTQIA community faces many challenges when accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. It is hardly accepted by society, with barriers ranging from mental, psychological, socio-cultural, and political reasons. For instance, there is a widespread assumption that members of the LGBTQIA community have a low risk of getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Medical personnel discourages them from getting tested for AIDS because they perceive them to be at low risk. The doctors portray a particular bias and neglect, especially obstetricians and gynecologists. They only ask whether their LGBTQIA patients used condoms or birth control methods; they are not sexuality-friendly. They also barely educate on safe sex techniques such as dental dams, finger cots, gloves, and condoms.
Possible Biological Health Outcomes
Neglecting LGBTQIA’s reproductive healthcare leads to an imminent risk of several biological health outcomes. For instance, ignorance exposes them to sexually related illnesses such as HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, trichomonas, and pubic lice. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) arising from skin-to-skin contact causes cancer. The women’s reproductive health could also get affected negatively; for example, the reproductive tract suffers risk of getting affected. Moreover, there is an increased vulnerability to dysfunction, especially for women’s reproductive organs. In extreme cases of neglect, infertility could occur as a side-effect.
Marginalized Communities with Challenges of Reproductive Healthcare
Numerous marginalized communities are left behind in reproductive healthcare; LGBTQIA is one example among others. In the African continent, many Sub-Saharan countries have low levels of literacy on sexuality. Countries in West and Central Africa, Chad, and South Sudan have low-quality sexual healthcare. Latin American nations also have poor reproductive healthcare systems due to financial constraints and their societies’ bias in sexuality. Low-income women among the refugees, Native Americans, and African Americans in the United States of America equally face challenges accessing reproductive healthcare. Reproductive health campaigns usually leave out people with disabilities (PWDs).