Sterilisation in the Colombian Armed Conflict

Signe Svallfors , Stockholm University

Female sterilization is the most prevalent contraceptive method in Colombia. Family planning programs were first introduced in the 1960s, simultaneously as the start of the Colombian armed conflict. Previous research shows that conflict violence relates negatively to use of other modern contraceptive methods in Colombia, but how war affects sterilization remains unknown. This study explores the risk of sterilization due to armed conflict, using multilevel survival analysis on data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and six rounds of the Demographic and Health Surveys 1990–2016. If women faced with conflict want children less or become more motivated to avoid unwanted pregnancy, the risk of sterilization may increase. The risk may inversely decline if women have less access to health services, following e.g. worse economic prospects and/or health care system deterioration, or if their desire for children increases.

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 Presented in Session 10. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior & Reproductive Health 2