Forced displacement negatively affects women refugees’ management of their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. Rohingya are one of the world’s most persecuted ethnic groups, whose people are highly vulnerable to various forms of deprivation. Malaysia hosts the second largest Rohingya community outside of Cox Bazar Bangladesh, due to its relative proximity to Myanmar, livelihood opportunities and shared culture and religion. Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. Consequently, refugees in Malaysia are ‘people without documents’ and lack access to adequate protection, education, employment and healthcare services.
We collaborated with local NGOs in Penang to recruit Rohingya from their networks. We drew on interpreters to conduct four focus group discussions with 20 Rohingya men and women. We interviewed Rohingya men to understand the familial dynamics influencing women’s decision-making about SRH management.
Our findings
Our findings showed:
- Rohingya women participants lacked SRH knowledge which prevented them from recognising common symptoms (e.g menstruation pain);
- Rohingya women participants did not have reliable sources of information about SRH, relying instead on hearsay and anecdotal evidence from friends and neighbours;
- A lack of mobility prevented Rohingya women participants from expanding their SRH information networks and limited their access to services;
- Lack of affordability prevents access to SRH care, or the potential for follow-up treatment.
- SRH decision making is largely the prerogative of men
Our findings underline the importance of SRH interventions to support Rohingya women to effectively manage their SRH needs. We are implementing a programme of SRH education and clinic services to enable Rohingya women to better manage their SRH needs.
For more information about this project, please contact Professor Lilian Miles ([email protected]) or Professor Tim Freeman ([email protected]).