Abstract

In Chile, despite important advances in access to contraception and a steady reduction inunplanned pregnancy, longstanding barriers for young people to access sexual andreproductive health (SRH) and rights - rooted in a conservative and religious background -have been highlighted by recent sociopolitical movements, including the feminist studentwave of 2018 and the social uprising of 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic further strainedaccess, leading to the suspension of many in-person services. In this context, weconducted a qualitative study between 2020 and 2023 to explore young women’sperceptions of sexuality and SRH, their interactions with the formal healthcare system, andthe diverse resources they engage with to access support and care. 23 in-depth interviewswere carried out with heterosexual and non-heterosexual women aged 18–25 in Chile’s2Metropolitan Region. The findings reveal a mismatch between young women’s holisticunderstanding of sexuality - which includes emotional, biological, and political dimensions- and the healthcare system’s reductionist, heteronormative, and risk-based approach,which became more visible after these societal upheavals. As a result, young women mayuse biomedical SRH services strategically for prescriptions and testing, while seeking morecomprehensive support outside the formal system through virtual platforms, healthprofessionals giving online support, and civil society organisations. The study concludesthat systemic changes in the health system are needed to bridge these divides and upholdthe sexual and reproductive rights of young women in Chile, especially those who identifyas non-heterosexual.