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Experiences of Abortion in Black Rural Brazil

Project description

Racial disparities in abortion access in rural Brazil

In Brazil, despite legal restrictions, one in seven women undergoes an abortion by age 40, with Black women disproportionately affected. The 2023 national abortion survey revealed that Black women are 46 % more likely to have an abortion than their white counterparts. This stark inequality reflects deeper issues of class, gender, and racial disparities in reproductive healthcare. Black women, especially in rural areas, face institutional barriers, stigma, and are more likely to suffer from abortion-related complications. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ABRB project seeks to understand how Black rural Brazilians navigate these challenges, offering insights through ethnographic research. This study aims to improve abortion services and highlight the need for racial justice in reproductive healthcare.

Objective

The 2023 Brazilian national abortion survey highlighted that, despite legal restrictions, abortion remains prevalent, with one in every seven women undergoing the procedure by age 40. A racial breakdown of the data revealed that Black women were 46% more likely than white women to have an abortion.

Access to safe abortion is an essential reproductive rights issue and a vital public health concern. The magnitude and criminalization of abortion in Brazil exacerbate the already existing class, gender, and race inequalities in the country. Reproductive health research shows that Black women face the greatest individual and institutional barriers when attempting to access sexual and reproductive care services. This group is also more likely to die from abortion-related causes and face arrest and stigma. These further stark racial disparities make access to safe abortion a matter of racial justice in Brazil.

Studies on abortion in Brazil with a racial focus are scarce. In particular, little is known about how Black people in rural communities navigate and challenge legal restrictions, cultural stigma, and racial discrimination when seeking an abortion in a setting that is structurally designed to exclude them and has historically despised their fertility.

This project aims to understand the experience and processes of accessing and having an Abortion in Black Rural Brazil through the lens of local pregnant people. Based on anthropological and interdisciplinary studies on reproductive health, gender, and critical race theory, this timely research will investigate how they confront the multifaceted challenges surrounding abortion access and reproductive rights in contemporary Black rural Brazil. By drawing on ethnographic fieldwork this study will generate practical evidence to improve rural abortion services in Brazil, enhance the anthropology of reproduction through concepts of stigma, justice, and autonomy, and engage civil society on this urgent matter.

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 205 635,14
Address
GRAN VIA DE LES CORTS CATALANES 585
08007 BARCELONA
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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