SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS OF WORKING WOMEN IN ECUADOR
Keywords:
sexual rights, reproductive rights, working womenAbstract
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46296/yc.v9i17.0689
Abstract
The objective of this research study was to identify the link between knowledge and practice regarding the reproductive and sexual rights of women workers in Ecuador. Correlational techniques such as Spearman's and Kendall's are used to determine workers' level of knowledge about rights, as well as how they are exercised in their workplace practices. The hypothesis was that the greater the knowledge about rights, the greater the likelihood of exercising them at work. The research was conducted using a mixed-method approach, implemented with qualitative and quantitative techniques and a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design. A structured interview using a Likert-type scale was conducted with 67 workers selected from a population of 80, in the context of a sample selection with a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. The questionnaire consisted of fifteen items focusing on access to services, knowledge of rights, and working conditions. The statistical analysis was performed using JASP software, using Spearman's and Kendall's coefficients, which are appropriate for measuring ordinal variables and non-normal distributions. The institutional representatives were interviewed using semi-structured interview guides. Their responses were analyzed using content analysis and organized into a categorical matrix, allowing for the comparison of quantitative and qualitative information. The research provided a comprehensive view of the problem, evidenced by the relevant correlations between knowledge and the exercise of rights. It also offered a critical perspective on the institutional and social limitations experienced by women workers in Ecuador.
Keywords: sexual rights, reproductive rights, working women.
Downloads
References
Acurio, J. T., & Paredes, C. A. R. (2024). Barreras legales al aborto sentimental y violación al derecho a la salud. Justicia, 29(46).
Ancajima, J. E. Y. (2024). Barreras de acceso a los servicios primarios de salud sexual y reproductiva en adolescentes, de una comunidad urbano marginal del Perú. Medicina clínica y social, 8(1), 35-39.
Aristizábal, F. M. R., & Cortés, N. P. (2024). Representaciones Sociales sobre Derechos Sexuales, Derechos Reproductivos y Aborto en Colombia: Estudio Nacional 2023. Revista Internacional del Instituto de Pensamiento Liberal, 1(1), 153-184.
Bano, M. I. (2025). Exploring The Role Of Women In Pakistan's Informal Labor Sector. ASSAJ, 3(01), 1145-1165.
Cass, B. (2024). Rewards for women's work. In Women, Social Science and Public Policy (pp. 67-94). Routledge.
Castro Lopes, S., Constant, D., Fraga, S., & Harries, J. (2024). Women's voices and meanings of empowerment for reproductive decisions: a qualitative study in Mozambique. Reproductive Health, 21(1), 16.
Cielo, C., & Canelas, E. L. (2021). Reproductive Work, Territorial Commons and Political Precarity in Peripheral Extractive Sites in Ecuador and Bolivia. Global Labour Journal, 12(3).
Dávila, F., Cala-Vitery, F., & Gómez, L. T. (2025). Determinants of Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health for Adolescent Girls in Vulnerable Situations in Latin America. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(2), 248.
Edeby, A., & San Sebastián, M. (2021). Prevalence and sociogeographical inequalities of violence against women in Ecuador: a cross-sectional study. International journal for equity in health, 20(1), 130.
Ferguson, L., Anderson, M. E., Liang, M., & Filmer-Wilson, E. (2024). Why a good law is not always good enough: a global review of restrictions to supportive laws for sexual and reproductive health and rights. BMJ Global Health, 9(2), e014100.
Finger, A. (2024). Claiming All Of Our Bodies: Reproductive Rights And Disability 1, 2. In Test-Tube Women (pp. 281-297). Routledge.
Gallagher, A. (2024). Women and community work. In Women in the community (pp. 121-141). Routledge.
Groom, S. (2023). Feminism in Ecuador: Reproductive Rights and Rural Housework–Sebastian. Voices of Change: Navigating Resistance and Identity in Latin America.
Guijarro, S., Torres, A. L., Montero, G., Garcia, M., Sabay, H., Iribarren, S., ... & Murgueytio, P. (2023). Perspectives of health practitioners on the challenges to accessing sexual and reproductive health care services for Venezuelan migrant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Quito, Ecuador. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 47, e58.
Heilman, M. E., Caleo, S., & Manzi, F. (2024). Women at work: pathways from gender stereotypes to gender bias and discrimination. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11(1), 165-192.
Holt, K., Challa, S., Alitubeera, P., Atuyambe, L., Dehlendorf, C., Galavotti, C., ... & Upadhyay, U. (2024). Conceptualizing contraceptive agency: a critical step to enable human rights-based family planning programs and measurement. Global Health: Science and Practice, 12(1).
Hussain, I. (2024). Problems of working women in Karachi, Pakistan. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Hwang, J. (2025). Ethnography as a Lens into Labour Agency in Changing Times: Dongdaemun Women Workers’ Embodied Memories as Another History. In Forms of Inequality and the Legitimacy of Governance, Volume One (pp. 185-206). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Kismödi, E., & Pitchforth, E. (2022). Sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice in the war against Ukraine 2022. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 30(1), 2052459.
Marucci, L., & Accossatto, R. (2024). Barreras y facilitadores de acceso al derecho al aborto en el sistema de salud de Mendoza, Argentina. In III Congreso Internacional de Ciencias Humanas. Escuela de Humanidades, Universidad Nacional de San Martín.
Murray, M. (2021). Abortion, sterilization, and the universe of reproductive rights. Wm. & Mary L. Rev., 63, 1599.
Mwandalesa, C., Patel, L., & Hla, S. (2025). Change the Way You Do Business: Leading with women workers voices.
Nandagiri, R., Senderowicz, L., & Sigle, W. (2025). Global Reproductive Justice: A New Agenda for Feminist Economics?. Feminist Economics, 1-28.
Poblete-Inostroza, R. N. (2024). La Educación Sexual Integral en Chile: Barreras y Oportunidades para Implementar Programas Educativos. Qualitative Research in Education, 13(1), 43-63.
Raynolds, L. T. (2021). Gender equity, labor rights, and women’s empowerment: lessons from Fairtrade certification in Ecuador flower plantations. Agriculture and Human Values, 38(3), 657-675.
Reyes Apresa, C. M. (2024). Los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en España: la accesibilidad del derecho a la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo.
Rivera Paredes, C. A., & Torres Acurio, J. (2024). Barreras legales al aborto sentimental y violación al derecho a la salud. Justicia (0124-7441), 29(46).
Salazar, C. B. (2023). Abortion in Ecuador: overview of a collective struggle. Research Handbook on International Abortion Law, 321-341.
Sundary, R. I., Sambas, N., & Setiadi, E. (2025). Protection and Legal Aid for Women Migrant Workers with Problems in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Amwaluna: Jurnal Ekonomi dan Keuangan Syariah, 9(1), 108-120.
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 REVISTA CIENTÍFICA MULTIDISCIPLINARIA ARBITRADA YACHASUN - ISSN: 2697-3456
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
