Page 53 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 53
Reproductive Health of Migrant Women in Slovenia: State of the Art
health and identifies key challenges that Slovene society must face in the fu-
ture if it wants to successfully manage health inequalities. One of main chal-
lenges, which is also evident from the reviewed scientific literature dealing
with the topic, is that as a country we need a new vision for reducing inequali-
ties in health. To that end, a strategic national framework (health policy) must
be prepared, which will set out coordinated objectives and priorities for dif-
ferent sectors at national and local level. It is also important that individual
departments at different levels recognize the benefits of reducing health in-
equalities, which can then contribute towards establishing more coherent
sectoral and cross-sectoral policies. As the authors of the study argue, the
prerequisite for planning and action in relation to health inequalities is the
systematic monitoring of the situation and trends, which is the basis for de-
signing measures and evaluating the achievement of the set goals. Collect-
ing data at different levels is a prerequisite for the systematic monitoring,
analysis and evaluation of health inequalities and the set goals.
At this point it is important to stress that at the national level no informa-
tion is officially and systematically collected about the health of migrants
(and migrant women) or of healthcare services that they use. According to
the Healthcare Databases Act¹¹, health providers are not required to collect
data on a patient’s nationality or his/her country of origin. Furthermore, the
Act stipulates that if personal data relate to racial, national or other origin,
political, religious or other beliefs or sexual orientation, database administra-
tors may obtain this information directly or indirectly only with the written
consent of the individual. The present situation makes it impossible to obtain
information regarding reproductive health in relation to migrant women.
Reproductive health is closely related to gender-based violence,¹² but this
topic is also rarely addressed in public discourse and, unfortunately, hardly
ever in scientific studies. However, research was recently implemented by
Vah Jevšnik (2016) in which the impact of immigrant status on the vulner-
ability of migrant women in the context of family violence was observed.
According to the research, migration status can significantly influence fre-
¹¹ Zakon o zbirkah podatkov s področja zdravstvenega varstva, see http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/
pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1419
¹² In Slovenia the term gender-based violence is used interchangeably with the term violence
against women (Resolution on the National Program for Equal Opportunities for Women and
Men 2015–2020 (Resolucija o nacionalnem programu socialnega varstva za obdobje 2013–2020,
see http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=NACP68), as most gender-based violence
is inflicted by men on women and girls, although we must not overlook the fact that victims of
gender-based violence can be also men.
51
health and identifies key challenges that Slovene society must face in the fu-
ture if it wants to successfully manage health inequalities. One of main chal-
lenges, which is also evident from the reviewed scientific literature dealing
with the topic, is that as a country we need a new vision for reducing inequali-
ties in health. To that end, a strategic national framework (health policy) must
be prepared, which will set out coordinated objectives and priorities for dif-
ferent sectors at national and local level. It is also important that individual
departments at different levels recognize the benefits of reducing health in-
equalities, which can then contribute towards establishing more coherent
sectoral and cross-sectoral policies. As the authors of the study argue, the
prerequisite for planning and action in relation to health inequalities is the
systematic monitoring of the situation and trends, which is the basis for de-
signing measures and evaluating the achievement of the set goals. Collect-
ing data at different levels is a prerequisite for the systematic monitoring,
analysis and evaluation of health inequalities and the set goals.
At this point it is important to stress that at the national level no informa-
tion is officially and systematically collected about the health of migrants
(and migrant women) or of healthcare services that they use. According to
the Healthcare Databases Act¹¹, health providers are not required to collect
data on a patient’s nationality or his/her country of origin. Furthermore, the
Act stipulates that if personal data relate to racial, national or other origin,
political, religious or other beliefs or sexual orientation, database administra-
tors may obtain this information directly or indirectly only with the written
consent of the individual. The present situation makes it impossible to obtain
information regarding reproductive health in relation to migrant women.
Reproductive health is closely related to gender-based violence,¹² but this
topic is also rarely addressed in public discourse and, unfortunately, hardly
ever in scientific studies. However, research was recently implemented by
Vah Jevšnik (2016) in which the impact of immigrant status on the vulner-
ability of migrant women in the context of family violence was observed.
According to the research, migration status can significantly influence fre-
¹¹ Zakon o zbirkah podatkov s področja zdravstvenega varstva, see http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/
pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1419
¹² In Slovenia the term gender-based violence is used interchangeably with the term violence
against women (Resolution on the National Program for Equal Opportunities for Women and
Men 2015–2020 (Resolucija o nacionalnem programu socialnega varstva za obdobje 2013–2020,
see http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=NACP68), as most gender-based violence
is inflicted by men on women and girls, although we must not overlook the fact that victims of
gender-based violence can be also men.
51
