Abstract
Research on sexual behavior has increased in recent decades as a result not only of the outbreak of HIV/AIDS, but also of the difficulties raised by sexual and reproductive health policies. There is huge regional variation, both in the amount of knowledge about sexuality and the trends, mostly due to differences in the economic, social, and cultural determinants of sexual behavior (Wellings et al. 2006; Bozon 2003; Lloyd 2005). Designing interventions in the field of sexual health thus requires a good knowledge of region-specific trends. While many investigations focus on Africa or Europe and other high-income countries, and knowledge of Asia is rather scarce, Latin America falls in the middle, with a growing body of research on sexual behavior.
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Notes
- 1.
Note: Unmet need for spacing includes pregnant women whose pregnancy was mistimed, amenorrheic women who are not using family planning and whose last birth was mistimed, and fecund women who are neither pregnant nor amenorrheic and who are not using any method of family planning and say they want to wait two or more years for their next birth. Also included in unmet need for spacing are fecund women who are not using any method of family planning and say they are unsure whether they want another child or who want another child but are unsure when to have the birth unless they say it would not be a problem if they discovered they were pregnant in the next few weeks. Unmet need for limiting refers to pregnant women whose pregnancy was unwanted, amenorrheic women whose last child was unwanted, and fecund women who are neither pregnant nor amenorrheic and who are not using any method of family planning and who want no more children. Excluded from the unmet need category are pregnant and amenorrheic women who became pregnant while using a method (these women are in need of a better method of contraception).
- 2.
Throughout the chapter, unsafe abortion follows the WHO definition: a procedure for termination of an unintended pregnancy done either by people lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards, or both, refer to WHO. The prevention and management of unsafe abortion. Report of a technical working group. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1992 (WHO/MSM/92.5).
- 3.
National estimates of abortion-related hospital admissions in women aged 15–44 years have been compiled for six countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru).
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Gayet, C., Juarez, F., Bozon, M. (2013). Sexual Practices of Latin America and the Caribbean. In: Baumle, A. (eds) International Handbook on the Demography of Sexuality. International Handbooks of Population, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5512-3_5
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