Sexual health of women prisoners in Peru: it is an issue of interest to public health?

Abstract

Objectives:The female inmate population is the fastest-growing worldwide. Despite this, they continue to be an invisible minority, ignoring their special sexual health needs. Thus, it is imperative to know the status of sexual health of women prisoners in Lima, given that this is a relevant problem for public health. The objective of this investigation is to identify the status of the sexual health of women inmates in prisons in Lima, Peru. Materials and methods:The study was quantitative study with descriptive and crosssectional design. We applied a questionnaire developed for the study to 741 inmates of Lima and determined the frequency of the variables of interest with SPPS program. Results:We found that 51.8 percent of women replied that they do not have annual Pap test and 78.5% referred that they did not performed the annual breast examination either. 42.4% noted that they have had vaginal infection in recent months, and 41% said that treatment for these was not provided. Just 2.7% say that were provided with pads for their menstruation period.Conclusions: There are omissions in the care of the sexual health of prisoners which violates their right to complete health. The same quality of health services offered to free women is not offered to women prisoners, which can be interpreted as discrimination.