Dinámica sociopolítica para la configuración de las políticas de salud sexual y reproductiva de jóvenes en Colombia, 1992-2005

Resum

The Sexual Health and Reproductive policies for youth (SSR), formulated in Colombia between 1992 and 2005 are analyzed in this work, starting with an approach based on historical institutionalism and contention in the socio-political realm. As a part of this analysis, the positions of the political actors from various spheres are revised, with respect to their relationship to a state which functions as both political actor, and the political arena of contention itself. The multiple confrontations and the mechanisms of feedback of the State are analyzed, in order to examine the historical trajectory of the configuration of public policy. Four clear periods were identified: A. In the period from 1964 to 1991, the main background of SSR policies for youth are presented. During this time, there was a transition from birth control and family planning to maternal and child health care; and after 1973, there was a struggle for the decriminalization of abortion and an emphasis on sex education. B. In the period between 1992 and 1996, there was a change in the formulation of government policies on youth, which kept young people – and women – trapped within the logic of prevention. C. From1997 to 2001, the preventive approach was consolidated by constitutional mandate. D. From 2002 to 2005, in the middle of the debate about sexual and reproductive rights, the political approach was contained within the framework of neoclassical economics, moral and criminal censure, and the ignorance of the DSR. The political persistence of women led to the decriminalization of abortion, which completely relocated the sphere of political conflict on sexual and reproductive issues for young people, with respect to their relations with the State. Despite the ongoing fight for sexual and reproductive rights, from 1992 on traditional moralism and the logic of prevention predominated. However, at the moment when political debate was most restricted, abortion was decriminalized in three specific cases, which changed the dynamics involving various actors in the conflict. Different youth perspectives, characterized by their dynamism and diversity, evolved, along with other new perceptions about sexuality.