The Ultimate Choice – Rent, Groceries, or Contraceptives?

By Alliance member Angelina Inthavong from Sexual Health Advocates for Reproductive Equity (SHARE)

 

What would you choose: paying rent on time, affording groceries, or buying contraception?

For many women and gender diverse people in Australia, this impossible choice is the reality. We are shouldering the burden of contraception—physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

Over the past 7 months, Sexual Health Advocates for Reproductive Equity (SHARE) surveyed Australians on the ‘Cost of Contraceptives’ to uncover just how much cost limits people’s contraceptive choices. What we identified is staggering.

More than 1 in 10 respondents (12.2%) hadn’t used contraception in the last 6 months. 

Of these, almost 1 in 3 (31.6%) said cost was the primary barrier.

Even those who could access contraception were limited by cost. 3 in 5 (61.3%) respondents said cost restricted their choices, and more than 1 in 4 (26.3%) stated that they couldn’t afford their preferred method. 

 One respondent summed it up:

‘I would prefer to get an IUD under general anaesthesia but cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs. It’s unfair I should pay nearly $1000 to manage my sexual and reproductive health.’

Additionally, 39.4% of respondents had to stop or pause their contraceptive use due to cost, a problem that has been exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis and cuts to NDIS funding.

The Australian Government must act now. It’s time to follow through on the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030 and findings from the Universal Access to Reproductive Healthcare Senate Inquiry by enshrining universal access to contraception.

Universal access to contraception is a human right that enables agency.1 It empowers women and gender diverse people to control their health, plan their futures, pursue education, and fully participate in society. It’s essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on Good Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality (Target 3.7 and Target 5.6).2-3

One respondent put it bluntly:

‘I just wish it was free, it’s a natural bodily function I can’t control so I find it unfair that I have to pay for it.’

Universal access to contraception doesn’t just improve social and economic outcomes—it’s a gender-responsive approach that saves taxpayer dollars by reducing health care costs.4 And it’s not a radical idea. Countries like the UK, Belgium, and France have introduced policies some of which have been present for more than 50 years.5 Australia is falling behind.

Contraception should never be a luxury. It maintains our freedom to plan pregnancies, protect ourselves from sexually transmitted infections (STI), and manage conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and menopause, and reduce debilitating pain from endometriosis. It’s time we recognise it as the fundamental right that it is.

Want to support the cause? 

Another way to support women and gender diverse people is to learn more about gender-responsive approaches to health. The Australian Women’s Health Alliance e-learning course Introduction to Gender-Responsive Health is free, flexible and available now: https://womenshealthhub.learnworlds.com/.

Together, we can make universal access to contraception a reality!

Pictured is a photo of Angelina Inthavong smiling at the camera and crossing her arms. She is wearing a black and white patterned shirt and red heart earrings. 

Angelina Inthavong is a passionate youth and health equity activist with lived experience as a queer woman of colour from a low socioeconomic background. 

She serves on Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT’s Board, the International Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Consortium, and leads the campaign for universal access to contraception with Sexual Health Advocates for Reproductive Equity. 

Angelina will also be speaking at the Australian Women’s Health Alliance AGM and webinar on Friday 1 November. RSVP by 5 pm AEDT on Monday 28 October 2024 by completing the online form.

 

References

  1. UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, UN General Assembly, 1966.
  2. The Global Goals, Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being, The Global Goals, nd.
  3. The Global Goals, Goal 5: Gender Equality, The Global Goals, nd.
  4. Botfield J, Lacey S, Fleming K, McGeechan K and Bateson D, ‘Increasing the accessibility of long-acting reversible contraceptives through nurse-led insertions: A cost-benefit analysis’, Collegian, 27(1), 2020.
  5. French R, Geary R, Jones K, Glasier A, Mercer C, Datta J, Macdowall W, Palmer M, Johnson A and Wellings K, ‘Where do women and men in Britain obtain contraception? Findings from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3)’, BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 44(1), 2018.
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