This project addresses the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs of Malaysia's factory women migrant workers. They are an especially marginalised population and vulnerable to poor SRH, yet few supports are available to meet these needs. In recognition of this, and building on previous funded research, we piloted a set of SRH interventions (education, medical and SRH referral and support services) in two factories employing female migrant labour in Penang, Malaysia. We involved health care providers, NGOs and factories. Over the course of fifteen months (July 2020 to September 2021), we launched a train-the-trainers SRH programme, a mobile SRH clinic and a service offering to counsel and link women to other support in the factories. The pandemic necessitated a change in our approach, moving from face to face to online delivery of services.
Following the completion of the interventions (October 2021), we are evaluating their outcomes, measuring whether their expected effects are realized, and exploring their feasibility and acceptability to the women. We build capacity in local factories to meet the SRH needs of their migrant women workers by equipping supervisors/women migrant workers with knowledge and skills to manage SRH needs. A particular strength of our project is the capacity building of vulnerable women themselves.
Moving forward, we will offer a 'model' for supporting collaboration among stakeholders focusing on women migrant workers' SRH, replicable in other factory contexts. How interventions can be adapted to pandemic circumstances is a priority.
Our project fills a gap in health provision for half a million women migrant workers who, due to cultural and language barriers, work patterns and lack of knowledge of the local health care system, cannot access SRH care. It creates impact, enabling other factories to work with service providers, to adopt SRH responsive practice and women to manage their SRH needs, critical to ensuring their capability to work and enhancing their welfare and economic prosperity.
