El Salvador: Difference between revisions

Generally speaking, El Salvador is a conservative country when it comes to sexual and reproductive health care. Technically speaking, you can purchase birth control without a prescription and many forms of contraception are available. However, in reality, birth control pills are expensive and often difficult to come by, and they are used by a very small percentage of Salvadoran women. The most common forms of contraception are female sterilization and injectables. Regarding emergency contraception (the morning after pill), you may technically need a prescription, but this doesn't seem to be widely enforced as locals report buying it over-the-counter in San Salvador. Regarding STIs, there are no travel or residency restrictions, and you can get tested at many clinics. There is no PrEP program or nationwide HPV vaccination program. You can find pads very easily and tampons are sold in select locations, which we list in the "Menstruation" section. We know of at least one seller of menstrual cups in El Salvador. There is maternity leave for 12 weeks, but we don't know how often women actually find coverage in less official or regulated jobs. Finally, El Salvador has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world, prohibiting abortion in all cases. For more details, visit the "Abortion" section. As there are many unsafe clandestine abortions that are performed in El Salvador each year, it's strongly recommended that someone exercises extreme caution if they are considering going down this route.