Beyond Opposition: Navigating Reproductive Justice Policy Advancement in Chile

Although evidence supports the advancement of expansive reproductive justice policy, they often confront political barriers to advancement. Advocates seek and manage to advance even particularly contentious reproductive justice issues on the policy agenda. This study seeks to assess the political factors shaping reproductive justice governance and policy processes in Chile. It will analyse the extent to which advocacy strategies make a difference and, if they do make a difference, what about these strategies is important. This study is located in Chile, where there is strong conservative and religious opposition to reproductive justice policymaking, but with some progress in spite of this. This research involves a replicated case study approach of three policy areas: sexual violence against children, abortion, and comprehensive sexuality education. Using key informant interviews and document analysis, this study will compare the three cases to draw inferences on factors including the power of advocacy and their interplay with structural dynamics, having controlled for several variables through the replicated approach. The goal of this study is to contribute insights into advocacy strategies and their role in shaping reproductive justice policies in politically challenging environments, and to advance knowledge concerning what may drive political change for these contentious policy issues.