Reducing the Stigma of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Through Supportive and Protected Online Communities.

In many cultures where discussions and care-seeking for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) are stigmatized, unmarried women often suffer silently, facing risks of sexually transmitted infections and gynecological complications. South Korea exemplifies this challenge, with SRH topics remaining stigmatized, potentially contributing to Korean women's high incidence rates of cervical cancer. To address this problem, we designed and studied a protected online community for unmarried Korean women with 9 weeks of guided activities relating to SRH. We describe how these activities helped participants reflect on and discuss the typically taboo topics surrounding SRH. Results indicate that the online community effectively supported participants in initiating additional offline conversations about SRH with more people, and even encouraged some women to seek clinical care. This work sheds light on the potential of supportive and protective online communities to facilitate SRH, offering newfound options for supporting women in cultures where such care is stigmatized.