Table 3.

Narratives of barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive services among female sex workers in Tecún Umán, Quetzaltenango, and Tapachula (n=31).^a

Identified themes	Pseudonym	Origin	Destination	Quote
Access to family planning and contraceptives	Josefina	Honduras	Quetzaltenango, Guatemala	A long time ago when my children were young, I worked at a table dance [strip club] in San Pedro Sula [Honduras], so the lady [manager] showed me how to use a condom with clients, and what to take [pills] if I didn’t want to get pregnant again. She also showed me how to negotiate condoms use with clients … She taught me a lot of things.
	Gabriela	Honduras	Tapachula, Mexico	Q: Did you also receive information about abortions, about pregnancies? Did someone inform you? A: Nobody talked to me about my pregnancy, not even my family, not even my mother … I barely got information about my pregnancy and how to avoid getting pregnant … When I got pregnant for the first time, I never thought it was painful to have a child.
	Pia	Guatemala	Tapachula, Mexico	Q: Do you know about birth control methods, where did you learn this? A: Well, yes I know about condoms … I always use condoms; since I started to working in this [sex work] at the beginning I didn’t know but … the manager of the bar where I started working told me that I needed to use condoms always with the clients. Then, at the clinic, they told me that we [sex workers] needed to use them because of the diseases … I do use it when I work but not with my [nonpaying] partners.
Access to and use of SRH services (STI treatment and testing)	Luciana	Guatemala	Tapachula, Mexico	Q: Could you tell me if you get sick here in Tapachula, can you receive medical attention in the local health center? A: No, I go to see a private doctor, because they don’t give me attention there, as I’m not from here [Mexico] and I don’t have any documents so they do not offer help to us. I rather go to the Similares [public pharmacy offering low-cost medical appointments] … I feel bad because I was born in Guatemala but migrated here when I was really young … However, I don’t have any identification so I only go to those pharmacies.
	Cecilia	Honduras	Tapachula, Mexico	I got pregnant and had my baby here in Mexico, I didn’t pay anything, but after he was born I found out that I had syphilis … They told me over there [in the municipal health clinic]. The baby has it too … I haven’t been able to get treatment here as I’m not from here, and every time I go to the clinic they tell me different things, that I have to pay for a test or something like that … and I don’t have the money, so I’m going back to Honduras to get the treatment for me and my son … but I don’t… [know] when that’s going to be.
	Veronica	El Salvador	Quetzaltenango, Guatemala	Sometimes I go to the clinic, the only thing is that sometimes I feel bad because the housewives see us [sex workers] and you know that for society we are not very well looked upon. They [housewives] can tell we’re not from over here [Guatemala] … and many people see us [migrant sex workers] as unequal, they discriminate upon us, some of them are housewives, they discriminate against us … That’s why I avoid the clinic sometimes.

Abbreviations: A, answer; Q, question; SRH, sexual and reproductive health; STI, sexually transmitted infection.

^aThe women’s testimonies included in this table were chosen as exemplars based on their value for demonstrating primary themes identified by the present study participants, as well as to ensure representation of experiences from each study site.