The influence of gender norms on post-migration men's sexual and reproductive health: a scoping review

Migration exposes people to unfamiliar gender roles and sexual views, influencing the ways they care for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Migrant men’s health is overlooked in care and research, prohibiting culturally responsive care that acknowledges these changing beliefs. Thus, we aimed to synthesise the available evidence on the ways pre-established gender norms impact a man’s SRH in the setting of migration to a high-income country. We aimed to investigate how refugee and migrant men viewed gender and gender roles in their countries of resettlement and how they experience their SRH in this country. We systematically searched scientific databases and grey literature (published between 2000–2023), using a search strategy covering four major topics: CALD/migrants, men, gender and SRH. Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts of 7,840 articles and reviewed the full text of 180 articles. Thematic analysis of 36 articles revealed three key themes: (a) depleted masculinity, (ii) sex and sexuality, and (iii) accessing SRH care in a new country, all influencing how migrant men viewed masculinity, engaged in SRH services and approached sexual relationships. Further, navigating new cultural norms and gendered expectations often resulted in feelings of depleted masculinity, impacting men’s wellbeing, intimate relationships and confidence to seek SRH care after migration. We found that migrant men largely carried pre-established beliefs of sex and gender roles from their home country to their host country. This had mainly negative repercussions on their relationships and SRH behaviours post-migration and should be acknowledged in future research and interventions.