Silence and Shame: Emergency Contraception in a Drugstore in the City of Rio de Janeiro

This article discusses the process of social interaction established between the pharmacist and clerks and the consumers of emergency contraception (EC). It is an ethnographic research held at a drugstore in the north area of the municipal district of Rio de Janeiro, from January, 2011, to December, 2012. Two dimensions are analyzed: - the silence and shame governing the marketing of EC at the drugstore; - The discriminatory view of clerks on the EC women consumers. Silence and shame perceived in the drugstore counter, socio-spatial and moral conceptions of the EC consumers reinforce the need for broadening the national debate on guaranteed access to EC, aimed at ensuring sexual and reproductive rights of women.

Keywords:
Gender; Sexual and reproductive rights; Emergency contraception; Pharmacy; Sexuality