Colombia

The Republic of Colombia is a large, diverse South American nation with a moderate fertility rate that varies by ethnicity and urbanity. Mothers are eligible for maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks, and most women receive skilled prenatal care and birth support. Marriage rates are falling and divorce is increasing; meanwhile, traditional gender roles are changing. Women and men have similar educational levels. Family equality is written into the Colombian Constitution.

Fertility rates have been decreasing since the 1980s, but vary by urbanity and ethnicity. Colombian mothers have an average of three children; Pacific Afro-Colombians five to seven children. Indigenous women may feel pressure to preserve the culture by having many children. Maternity/adoption leave covers 12 weeks, with the husband or partner entitled to one of the weeks. Nursing mothers may take two 30-minute work breaks for six months.

Divorce has been legal since 1991, despite opposition from the Catholic Church. Family structures are changing due to a rising divorce rate, a large drop in marriage rates, and increasing numbers of domestic partnerships.

Colombia is one of the most racially diverse Latin American countries, with whites, mestizos (mixed race), blacks, and indigenous peoples. Despite constitutional familial equality, concepts of Marianismo (selfless motherhood) and Machismo (male dominance) influence traditional gender roles, which vary by a couple's age, education, poverty level, and employment status. Afro-Colombian families are the poorest and least educated. Girls are expected to complete 12 years of schooling, but the average is seven years for both genders. Women comprise 60 percent of the university population.

The Catholic Church was an important institution in the colonial period and remains a social force. A child's compadres (godparents) provide guidance and financial support. More than 75 percent of Columbians use contraception; most use methods the Catholic Church opposes.

Sterilization is the most common contraceptive method; others are the pill, condoms, and intrauterine devices (IUDs). Spousal consent is not required. Most female sterilizations, insertions of IUDs, and vasectomies take place at government hospitals and PROFAMILIA, a private nonprofit organization. Illegal abortions are the second-highest cause of maternal mortality. Skilled personnel provide prenatal care, which 90 percent of women access; 86 percent of births are attended by skilled personnel.

In 1974 the Colombian Congress eliminated a husband's legal power over his wife's property, children, and decisions. Both partners have equal rights and obligations in family authority and expenses.

Ingrid Betancourt, mother and legislator, was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002 while campaigning for president and was rescued in 2008. Her memoir, Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia, was published in English in the United States in 2002.