Knowledge of the abortion law and key legal issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights among recently arrived migrants in Sweden: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including access and information on the laws and policies related to abortion, varies considerably between countries. Migrants may have limited knowledge of SRHR and related resources in their new country. This study investigates migrants’ knowledge of the right to safe and legal abortion and other associated factors including the recent law on sexual consent, the legal age for sexual consent and age to marry in Sweden. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study from 2018 to 2019 among recent migrants attending high schools or Swedish language schools. Descriptive statistics were computed on the knowledge of the Swedish abortion law and other legal aspects. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess if migrants’ socio-demographic characteristics were associated with knowledge (i.e. correct/incorrect) of the Swedish abortion law and other key SRHR-related legal issues. RESULTS: Of the total 6,263 participants, 3,557 (57%) responded about whether it is legal to have an induced abortion in Sweden, and of these, 2,632 (74%) answered incorrectly. While more than half (61%) of the respondents knew the sexual consent law, nearly half (48%) did not know that sexual consent is also required for married couples. About 90% correctly responded that it is illegal to have sex with a minor (under the age of 15) and were aware of the legal age (18 years) to marry in Sweden. Incorrect knowledge of the Swedish abortion law was associated with being religious (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 2.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.42–3.15), not having previous sexual health education (AOR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.38–2.05), coming from a country with predominantly restrictive abortion laws (AOR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.16–1.84), low level of education (AOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.04–1.61) and having a temporary residence permit (AOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.02–1.57). CONCLUSION: We found a substantial lack of knowledge among migrants of reproductive age in Sweden regarding important laws and policies of SRHR, particularly the right to abortion. SRHR-related programmes and comprehensive sexual health education for recently arrived migrants could include components to increase knowledge of legal and safe abortions and other laws concerning SRHR. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15399-z.