International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health90 BACKGROUND

The prevalence of self-reported RTI symptoms among In-dian women has been found to be 11–18 % in nationally representative studies7,8 and 40–57 % in small-scale stud-ies,9–11 while the prevalence of laboratory-diagnosed RTIs has ranged from 28 % to 38%.11,12 Moreover, women aged 15–24 were as likely as those aged 25–39 to report symp-toms of RTIs.8 According to studies that have explored women’s patterns of seeking treatment for RTI symptoms, between one-third and two-thirds of symptomatic women did not seek treatment.9,11–20 In the few studies that specifi-cally examined treatment-seeking among married adoles-cent girls and young women, these subgroups were less likely than others to have sought treatment for RTI symp-toms.11,12,16,21,22 Although few studies have explored measures that are correlated with women’s ability to seek treatment for symptoms of RTIs,6 a number of associated characteristics have been found. Women who were young, less educated or economically disadvantaged, or who belonged to so-cially excluded groups, were less likely than their coun-terparts to have sought treatment.9–11 In addition, women who adhered to unequal gender norms or who lacked au-tonomy in household decision making had a reduced like-In India, research and programmatic attention to women’s experience of reproductive tract infections (RTIs), includ-ing STIs, has increased considerably through the 1990s and 2000s. Several policies and programs—including th