Marlyse Debergh

I am a PhD candidate and teaching assistant since 2016. I am working under the co-supervision of Prof. Claudine Burton-Jeangros (University of Geneva), and Prof. Véronique Mottier (University of Lausanne, and Jesus College, University of Cambridge, UK).

What does sexual health signify? My research aims at questioning this international notion, by analysing how sexual health is put into practice in two sexual health institutions, located in the Western part of Switzerland.

The first institution is a sexual health centre for the general public (previously known as "family planning clinic"). The second institution is a sexual health centre for men who have sex with men (MSM).

Based on a comparative ethnography, I gather and analyse different types of qualitative data :

• Multi-sited ethnographic observations of sexual health consultations
• In-depth interviews with health professionals (physicians, nurses, and sexual health counsellors), and patients (N=30)
• Various institutional documents (medical protocols, information booklets, archives)

Research Keywords

Sexual health, reproductive justice, sexual health centres, ethnography, health and medical sociology, gender and feminist studies.

Research interests

• Health and medical sociology
• Ethnography
• Gender and feminist studies