Obstetric Violence in Three Dimensions: Data, Voices and Practices
This report synthesizes statistical, testimonial, and qualitative evidence and provides recommendations for addressing obstetric violence from a structural perspective. It was prepared by GIRE, the Uehiro Institute, and UNAM’s Institute for Legal Research.
Obstetric violence (OBV) is a form of gender-based violence that occurs in healthcare settings during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. It includes practices such as mistreatment, non-consensual procedures, medical negligence - for example, failure to provide pain management - and pressure to adopt unwanted contraceptive methods. This report, prepared by GIRE, the Uehiro Oxford Institute (University of Oxford), and the Institute of Legal Research (National Autonomous University of Mexico), in addition to synthesizing statistical, testimonial, and qualitative evidence on the subject, makes public policy recommendations for addressing OBV through a structural approach, in which State responses do not prioritize punitive measures. The aim is to ensure that the condemnation and punishment of OBV do not take precedence over reparation, prevention, access to comprehensive justice, and the redistribution of resources in health systems to eradicate this phenomenon.
In preparing this report, the following sources of information were consulted: the statistical report ¿Qué dicen los datos públicos? Radiografía de la violencia obstétrica y la muerte materna (What do the public data show? Radiography of obstetric violence and maternal mortality), prepared by GIRE; the qualitative analysis of 64 cases in which GIRE provided legal support, carried out by Emilia Alton Martelet (University of Oxford) in collaboration with UOI's Dr César Palacios-González; and the findings of a dialogue workshop with healthcare personnel organized by GIRE, the Uehiro Oxford Institute and the Institute of Legal Research, which was facilitated and documented by Colmena Consultoras.
These sources reach the same conclusion:
OBV is a structural phenomenon, so it cannot be attributed exclusively to individual decisions made by healthcare professionals. Thus, focusing on its criminalization is insufficient to eradicate it. What is needed is for the State to transform both the training model for those who provide medical care and the conditions under which the healthcare system operates.
