For having suffered a premature onset of labor and a cesarean section without her authorization, a pregnant woman who suffered obstetrical violence in Spain should be compensated by the State, estimated this Thursday a UN committee.
The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considers that the victim – whose identity is not revealed – “has suffered obstetrical violence, a particular type of violence against women (…) which has been shown to they are widespread, systematic in nature and ingrained in health systems,” a statement from the Committee said. The Committee called on Spain to pay the victim “appropriate reparation for the harm he suffered”.
“Respect the autonomy of women”
According to the facts reported by the Committee, the victim was the subject of an unjustified induction of labor before having a Caesarean section imposed while her arms were tied to the bed and in the absence of her husband. Once the baby was born, she was prevented from taking him in her arms. She later suffered from postpartum post-traumatic stress.
The Committee called on Spain “to respect women’s autonomy and their ability to make informed decisions about their reproductive health by providing them with full information at every stage of childbirth and requiring their free, prior and informed is obtained for any invasive treatment during childbirth”. “If the doctors and nurses had followed all the applicable standards and protocols, it is possible that the victim would have given birth naturally without having to go through all these procedures which traumatized her physically and mentally,” said Hiroko Akizuki, committee member.
The victim confronted with “sexist stereotypes”
According to this committee, the victim who brought the case before the Spanish justice “came up against sexist stereotypes and discrimination throughout the administrative and judicial process”. “During the procedure in Spain, she was told that it was up to the doctor to decide whether or not to perform a caesarean section and that the psychological harm she had suffered was only a matter of perception. “, emphasizes the committee again.