Obstetric Violence: Towards new understanding and responses
Addressing gender-based violence has been an ongoing commitment of the European Union (EU). Currently, the European Commission ‘Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ identifies that ‘gender-based violence, in all its forms, remains under-reported and overlooked, both inside and outside the EU. The EU will do all it can to prevent and combat gender-based violence, support and protect victims of such crimes, and hold perpetrators accountable for their abusive behaviour’. As part of its commitment to addressing gender-based violence, the European Commission sought a study from the SAAGE network to inform the European Commission on the issue of obstetric violence in the EU Member States and contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. This study, ‘Obstetric Violence in the European Union: Situational analysis and policy recommendations’, was authored by Dr. Patrizia Quattrocchi and completed in 2023.
This study was further informed by four detailed cases undertaken in the third quarter of 2022 by national experts in France (Virginie Rozée and Clémence Schantz), the Netherlands (Rodante van der Waal and Marit van der Pijl), Slovakia (Barbora Holubova) and Spain (Stella Villarmea and Adela Recio Alcaide) to further inform the study and its recommendations.