Legal and policy challenges in criminalising Obstetric Violence: lessons from an expert dialogue

Abstract

Obstetric Violence (OV) is widely recognised as a global threat to women’s sexual and reproductive rights. International organisations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations have highlighted the seriousness of OV and governments’ responsibilities to implement intervention and prevention protocols at national level. Given that obstetric violence includes both physical and psychological harms, criminal law is presented as a possible avenue to addressing this concern. Some jurisdictions have adopted a criminal law approach, creating the space to formally acknowledge this phenomenon and provide a means for reparations thus reinforcing women’s recognition as victims. However, there is an ongoing heated debate on the strengths and weaknesses of addressing this issue through the penal system, highlighting the need for a deeper analysis of its implications. To contribute to the deliberation on criminal policy regarding this matter, this paper presents the key findings from the roundtable “Different Perspectives on Criminalizing Obstetric Violence: A Dialogue Between Mexico, Spain, South Africa, and England”. The aim of that meeting was to bring together diverse perspectives on obstetric violence, particularly regarding the feasibility and implications of addressing this phenomenon through criminal law. Experts from various professional and geographical backgrounds participated in this semi-structured dialogue to discuss some aspects including the legal conceptualisation of obstetric violence, the advantages and disadvantages of its criminalisation, intersectionality, and restorative justice issues. One of the main purposes of this roundtable was identifying challenges and deficiencies in each jurisdiction regarding obstetric violence and the criminal law. At the same time, possible points of convergence were highlighted with a view to providing reasons which could enable the elaboration of truly effective public policies on this matter.