Thematic Areas of the Platform

Definition and Use of the Term ‘Obstetric Violence’

To define is to establish or to describe what something is or should be. There are already many different definitions that establish or decide how respectful birth should be. Instead of copying those definitions, we offer 5 points of consideration that will be useful when choosing between these existing definitions or developing our own for the IPOV Project. This reflects part of that process.

As everyone in the field knows, “to define is to limit”.
Nevertheless, these 5 points are helpful sources of awareness.

These five points could be helpful sources of awareness:

1. Understand the purpose(s) of the definition

Some of these would include platforming women’s voices and experiences; denormalization; empowerment; use as a basis to develop tools to support transformation; acknowledgment; create space for reflection and dialogue; challenge medical norms and unsettle globalised authoritative knowledge

2. Be aware of situatedness

There are many different viewpoints; countries; professions; socio-cultural considerations. Explore the possibility of regional definitions informed by the regional contexts. Important to recognise and understand the limits of what we develop due to our situatedness.

3. Understand the continuum of violence

There is a need to recognise the full range of women’s experiences in multiple areas of their lives that are connected and overlap and share the same roots. Thus, it is important to recognise that violence happens as a continuum, occurring on a spectrum of reproductive healthcare and possibly including neonatal care. This encourages us to consider obstetric violence in relation to gender-based violence and explore whether to include neonates within the definition of obstetric violence.

4. Be aware of the issue of intersectionality

This captures the discrimination and mistreatment that is shaped by multiple factors that interact. For instance, age; race; ethnicity; nationality; immigration status; (dis)ability; language; personal characteristics (weight; level of education…); religion; sexual and/or gender identity.

5. Fluidity

Helpful to have an established definition to encourage and increase usage, but recognise the need to leave room for evolution beyond our current understanding of the phenomenon. Ensure ability to adapt to technical evolution and changes, requiring that we keep a close eye on social, political, professional development.

Coordinators of this section

Gabriela Arguedas

University of Costa Rica

Bioethicist, pharmacist, educator, and activist. Professor at the School of Philosophy and a researcher at the Center for Research and Studies on Women (CIEM)

Camilla Pickles

Durham University

Associate Professor in Biolaw in the Durham Law School | Associate Professor in Biolaw in the Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences)

Stella Villarmea

Complutense University of Madrid

Professor (Full) of Philosophy at Complutense University of Madrid.

Project IPOV RESPECTFULCARE has received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON-MSCA-2022-Staff Exchange programme. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Disclaimer

Our selection of texts written by IPOV professionals:

This section brings together a selection of texts written by professionals participating in the IPOV – Respectful Care project, exploring how the term obstetric violence is defined and used. Through interdisciplinary reflections and comparisons across different regional contexts, these writings examine the ethical, political, and social implications of the concept, as well as its recognition as a form of gender-based violence.

Rather than seeking a single, fixed definition, the authors invite readers to understand the term as a dynamic and context-sensitive tool — one that makes experiences visible, challenges institutional practices, and promotes childbirth care grounded in human rights and respect.

Obstetric violence: abuse during childbirth is widespread, but the first step to fighting it is naming it

Summary: abuse during childbirth is widespread, but the first step to fighting it is naming it

Explains what “obstetric violence” means—mistreatment during childbirth such as non-consented procedures and verbal abuse—why naming it matters, the debate over intent, and how international bodies and emerging laws recognize it as gender-based violence, calling for systemic reform in maternity care.

IPOV Respectful Care

octubre 12, 2024

Rethinking the Definition of Obstetric Violence

Repensar la Definición de Violencia Obstétrica: Reflexiones desde una Perspectiva Colectiva y Regional

Rather than simply adopting an existing definition, the group proposed a reflective, open and context-sensitive approach to guide future definitions aligned with the project’s framework. The aim was not to reach a fixed, inflexible definition, but to develop critical tools to enable collective thinking rooted in specific territories and lived experiences.

María Hidalgo Rudilla

julio 29, 2025

Esencial. Si seguimos criticando al que tenemos al lado ideológicamente y debilitándolo... ¿qué proyecto político es ese? En internet las cuentas de izq se pasan el día criticándose entre ellas. No pararán hasta sustituir de vice a Yolanda por Abascal.

Algunas reflexiones iniciales sobre la arrogancia epistémica, la humildad epistémica y la violencia obstétrica

Investigar la violencia obstétrica: desafíos y oportunidades Durante mi estancia en el INED, me encontré reflexionando sobre cómo las dinámicas de conocimiento y poder en la […]

María Hidalgo Rudilla

octubre 12, 2025

Obstetric violence, low natality rates, maternal deaths and misogyny

A critical reflection on how panic over declining birth rates fuels misogynistic narratives, obscures maternal deaths, and connects to the structural roots of obstetric violence.

IPOV Respectful Care

enero 9, 2026

Infographic explaining the origins and research focus of the book Obstetric Violence as Gender Based Violence, based on an Italian PRIN 2022 research project

Obstetric Violence as Gender-Based Violence: what it is, how it is perceived, and how it can be addressed

Ester Massó Guijarro, a member of the IPOV – Respectful Care consortium through the University of Granada, authors the chapter titled Decolonizing Bioethics, Feminizing Public Health: Obstetric Violence as Epistemic Injustice. Her proposal is, in itself, an intervention: it not only describes the phenomenon but examines the conditions that make it possible to recognize it, name it, and transform it.

IPOV Respectful Care

enero 27, 2026