Obstetric violence is on the rise in Romania, is under-reported and not tackled. Women's health is not a priority for the authorities, and health professionals are not aware of and are not properly trained on the specific needs of women.
Women's voices are not heard. The media, women, the general public and medical professionals are not aware that this is a type of violence. We believe that this is the first step in addressing obstetric violence - awareness.
Through this project, we want to raise awareness about the quality of maternal care, because there is a systemic lack of evaluation that prevents finding solutions to improve health care for women.
This is the first time that obstetric violence will be investigated and communicated to various stakeholders.
Given the lack of information and knowledge about obstetric violence and women's difficult access to the health care system, we set out to conduct a research using a survey relevant to collect data from mothers who have given birth in the last 5 years in Romania and prepare a report with representative data, including expert recommendations to improve access to universal antenatal care, evidence-based birth practices and baby-friendly measures in hospitals.
Read HERE the full report.
At the same time, we aim to collaborate with various stakeholders such as partner civil society organisations in the field of women's rights, health institutions, government bodies, media and the general public to develop capacity to include women's health issues in the broader advocacy agenda for gender equality in Romania.
The objectives are to raise awareness of obstetric violence and to start the process of amending Law 202/2002 on equality between women and men and to include obstetric violence as a form of gender-based violence.
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The Safe Motherhood - Safe, universal, free, accessible, non-discriminatory care provided with respect for all women who want to become mothers project is implemented by the Independent Midwives Association with the support of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (#NHC) under the Catalyst of Change Programme: Supporting a Vibrant Civil Society in Europe
Catalyst of Change: Protecting the Union values by supporting a resilient engaged and vocal civil society for the promotion of women’s rights, environmental justice and anti-corruption in Eastern and Southern Europe.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or The Netherlands Helsinki Committee. Neither the European Union nor the NHC can be held responsible for them.
Project coordinator:
Mihaela Barbu
mihaela.barbu@moasele.ro
+40 784 646 944
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