The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation.
Although obstetric violence is recognised as a form of gender-based violence in South Africa, it is not explicitly codified in law as a violation.
This type of harm takes different forms — from physical abuse to subtle violations of autonomy, dignity and consent. It occurs in labour wards — high-stress environments where life-threatening obstetric emergencies demand intervention — yet the rights and dignity of women in labour are frequently disregarded.
Black and working-class women, migrant women, and adolescent and HIV-positive women are disproportionately affected because of intersecting vulnerabilities.
Survivors can lodge complaints with medical institutions, the Health Ombudsman, and health professional bodies and councils. They can also sue for malpractice, but this requires hiring a lawyer, which is costly. Although these remedies exist, limited awareness, resource barriers and legal complexity stand in the way of accountability. These mechanisms also do little to prevent violations.
In this podcast, we discuss the topic of accountability in maternity services to ensure empathy, respect and dignity for pregnant women and post-partum mothers. We talk to Julie Mentor, the Project Lead of Embrace, an organisation advocating for respectful maternity care, as well as legal and policy reform for the benefit of mothers.
Julie Mentor is the leader of Embrace, the Movement for Mothers. She is a maternal rights activist, community-builder and storyteller. She spends a dedicated portion of her time working with civil society organisations and local government, assisting them to sensitise their work to the complex needs of mothers living in diverse socio-economic communities.
Here are some complementary bites to make your meal even tastier
Obstetric violence (OV) refers to rights violations and abuses experienced by pregnant women and birthing people while accessing healthcare during pregnancy, labour, childbirth and in the postpartum period. This form of gender-based violence presents a significant threat to the global health of women and children. Embrace, South Africa’s first social movement for supported and celebrated motherhood believes that the key to ending obstetric violence lies in elevating the voices and experiences of mothers. Even though several organisations have been working to highlight the prevalence and impact of obstetric violence, this issue was not part of mainstream discourse until recently.
This learning brief looks at Embrace’s efforts to influence national maternity care policy, raising awareness about the prevalence of obstetric violence, and the urgent need for respectful maternity care in South Africa.
To read this learning brief, download a PDF here or read it magazine-style on ISSUU on the right.