Obstetric Violence in Spanish Correctional Facilities

Research on the application of the Bangkok Rules in female correctional facilities in Spain uncovered obstetric violent situations. We refer to obstetric violence as those mistreating or abusive practices of different professionals in the care of women in the process of pregnancy, childbirth or gynaecological check-ups.

Based on 44 in-depth interviews with imprisoned women in 16 Spanish penitentiary centres, two situations of obstetric violence are exposed.

Firstly, women are always handcuffed, even when diagnostic tests such as cytology or ultrasound are performed.

Secondly, when they are in the doctor's surgery, the police stay indoors to maintain custody. This situation leads to a loss of intimacy and confidentiality between the gynaecologist or obstetrician and the women, who cannot complain or protest about the problem. This type of custodial zeal is not understandable when female prisoners commit less serious, less dangerous crimes and are less violent in their behaviour, with recidivism and escapes being rare and anecdotal.

Findings come from the research project The Bangkok Rules: Assessing the progress and challenges of inequalities faced by women deprived of their liberty in penitentiary centres, R+D+I Project, Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, with reference number PID2022-140134OB-I00.