At CELIG we understand that labor is a time that requires that the dignity, privacy and intimacy of women be protected in a special way. That is why when these conditions are not respected, the affected woman could take legal action. In this blog we analyze this topic.
The Constitutional Chamber has established that practices that degrade, intimidate and repress the reproductive rights of women before, during and after childbirth constitute obstetric violence. For this reason, the Court has been protective of the conditions of dignity, privacy and intimacy for women during labor.
Due to the above, the Constitutional Chamber has protected the fundamental rights of women who claim to have been victims of obstetric violence. In a symbolic case on this issue, the Court ordered a public hospital to adopt measures to protect against obstetric violence in “(…) two aspects: on the one hand, it is the use of screens, or other implements that guarantee the privacy of the users and the other aspect refers to the presence of non-medical male personnel in the labor and delivery rooms, such as the nutrition and cleaning service personnel, who should preferably be female, as long as said measure does not affect the provision of the service, for example in situations of lack of female personnel or when there is a need to have the collaboration of non-medical male personnel. In the understanding that this measure does not imply the dismissal or substitution of any official, but rather a balance between the legal assets at stake, namely the decorum and health of women, and the right to work of male hospital personnel.”
With the recent legal reforms in obstetric violence, the affected person can request the protection of her rights in the administrative or judicial sphere (including, for example, the writ of amparo).
At CELIG we provide specialized services to the LGBTQI+ community. If you want more information or make an appointment with us, call us at 2245-0855 or write to us at info@celigcr.com.
We are located in San José, San Vicente.
M.Sc. Ana Isabel Sibaja Rojas
CELIG – Center for Equal Litigation
