Women's Views on News |
| The duty of care to women and their babies Posted: 06 Jul 2015 04:06 AM PDT
Lesley Page, president of the Royal College of Midwives, gave this great speech at the 18 May launch conference for Doctors of the World’s report into access to healthcare for children and pregnant women in Europe: Doctors of the World are there for the most marginalised in our society and fight for equal access to high quality health care. This report shows the importance of their work, and I would like to commend them on this work, and for using their experience and expertise and this evidence to highlight the sometimes shocking treatment of women and children trying to access healthcare. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) believes strongly that all people within the UK, irrespective of origin or legal status, should have access to high quality healthcare. We do not believe that healthcare should be denied on the basis of the ability to pay, on being able to show the 'right' papers; to come from the 'right' place. There should be no bars to healthcare. This report from Doctors of the World (DOTW) shows all too often this isn't the reality in the UK for children and women and their babies. I was particularly struck by the finding that 95 per cent of DOTW's patients in London had no previous access to the NHS. A third of them were sent bills for their care. Women whose babies had died were sent bills for their care. I can imagine nothing more appalling than this. Many women seen by Doctors of the World are living below the poverty line, living in substandard housing, with little social support. They may have underlying medical conditions, or have experienced violence. They have often had terrible journeys of migration, and abuses that most could not imagine, loss and hardship. Too many legal and bureaucratic obstacles are placed in women's way which puts many off engaging with services, or prevents them accessing them at all. More than half of pregnant women surveyed had not had access to healthcare. Without access to healthcare, the consequences for mothers and babies are often tragic. A wide range of evidence, including that of the MBRRACE reports from the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit and this report, show a link between intermittent or non-existent antenatal care and deaths of mothers and babies, as well as ill health and morbidity. Babies do not get the best start in life and they never catch up. We cannot and should not walk away from our ethical responsibilities. Access to antenatal care should be promoted to address this rather than additional barriers put in place. We are concerned at the rising tide of discrimination and intolerance across Europe towards migrants which put mothers and babies at risk. The RCM has been working in partnership with other organisations to ensure equity and access for all women to high quality maternity care. We have been outspoken in our opposition to charging regimes for migrants, and the difficulties in accessing GP care. We continue to call for the end to the detention of pregnant women. The new government's intention to replace the Human Rights Act is worrying. Human rights are the cornerstone of the NHS Constitution, and the basis for each NHS institution's commitment to equality. It is unclear how repealing the Act would improve access to healthcare, or to justice. It is worth reminding ourselves that families fighting for answers about Mid-Staffs (the Mid Staffordshire NHS hospital trust scandal) used the Human Rights Act to force a public inquiry. This report shows that women often excluded from our society need compassion and care, not red tape and obstacles. The RCM endorses Doctors of the World's position that clinicians must never be the gatekeepers of healthcare, or assume the role of immigration police. Midwives have a duty of care to women and their babies and they should be free to provide care to any woman who walks through their doors. All pregnant women must have the most basic right of access to high quality for them and their babies. All pregnant women must have access to termination of pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal care and safe birth. The health crisis in people facing multiple health vulnerabilities in Europe is clearly described in this report. Especially seeing the problems of migration using the Mediterranean route so vividly at present, our true humanity is being tested. To read the full report, click here. A version of this article originally appeared on the Doctors of the World website.  |
| No more Rana Plaza disasters would be good, for a start Posted: 06 Jul 2015 02:49 AM PDT
Many transnational companies violate human rights with absolute impunity. Offshoring is not only used for tax avoidance or cost reduction, but also to reduce accountability procedures, thanks to the lack of coordination between national legal systems. In order to put an end to abuses committed by European multinationals, a treaty should be negotiated at the United Nations to regulate the work of transnational companies and to ensure the establishment of a clear justice mechanism for citizens whose rights have been violated. However, governments from the European Union are opposing this initiative and are trying to block the process. As a result, a treaty, if negotiated, would not apply to European companies. The Womens International League for Peace and Freedon (WILPF) has started an online petition to ensure that European governments do not block, but engage in the negotiations process. You can join our petition and ask the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the USA and the United Kingdom to protect human rights against transnational companies. From 6 July, representatives from states around the world will gather in Geneva for the week-long first session of the intergovernmental working group (IGWG) towards a Treaty on Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises with regards to human rights. This will be the start of a series of negotiations that could lead to a legally binding treaty framing the work of transnational companies and finally making them unable to violate human rights with impunity. WILPF is going to be there to make sure this happens – as part of the ‘Treaty Alliance’. The Treaty Alliance is an alliance of a large number of organisations and networks working to end abuses committed by transnational companies, and have been mobilising their efforts to call on governments to support the Treaty. Getting a treaty in place is a long process, but the sooner we can get states on board, the sooner we can hold transnational corporations accountable for the crimes they commit. Land grabbing, suppression of protests, environmental degradation, collapsing factories, inhumane working conditions, and poisonous chemicals entering the food chain need to be a thing of the past, and a clear and effective justice mechanism needs to be established for the people whose rights have been violated. WILPF will be co-organising two side events at the United Nations on 5 and 6 July. The first one will focus on the impact of transnational corporations and other businesses on grassroots communities, and the second one will discuss the need for international regulation from the perspective of social movements. These events will give us the opportunity to highlight these issues and open a discussion between state representatives and civil society on what steps different stakeholders need to take. The need to address the abuses committed by transnational corporations has been a growing concern within WILPF. At their Congress in April, WILPF adopted a resolution expressing their deep concerns with corporations like Monsanto violating the human right to health and safe food through their use of dangerous chemical fertilisers and pesticides. WILPF is also worried about the role that practices such as land-grabbing have in creating and maintaining conflicts. We must ask ourselves who benefits from the displacement of the original land owners, and who benefits from the militarisation of the region in question. WILPF’s 2015 Manifesto, which was also adopted at Congress in April, said: "In this global, neoliberal phase of capitalism, the power of corporations and financiers has far outstripped the ability of elected governments to moderate or control them. "Slavery and forced labour are widespread and many of the victims are women and children. "Identifying the capitalist system as one of the root causes of war, WILPF has always had the goal of revolutionary change by non-violent means for purposes of social and economic justice. "This remains our objective." You can be part of the action. You could, for example, sign this petition asking the UK government to effectively protect population against human rights abuses by regulating the actions of transnational companies and by taking part in the negotiations of this international Treaty. Many countries, in particular within the EU, have diametrically opposed being part of this process and have threatened not to attend the meetings. Which is why there are petitions calling on the governments of the UK, the US, Italy, France, Germany and Spain to take positive action. Read our last blog on this topic to learn more. And you can also follow events on the Treaty Alliance's website, where blog posts will be published daily in English, French and Spanish. Use the hashtag #StopCorporateAbuse to participate in the debate. Thanks.  |
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