Obstetric Violence in Spain: An Elusive Legal Concept

Violence Against Women. 2026 Apr 9:10778012261440270. doi: 10.1177/10778012261440270. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the reception of the concept of obstetric violence within the Spanish legal system. It analyzes the judicial arguments used to deny its existence, and identifies four circumstances that sustain this form of gender-based violence: medical authoritarianism, epistemic injustice, disregard of informed consent, and the prioritization of the protection of the fetus. It then critically assesses the approach towards obstetric violence in a 2023 legal reform. It concludes that despite the rejection of the concept, the alternative one that was included has an open character and recognizes that it is structural and a form of gender-based violence.

PMID:41955021 | DOI:10.1177/10778012261440270