Gender inequalities in the field of health are not just a matter of medical practices or individual behaviours. According to a report published on Wednesday 28 January by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), they are also a matter of legal choices relating to access to care, the conditions of that access and the identity of patients.
The report dedicated to gender discrimination in access to healthcare considers that these inequalities are due to the way in which healthcare systems define the care that is accessible, the conditions under which it is provided and the groups covered.
In the European Union, for example, while women live longer than men, they spend more years in poor health. They are more affected by mental health problems, and up to a third of them have suffered physical or sexual violence in the course of their lives, including in the context of care.
The report points out that EU law already covers issues such as access to care for victims of violence, protection against harassment in healthcare establishments and the rules governing the care actually provided.
Based on a comparative analysis of the Member States, the Commission notes, however, that this legal arsenal is not always used to combat obstetric violence, the failure to take gender into account in medical research or the difficulties encountered by migrant women, and therefore calls for greater use to be made of it.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/kk9 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)