In Senegal, the Kimpavita Ecofeminist Festival hosted, on Saturday, March 12, a film screening, a music scene, performances, the recording of a feminist podcast and various roundtable discussions, one of which was about gynecological violence and obstetrics, a topic still very taboo in Senegal.
as reported from Dakar, Thea Olivier
In a crowded room, violence during pregnancy and childbirth was discussed for over an hour.
“Commonalization of suffering” Khadidiatou Tida Dansokho, chair of the Never Again collective, created in 2020, explains why this topic is still taboo: “There is this trivialization of suffering. So if we are already conditioned to bear this pain and we go to the health structure and “We are being abused, we will not even feel that we have been mistreated. The measures we are taking begin with getting women to talk because we need to identify the need, we need to be aware that this problem exists and then find solutions.”
Marème Fall, from the Senegalese Midwives’ Association, addresses shortcomings that favor this violence in the medical environment: “The number of births compared to the number of midwives in the delivery room, 24-hour shifts, fatigue. In addition, the working conditions, materials and equipment often “It is very difficult to do her job according to ethics and deontology. Suppliers have obligations to women. We must, before each gesture, ask the woman if she accepts or not, have her consent. Unfortunately, it is missing.”
Finding solutions But if the speech starts to drop, solutions must still be found so that both the mother and her children are taken care of and overcome their trauma as a result of this violence.
►Also read: Senegal: march in Dakar against violence against women and children
