CCPR/C/130/D/3639/2019 6.7 With regard to the abuse of the right of submission, the author claims that she was subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture from the moment that she was admitted to the hospital. In this regard, she refers to paragraph 22 of general comment No. 2 (2007) of the Committee against Torture, which includes “medical treatment” as an area in which women may be at risk of being tortured. The author states that she submitted this communication as it concerns a clear case of obstetric violence. Her treatment at the hands of the medical staff illustrates the prevailing injustice and systemic prejudices that women face when they attempt to exercise their reproductive rights and right to health, and also serves as an example of the prevailing tendency to medicalize childbirth. 6.8 The author cites the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, 7 which establishes that every woman has the right to choose the circumstances in which she gives birth. She adds that this case law cites the guidelines of the World Health Organization, which stress the importance of approaching each Caesarean section independently, on a case-bycase basis, taking into account each woman’s personal situation and circumstances. 8 The author argues that, in the area of health, ill-treatment can occur in different contexts: therefore, the right to grant consent must also include the right to withdraw it for each medical procedure requested. Health-care staff must see women in labour as persons rather than patients and avoid instrumentalizing childbirth, which places women in situations where their autonomy is reduced and they are highly vulnerable. She adds that abuse in health-care settings (along with physical and mental anguish) is discriminatory and may amount to torture when there is a pattern of subordinating women’s bodies and needs to the all-powerful demands of science.9 6.9 The author concludes by stating that verbal, physical and psychological violence were used to coerce her, which traumatized her and caused her to abandon her attempts to obtain what she really wanted, which was set out in her birth plan. She was injected with drugs that she had explicitly refused and was subjected to an accelerated procedure, all of which she considers to be unethical, unlawful and based on a skewed perception of her role as a mother and a woman. She was also blamed for her baby’s problems (secondary victimization) despite the fact that they only started after he had been separated from her. The author also believes that unnecessary procedures were performed on her baby. Issues and proceedings before the Committee Consideration of admissibility 7.1 Before considering any claim contained in a communication, the Committee must decide, in accordance with rule 97 of its rules of procedure, whether the communication is admissible under the Optional Protocol. 7.2 The Committee has ascertained, as required under article 5 (2) (a) of the Optional Protocol, that the matter is not being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement. 7.3 The Committee notes the State party’s allegations that the available domestic remedies have not been exhausted, as well as the author’s claim that these remedies would not have been effective. The Committee recalls its jurisprudence to the effect that authors of communications must avail themselves of all domestic remedies in order to fulfil the 7 8 9 GE.21-07305 European Court of Human Rights, Ternovszky v. Hungary (application No. 67545/09), judgment of 14 December 2010. World Health Organization, “Caesarean sections should only be performed when medically necessary” (10 April 2015). The author cites the observations made by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in her report on a human rights-based approach to mistreatment and violence against women in reproductive health services with a focus on childbirth and obstetric violence (A/74/137); general recommendation No. 35 (2017) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (A/HRC/22/53). 5