CEDAW/C/75/D/138/2018 at the hands of reproductive health service providers and the neglect, mistreatment and physical and verbal abuse that they may receive during and after childbirth. 4 Exhaustion of domestic remedies 2.11 The author maintains that she has exhausted all domestic remedies available to her to seek redress for the poor obstetric care she received during childbirth. 2.12 On 24 June 2010, the author filed complaints with the Xeral-Calde Hospital in Lugo and with the quality and patient services unit of the Galician Health Service. She received no response to either. On 10 October 2010, the author filed a complaint with the hospital’s ethics committee, but this complaint also went unanswered. 2.13 On 21 December 2011, the author submitted a claim invoking the financial responsibility of the public administration for the functioning of health services. In her statement of claim, she described the events that had occurred since her admission to hospital, as well as the various shortcomings in the obstetric care she received, which included the administration of synthetic intravenous oxytocin without indication, information or consent; the over-frequent digital vaginal examinations; the fact that her partner was not allowed to be with her even though constant emotional support during labour is considered a fundamental women ’s right; the fact that she was not allowed to move about, even though the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women walk around during dilation and be allowed to decide freely which position to adopt during delivery; the fact that she was forced to remain in the lithotomy position despite her request to sit up; the in strumental delivery with the ventouse and the episiotomy, which were performed without explanation or information; the manual removal of the placenta without the necessary preparations; her daughter’s admission to the neonatal unit for seven days; and the interference with breastfeeding. 2.14 On 18 September 2013, the Ministry of Health of the regional government of Galicia rejected the claim invoking the financial responsibility of the public administration. 2.15 On 8 January 2014, the author submitted an appeal to the administrative courts. 2.16 On 5 November 2015, Administrative Court No. 1 of Santiago de Compostela dismissed the appeal. The Court observed that the technical reports provided by the __________________ 4 4/14 The author mentions that the non-governmental organization Médecins du Monde defines obstetric violence as actions and behaviours that dehumanize and diminish women during pregnancy, childbirth and the post-partum period, as manifest through physical and verbal mistreatment, humiliation, lack of information and consent, the abuse of medicalization and the pathologization of natural processes, and that lead to loss of freedom, autonomy and the ability to make decisions concerning their body and sexuality fre ely. The author also mentions that the Observatorio de la Violencia Obstétrica en España (the Spanish Centre for Monitoring Obstetric Violence) has concluded that obstetric violence is a form of psychological torture. The author also mentions the report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (A/HRC/31/57, para. 47) as well as reports from the World Health Organization (WHO/RHR/14.23) and the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/32/44, para. 106 (h)). Lastly, the authors refer to academic publications such as Eugenia Álvarez Matteazzi and Pilar Russo, Violencia obstétrica: Naturalización del modelo de atención médico hegemónico durante el proceso de parto, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 2016; Laura Belli, La violencia obstétrica: otra forma de violación a los derechos humanos , Revista Redbioética/ UNESCO, year 4, vol. 1, No. 7, January–June 2013, pp. 25–32; Marbella Camaraco, Patologizando lo natural, naturalizando lo patológico. Improntas de la praxis obstétric , Revista Venezolana de estudios de la mujer, vol. 14, No. 32, 2009; Cristina Medina Pradas and Paz Ferrer Ispizua, Prevalence of obstetric violence in Spain, infographic, 2017, available at https://mamacapaz.com/wp-content/uploads/VO.pdf; Adela Recio Alcaide, La atención al parto en España: cifras para reflexionar sobre un problema , Dilemata, year 7, No. 18, 2015, pp. 13–26. 20-04882