Rectal examinations in childbirth
The violence and humiliation of a silenced practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15748856 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara Cohen Shabot (0000-0002-9621-8199, University of Haifa, corresponding author), Dianna Taylor (0000-0002-3610-8158, John Carroll University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1-16 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Gender-Based Violence (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2398-6808 • E-ISSN: 2398-6816 |
| Publisher | Policy Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1332/23986808y2024d000000025 |
| OpenAlex | W4392935274 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 22 |
Post-vaginal birth protocols frequently require women and other birthing persons to undergo rectal examinations. Protocols for these examinations, which we refer to as PVREs, vary widely, however, and there is a lack of agreement within the medical community concerning whether they are needed at all. This article explores women’s experience of PVREs in light of this ambiguity which, we argue, reflects and reproduces aspects of gendered power relations that are implicated in systemic sexual violence. We show that some women experience PVREs as sexual violence, the effects of which include guilt, self-blame, shame and sexual humiliation. Given its defining characteristics, we further argue that PVREs constitute a form of obstetric violence
Blame · Childbirth · Developmental psychology · Harm · Humiliation · Obstetrics · Power (physics · Pregnancy · Shame · Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Issues · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology
Social science in medicine
Beyond too little, too late and too much, too soon
Women’s perceptions and experiences of a traumatic birth
Signs
Pregnancy, birth and risk
Femininity and Domination
Feminists Theorize the Political
Obstetric iatrogenesis in the United States
My Soul Hurt, and I Felt as If I Was Going to Die”
Gender and the Politics of Shame
Domesticating Bodies
Humiliation as a Harm of Sexual Violence
You are Not Qualified—Leave it to us”
Making Loud Bodies “Feminine”
Revealing Ireland's “Proper” Heart
Resisting Agamben
Why 'normal' feels so bad
Microaggressions and the reproduction of social inequalities in medical encounters in Mexico
Cutting Women
Moving beyond disrespect and abuse
Dead to the World
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |