Women, people of foreign origin or those with disabilities are too often victims of discrimination in access to care
By The New Obs with AFP
Published on , updated on
Minimized pain, refusal of care, non-consensual acts... Women, people of foreign origin or those with disabilities are subject to discrimination in their access to care. SYSPEO/SIPA
Minimized pain, refusal of care, non-consensual acts... Women, people of foreign origin or those with disabilities are subject to discrimination in their access to care and their medical journey, according to a report by human rights defender Claire Hédon , published this Tuesday, May 6.
Also read
“Something was wrong and they weren’t listening to me” series : the long medical journey of women with endometriosis
"While refusals of access to care remain the most well-known and obvious form, discrimination can occur at all stages of care and, in a less visible or conscious way, within the caregiver-patient relationship," believes the independent authority responsible for ensuring that rights are respected in France.
In 2022, 224 complaints were filed with professional bodies and health insurance and 31 claims were sent to the Defender of Rights, but the "scale of discrimination far exceeds" these figures, the report states.
“Mediterranean syndrome”, a racist prejudice with no medical basis”In theory, healthcare professionals do not have the right to refuse a patient unless the request for care does not correspond to their area of expertise, if they have too many patients, or if the patient in question has previously been violent or insulting towards them. But in practice and on the ground, this rule is subject to numerous breaches, whether in access to care or in the care pathway, notes the human rights defender.
In emergency services, the independent authority describes "an underestimation" of pain and "the severity of symptoms expressed by women, particularly when they are young, of foreign origin or perceived as such." "Depending on the case, the patient's pain is either minimized or questioned and attributed to supposed anxiety or hidden psychological suffering," it denounces.
Also read
Decryption: To talk about it or not, the dilemma of workers with an invisible disability
