Obstetric Violence in the Case Law of the Universal and Inter-American Human Rights Systems

Authors

• Carmen Cecilia Martínez López, Universidad de Palermo (Argentina)

Abstract

This Article explores how obstetric violence is treated within two major international human rights systems: the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the United Nations treaty body system. While obstetric violence has been increasingly recognized as a form of gender-based violence and a violation of fundamental rights, the articulation of its scope, state obligations, and standards of redress has varied across institutions.

Building on this analysis, the Article argues that a comparative approach to these systems not only illuminates key similarities and differences in legal standards, but also reveals concrete gaps and opportunities to advance the protection of reproductive autonomy. The central claim of this Article is that a systematic comparative analysis can clarify conceptual ambiguities, identify best practices, and promote a more coherent and robust human rights framework for the prevention and redress of obstetric violence. In doing so, this contribution examines how jurisprudential developments in both systems can inform each other and strengthen accountability for obstetric violence as a critical human rights issue.

Recommended Citation

Carmen Cecilia Martínez López, Obstetric Violence in the Case Law of the Universal and Inter-American Human Rights Systems, 33 U. MIA. Int'l & Compar. L. Rev. 471 (2026).
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umiclr/vol33/iss2/7