Hospital advertising–using language about “choice,” “autonomy,” and respect for birth plans–has evolved along with the changing demands of a more informed birthing population… but how reliable are those promises?
Obstetric violence culture is a part of rape culture, where sexual violence, especially against women, is normalized.
Secondary trauma, trauma experienced by those who witness the abuse of others, spills over into the lives of everyone who sees it, who is complicit in it, who is conflicted about their role in it, who fights with everything in them against it, who perpetrates it.
There are two traumas that happen when an assault occurs. The first is the event itself. The second is when people you trust don’t believe you about it.
“I interrupted and said ‘she said stop, take your hand out of her vagina right now, she said stop!’”
