A Form of Violence Against Women
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Rev Mex Med Forense, 2019, 4(1):1-14 ISSN: 2448-8011 Transgression of sexual and reproductive rights during the professional training of female graduate doctors: a form of violence against women Original Article Juan Carlos Araujo-Cuauro 1 Received: July 12th, 2018; Accepted: September 5th, 2018; Online: January 15th, 2019 1 Physician and Lawyer. Professor of Legal Medicine. Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences. University of Zulia Law School, Venezuela Corresponding author: Juan Carlos Araujo-Cuauro, [email protected]. Araujo JC. Rev Mex Med Forense, 2019, 4(1):1-14 SUMMARY the existence of some type of regulation that forced them to abandon postgraduate Introduction. Our purpose is to determine activities because they were pregnant.. if the hospital care institutions and / or the 100% of residents who became pregnant university institutions impose repressive during their academic period (n = 100) norms on the medical graduate students were forced to abandon their teaching due to their pregnancy condition. academic care activities. 100% were Methods: We performed a prospective, unaware of legal legal mechanisms to cross-sectional observational study; 400 protect their right to reproduction and postgraduate residents of the Division of maternity. Graduate Studies of the Faculty of Conclusion: The lack of knowledge of Medicine of the University of Zulia current legal regulations on sexual and answered a survey on reproductive rights reproductive rights of postgraduate in medical residents. medical residents by the Division of Results: 70% of the simple knows the Graduate Studies of the Faculty of existence of a protection law regarding Medicine of the University of Zulia, in any type of violence against women. 90% Maracaibo, Venezuela as well as the of respondents do not know or do not academic committees of each graduate remember the existence of a "Universal residence is evident. Declaration of Sexual Rights". 100% of Keywords: Violence, transgression, the respondents do not know the current medical residencies, medical resident, legal regulations on maternal rights in sexual rights, reproductive rights, human Venezuela. 90% were informed upon rights, postgraduate. admission to the medical residency about INTRODUCTION Sexual rights are part of the basic Sexuality is an evolving concept rights of all people; therefore, they are that includes sexual activity, gender universal and inalienable. Sexual identities, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy reproductive health can not be achieved and reproduction. It is constituted by the without sexual rights; consequently, it is interaction of biological, psychological, not clear how repressive norms have been social, economic, political, cultural, established for women doctors residing in ethical, legal, historical, religious and postgraduate training in university spiritual factors (Villaverde, 2006). institutions where they carry out their postgraduate studies, in relation to Sexual rights emanate from the pregnancy (Castillo and Garibay, 2015). rights to freedom, equality, privacy, autonomy, integrity and dignity of all Training of human resources people, thus promoting the freedom to through postgraduate medical residences, decide and fully exercise sexuality. an important pillar of the health system, Araujo JC. Rev Mex Med Forense, 2019, 4(1):1-14 guarantees the preparation of medical women from have access to public policies professionals, not only in the academic and exercise the rights provided in this part, but also in the human part; under this Act, to ensure a life free of violence. scenario, the medical residences are a social process of great importance that Institutional control has tried to guarantees training and preparation of the maintain the distinction, as a source of future medical specialists, so that they discrimination, through normative reach a greater improvement in their regulation of sexual reproductive professional practice; however, the manifestations of postgraduate medical theoretical conceptions are reluctant to residents, who often ignore important legal consider the reality of institutional aspects such as the right to motherhood violence (hospital and university), (Article 76), the right to education (articles transgressing or discriminating and 102 and 103), the principle of autonomy abusing the right to sexual health of (article 20) and the principle of freedom of medical residents who become pregnant conscience (article 61), all of them during postgraduate studies (Montes- contained in the current Venezuelan Villaseñor, 2018). constitution. Pregnant medical residents are In this sense, the Venezuelan Civil subjected to an arbitrary disincorporation Code establishes in article 2 that of their postgraduate studies for a period of "ignorance of the law does not excuse six months, under the justification of their compliance"; The Venezuelan Penal Code pre and post-natal rest confered by the establishes in its article 60 that "ignorance Venezuelan legal framework; their school of the law does not excuse any crime or program is suspended despite having lack" (Pérez D'Gregorio, 2010). completed it, based on the regulations for graduate studies at the University of Zulia. Since the 1997 declaration of the "Universal Declaration of Sexual Rights" In this context, we must consider or the so-called "Declaration of Valencia", how institutional care or postgraduate it became one of the fundamental elements university system has implemented labor of the new document on Sexual Health that administrative control mechanisms with was elaborated by the World Organization unfair distinctions to the detriment of a of the Health (WHO) in the year 2000. universal human right that every woman has; it would be a form of violence against Sexual rights are universal human women as stipulated in Article 15 in rights based on inherent freedom, dignity numerals 1, 3 and 6, stating: "It is all and equality for all human beings. Since behavior that threatens or violates the right health is a fundamental human right, of women to voluntarily and freely decide sexual health must be a basic human right, their sexuality,... Omissis" (Gómez, 2014). including reproductive free and The numeral 16 establishes the existence responsible decisions. This includes the of Institutional Violence when the actions right to decide whether or not to have or omissions made by the authorities, children, the number and space between officials, professionals, personnel and them, and the right to full access to agents belonging to any public entity that, methods of fertility regulation. Therefore, contrary to the proper exercise of their sexual rights are fundamental and attributions, delay, hinder or prevent universal human rights (Belli, 2013). Araujo JC. Rev Mex Med Forense, 2019, 4(1):1-14 Social Security (IVSS). The training It is important to mention the legal system in postgraduate residences in nature of postgraduate medical residences Venezuela leads to the legal concept of an in Venezuela. The specialty university employment relationship between the medical residency is a fourth level study in training specialist (resident) and the postgraduate university residences under hospital center in which he acquires his the auspices and supervision of a training or learning, a contractual University that grants a specialist degree; relationship that presents the article 1 of the Regulation of Graduate characteristics of a mixed teaching- Studies of the University of Zulia assistance contract; the contract will have approved by the University Council the following characteristics: according to the conferred conferred in ordinal 21 of article 26 of the Law of a. It is a labor contract. There is no Universities dictates the following: doubt that resident doctor is linked "Studies for graduates, are those organized to the institution to which he is for those who have obtained a degree in attached with a postgraduate Higher Education in National or Foreign training contract and medical Universities, or in University Institutes, assistance of an employment and that comply with those established in nature, with training regulations; it the Norms for the Accreditation of Studies involves the provision of for Graduates, of the National Council of professional services in authorized Universities or any other issue issued by hospital centers for that end. the National Council of Universities ". It is b. It has a peculiar nature. The the system for training medical specialties peculiarity of the contract is that exists in Venezuelan universities undeniable; residents are according to article 10 of the General undoubtedly linked to public or Regulations for Postgraduate Studies for private administration by Universities and Institutes duly authorized employment contracts and their by the National Council of Universities relationship is strongly inculcated (CNU). by an academic-educational- training nature; it is classified as a Medical Postgraduate Residencies of Adhesion contract of mixed nature, the different specialties have as main scholarship type and exclusive objective to train doctors in the different dedication. areas or clinical and/or surgical specialties, c. It has a temporary duration. legal according to the scientific and relationship of the resident doctor technological advances, with a humanistic with the hospital institution where approach and with the capacity to aspire to he exercises and acquires his execute an specialty. Postgraduate medical knowledge, has a temporary nature assistance