At the inaugural Queensland Women’s Health Forum in 2022, Belinda presented a summary of community advocacy led by Maternity Choices Australia (MCA, formerly Maternity Coalition) over the past twenty years to protect women from institutional obstetric violence. Global and domestic recognition regarding women’s exposure to abuse and mistreatment during facility-based childbirth continues to grow, with related Parliamentary Inquiries held recently in New South Wales (NSW) and the United Kingdom. Various United Nations (UN) bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls and the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls have all recognised that obstetric violence is a form of sex and gender-based discrimination and violence against women. Deeply entrenched and harmful gendered stereotypes about women’s bodies and their inferior status within society, however, means that obstetric violence continues to be normalised, ignored and/or denied by some health practitioners, policymakers and legal experts in Australia and overseas.

This presentation will provide an update regarding the progress of advocacy work undertaken by MCA and other community and professional organisations to tackle obstetric violence over the past few years. This includes advocacy for:

• implementation of Queensland Birth Strategy commitments
• the establishment of the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry on Birth Trauma
• recognition that addressing obstetric violence is an obligation for Queensland public entities (that is, Queensland Hospital and Health Services) under the Human Rights Act 2019 and
• commitments to address obstetric violence within the Queensland Women and Girls’ Health Strategy.

We will conclude by proposing future avenues for community and professional advocacy.