Dear friends,
For many people who are socially
marginalized, contact with health facilities is too often characterized by
physical abuse, insults, invasion of privacy, forced medical procedures, or
denial of care. This amounts to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and in
some cases, torture.
The Open Society Foundations are working to
stop these abuses through the Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care. We’re
committed to a world where health care centers are safe, and where our
governments act to prevent all forms of torture. Read more below and find out
how you can help.
Paul Silva
psilva@sorosny.org | Twitter:
@PauloNYC
Follow the
campaign on Twitter: @CareNotTorture
Stop Torture in
Health Care
“When I go to a
hospital or clinic,” writes Francoise Girard, director of the Open Society
Public Health Program, “I expect to receive good quality, respectful care, and
I usually do. Unfortunately, that is not the experience for many people around
the world. For them, health care settings are not places of healing, but places
where severe mental or physical suffering is inflicted as a result of
government policy or negligence. This is especially true for patients from
socially marginalized groups—people living with HIV, gays
and lesbians, transgender persons, people who use drugs, and people with
intellectual disabilities or mental health problems. Their contact with health
facilities is too often characterized by physical abuse, insults, invasion of
privacy, forced medical procedures, or denial of treatment.”
Such abuses must
stop, and we all must do our part to make sure that they do. Read more from Françoise Girard, see interviews
with people who have experienced abuse, and join the global discussion.
How can you help
stop torture in health care? Check out the campaign’s website for the latest
actions. This week, send a letter to the Minister of Health in Namibia and
demand an end to forced sterilization of women living with HIV.
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