‘I was slapped for screaming’: Embrace Movement report reveals the brutal reality of childbirth in Gauteng and KZN

“I was in labour and screaming, and they told me to shut up. Then they slapped me.”

“I begged them to stop, but no one listened. They just continued.”

“They didn’t explain anything. I felt violated, like I had no control over my own body.”

These incidents have been identified as part of a pattern emerging from a groundbreaking new report on obstetric violence in South Africa, launched at the University of the Witwatersrand earlier this month.

The study, commissioned by Embrace: The Movement for Mothers, is the first to quantify the scale of abuse women face during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care in the country’s public health system.

Presented at Wits’ Chalsty Auditorium on March 11, the report draws on a large survey of women in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and the findings paint a grim picture.

Around six in 10 women reported experiencing some form of obstetric violence, including verbal abuse, neglect, denial of care, and medical procedures performed without consent.

Researchers estimate that translates to nearly 1.8 million women affected over 10 years in just those two provinces.

The report was launched in partnership with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits, where stakeholders gathered to confront what organisers described as a “long-normalised” crisis in maternity care.

Obstetric violence is increasingly recognised as a form of gender-based violence in South Africa. It also forms part of the National GBVF strategy and includes a wide spectrum of abuses, from humiliation and physical assault to coercive or non-consensual medical interventions.

At the launch, researchers and activists emphasised that the statistics only scratch the surface of a deeper systemic problem within the public health sector.

Survey findings show that 57% of women experienced verbal abuse or disrespect, while a quarter said procedures such as C-sections or episiotomies were performed without their consent.

In many cases, women did not initially recognise what they experienced as abuse.

“Society has normalised disrespect and neglect to the point where women struggle to name it,” said Embrace project lead Julie Mentor during the presentation of the findings. 

Health officials present at the launch acknowledged the severity of the findings, describing them as “deeply shocking” and unacceptable in a system meant to provide care and dignity. 

But the report also points to structural causes, including staff shortages, overcrowded facilities, and strained resources that contribute to conditions that allow such abuse.

In some maternity wards, just two midwives may be responsible for multiple women in labour at the same time, severely affecting the quality of care. 

Advocates say this does not excuse the abuse, but highlights the urgent need for systemic reform.

A memorandum submitted ahead of the launch calls on government to formally recognise obstetric violence in law, strengthen accountability, and invest in better training and working conditions for healthcare workers.

It also demands clearer reporting systems, improved patient rights awareness, and the inclusion of respectful maternity care as a measurable standard across facilities.

For Embrace and its partners, the message from the report, and from the women behind the testimonies, is clear: childbirth in South Africa should never come at the cost of dignity.

“I don’t want another woman to go through this,” one survivor said. “Giving birth should not feel like abuse.”

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