Roses Revolution is an international movement against obstetric violence, originally founded in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 2011. It observes November 25, the

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women ( Resolution 54/134). The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected t ...

, additionally as "Roses Revolution Day". Women place roses in front of the delivery rooms or hospitals where they suffered varying forms of physical or psychological violence as a sign of protest.

Background

The WHO maintains that "Every woman has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to dignified, respectful health care", but "many women experience disrespectful and abusive treatment during childbirth in facilities worldwide. Such treatment not only violates the rights of women to respectful care, but can also threaten their rights to life, health, bodily integrity, and freedom from discrimination." WHO therefore "calls for greater action, dialogue, research and advocacy on this important public health and human rights issue." Roses Revolution is one of several initiatives worldwide against this form of violence.

Activities

Roses Revolution designates the protest against abuse during childbirth as an additional aspect in connection with the

on November 25, introduced in 1981 and an official UN awareness day since 2000. On Roses Revolution Day, women place roses outside hospitals and delivery rooms to protest against the physical or psychological violence they have experienced during childbirth, often including messages to pertinent physicians and midwives. Roses Revolution comments on the depositions of roses on

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and

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. The aim is to raise awareness of traumatic experiences caused by the misconduct of medical staff during childbirth. Support also includes other measures. For example, in 2021 Roses Revolution

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

published a video on women who had suffered violence in both French and

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

. Roses Revolution Hungary (''Rózsák Forradalma'') takes part in the regional activities of the

16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number) *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen * ''Sixteen'' (20 ...

Founding and expansion

Spanish birth activist Mara "Jesusa" Ricoy founded Roses Revolution as "La Revolución de las rosas" in 2011. At the third "Human Rights in Childbirth" conference in

Blankenberge Blankenberge (; ; ) is a seaside Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Blankenberge proper and the settlement of Uitke ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 4 November 2013, the movement was presented to international participants. Within three weeks, this led to action in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, the

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und

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. Finally, Roses Revolution became active in 30 countries.

Recognition

Roses Revolution is supported by the German National Committee of

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

. A 2019

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

report by

Dubravka Šimonović Dubravka Šimonović (born 1958) is a Croatian jurist and specialist in human rights. She was appointed on 1 August 2015 as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, and is visiting professor in practice in the Centre for ...

, the

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, titled "A human rights-based approach to mistreatment and violence against women in reproductive health services with a focus on childbirth and obstetric violence" lists Roses Revolution as one of several initiatives on national and international level. The Austrian Ministry of health and social affairs lists Roses Revolution as a point of call for affected women in their report on women's health of 2022. A

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

study on ''Obstetric and gynaecological violence in the EU'' requested by the

European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality The Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is a committee of the European Parliament. Membership Chair 9th Term Vice Chairs * Eugenia Rodríguez Palop * Sylwia Spurek * Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi * Radka Maxova 7th Term ...

mentions Roses Revolution multiple times as being active in the EU countries Spain, Germany, Luxemburg,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, Czechia,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and Slovakia - among other aspects being "the mother of all campaigns" against obstetric violence in Germany.{{cite web , url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2024/761478/IPOL_STU(2024)761478_EN.pdf , title=Obstetric and gynaecological violence in the EU - Prevalence, legal frameworks and educational guidelines for prevention and elimination , author=Silvia Brunello , date=April 2024 , website=www.europarl.europa.eu , publisher=

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, access-date=2024-11-24

External links

Roses Revolution International

Roses Revolution Germany

References

November observances Civil awareness days Violence against women 2011 introductions Health awareness days Obstetrics Women's protests 2011 in women's history