Roses Revolution Day Date in the current year: November 25, 2024

Obstetric violence, also known as disrespectful care or abuse during childbirth, is mistreatment, abuse, or disrespect experienced by individuals during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum care in healthcare settings. It encompasses a range of behaviors and practices that violate the dignity, autonomy, and rights of birthing individuals, often disproportionately affecting adolescents, unmarried women, migrant and ethnic minority women, women of low socioeconomic status, ethnic minorities, and HIV-positive women.

Obstetric violence can take many forms such as physical abuse (non-consensual procedures, use of excessive force during delivery), verbal abuse (disrespectful or humiliating comments, shaming for reproductive choices), lack of informed consent, neglect or denial of care (leaving the patient unattended, refusal of pain relief), and discrimination.

Obstetric violence can have profound physical, emotional, and psychological effects, including trauma, postpartum depression, and fear of future medical care. It is considered a violation of women’s rights and a form of violence against women. An annual day of awareness against obstetric violence is observed in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was created in 1981 by Latin American and Caribbean feminists. They decided to observe it on November 25 to commemorate the deaths of the three Mirabal sisters (Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa), who were assassinated on that date in 1960 for opposing the dictatorial regime of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. In 1999, the observance was officially recognized by the United Nations at the 83rd plenary meeting of the General Assembly.

Roses Revolution Day is an offshoot of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women that focuses specifically on obstetric violence. The Roses Revolution (La Revolución de las rosas) movement was started in 2011 by Spanish birth activist Mara “Jesusa” Ricoy. It was a response to cartoons mocking patients and their births published in the medical journal of the Spanish Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

On November 25, women around the world place pink roses outside of maternity hospitals or delivery rooms where they have suffered obstetric violence, sometimes accompanied notes or postcards addressed to the doctors and midwives who hurt them. The main goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and protest against the disrespectful and sometimes outright abusive treatment women often receive before, during and after childbirth.

Placing roses is not the only way to get involved with Roses Revolution Day. You can start a petition for better treatment of women in maternity hospitals and wards, organize a march or flash mob, donate to an organization that fights obstetric violence, or post about the observance on social media using the hashtags #RosesRevolutionDay and #StopObstetricViolence.