Health is everyone’s business. Yet deep-seated gender discrimination persists, leading to inequality in treatment and access to care. This comes on top of discrimination based on economic, social and migration status.
Medical research is not yet systematically inclusive. There is less research and hence also less knowledge about the symptoms and consequences of some diseases for women in all their diversity. LGBTI patients may still also be discriminated against in access to care.
There is evidence of sexist attitudes in some cases in the relationship between carers and patients and also during medical studies. The Parliamentary Assembly has already considered the issue of gynaecological and obstetrical violence and innovative approaches to sexual and reproductive health and rights. It is time now to conduct general analysis of gender discrimination in health, to raise awareness of the persistence of gender bias that can result in poor care and suffering and to promote best practices to prevent such discrimination. Global awareness is necessary to combat gender discrimination in health effectively.