Obstetric violence in Brazil and cyberactivism of mothers: report of two experiences

In Brazil, a quarter of the women experiencing vaginal delivery have reported to be victims of violence and/or abuse in hospitals, something called obstetric violence. In recent years, Internet-mediated actions conducted by women's social movements, and specifically mothers, fostered deeper debates and political participation on health and reproductive rights. This article reports two initiatives that use connected environments and new media as tools: the Obstetric Violence Test and the video documentary Obstetric violence - the voice of Brazilian women. These actions have contributed to the replacement of the silence by the active voice against obstetric violence; they showed that new information technologies are very important tools in women's health promotion and bear witness to the great potential of the internet to highlight not previously problematized violence, thus encouraging new research in the area.