This fact sheet summarizes the findings of the first published multi-sectoral consensus-building exercise on medico-legal affidavits in the U.S. immigration context. Medico-legal affidavits are underpinned by an expert medical evaluation which can objectively contextualize trauma and corroborate accounts of abuse; they are a critical component in immigration proceedings where somebody is seeking protection on the […]
Executive Summary Background Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a global health crisis. More than 730 million women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.[1] In Kenya, the Demographic and Health Survey of 2022 showed that 34 percent of women and girls[2] surveyed reported having experienced physical violence at […]
Using a participatory methodology called Photovoice, a group of survivors of sexual violence in Nairobi set out to document their journey to seek out and access mental health care.
NAIROBI– Survivors of sexual violence in Kenya face barriers to quality mental health services in their communities, according to a new assessment co-published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Network (SSVKenya), which is convened by the Wangu Kanja Foundation. The new assessment, Voicing Our Plight: […]
A new report published by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) documents 1,989 attacks and threats against health care facilities and personnel across 32 countries and territories in armed conflict and situations of political violence throughout 2022. The reported figure represents the most severe year of attacks against health care in the last decade […]
Today marks a new chapter in the fight against COVID-19, as the Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires in the United States. Similarly, on May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the end of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern, downgrading COVID-19 from an emergency to an “ongoing health issue” with a need […]
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes today’s end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that weaponized the pandemic to expel people seeking asylum from the United States. While Title 42 was framed as a way to safeguard Americans from COVID-19, PHR demonstrated for years that there was never a credible public health rationale behind a […]
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the American College of Emergency Physicians’ (ACEP) new public statement that “ACEP does not recognize the use of the term ‘excited delirium’ and its use in clinical settings.” PHR also welcomes ACEP President Christopher Kang’s, MD, FACEP statement in a recent emergency medicine podcast interview that “continued reference” to […]
Eight Sudanese and international health and human rights organizations condemn the continued attacks on hospitals and health care in Sudan amid the escalating conflict in the country. The organizations – including the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA), Sudan Doctors Union – Canada (SDU Canada), Sudan Doctors Union – UK (SDU-UK), Sudanese Doctors Union of Ireland […]
Not a single hospital in Oklahoma appears able to articulate clear, consistent policies for emergency obstetric care to pregnant patients, according to a new study published Tuesday. When called by prospective patients, Oklahoma hospitals offered opaque, contradictory, and incorrect information about abortion availability and approval processes in obstetric emergencies, as well as little reassurance that […]
