Officials act on evidence of corruption and ‘slaughterhouse’ conditions in hospitals, discovered by Udruženje Baby Steps

Responding to evidence of widespread bribery and abuse in maternity wards, prosecutors in Zenica Doboj Canton are investigating the mistreatment of mothers and pregnant woman in hospitals, Whistleblowing International and the European Center for Whistleblower Rights have learned.

This evidence includes videos and first-hand accounts of dozens of women who were left screaming in agony in the midst of childbirth by doctors who refused to treat them unless they paid a bribe. Some women said they were abused and mistreated despite having paid a bribe.

The evidence was collected by Udruženje Baby Steps (www.babysteps.ba), a non-profit organization in Sarajevo that works to protect the rights of parents and children. Corruption, abuse and mistreatment in maternity wards is a widely known problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina that has been condoned by hospitals and ignored by public officials for decades.

“This atrocious abuse of women who are in the most vulnerable moments of their life must stop now. These sadistic ‘doctors’ must be prosecuted now and stripped of their medical license now,” said Mark Worth, Executive Director of Whistleblowing International and the European Center for Whistleblower Rights in The Hague.

These are some of the first-hand testimonies from women who spoke with Baby Steps:

“I heard from my acquaintances that whoever wanted to give birth without being tortured, must go to the doctor and pay him.”

“I gave the money to the doctor myself, 500 BAM. He took the envelope. Believe me, I barely survived even with my ‘connection’.”

”I started to lose my breath. They cut me and later sewed without anesthesia, using vicious primitive remarks, and permanently damaged my spine. Never again would I go to that slaughterhouse.”

Half of women interviewed by Baby Steps said they gave money or a gift before or after childbirth. One-third of the women said this happened in secret, which allows doctors and nurses to deny that corruption occurred. The average bribe is 140 BAM. This means that bribery in maternity hospitals nationwide is estimated at 2 million BAM annually.

A report by Baby Steps that details the corruption and mistreatment – “Borba protiv korupcije u porodilištima” – is available at: http://www.babysteps.ba/borba-protiv-korupcije-u-porodilistima/

For more information, contact:

Mark Worth                                                   Arjan Dyrmishi

Whistleblowing International                            Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection

European Center for Whistleblower Rights        Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance

mworth@whistleblower-rights.org                     adyrmishi@csdgalbania.org

(+31) 6 1353 4192 (Hag)