We need to teach human rights in medical schools

Authors

  • Daniel Weishut Hadassah Academic College
  • Lucy Aitchison
  • Bettina Steiner-Birmanns

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v31i2.128025

Keywords:

human rights, education, medical school, Israel, Palestinians, prison, World Medical Association, body cavity search, internal examination

Abstract

There are protocols of the questioning of a young military physician in the Israeli Defense Forces, who performed a vaginal examination on a Palestinian woman under arrest, against the latter’s expressed will and without a medical indication. In support of the WMA guidelines on including human rights courses in medical schools, we call on medical schools to integrate a human rights perspective and introduce sufficient material on human rights, prisoners’ rights and medical ethics to help physicians like her make the right decisions in challenging situations such as the one described.

References

References

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Weishut, D. J. N. (2015). Sexual torture of Palestinian men by Israeli authorities. Reproductive Health Matters, 23(46), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rhm.2015.11.019

World Medical Association (2021). WMA resolution on the inclusion of medical ethics and human rights in the curriculum of medical schools world-wide. Seoul. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-resolution-on-the-inclusion-of-medical-ethics-and-human-rights-in-the-curriculum-of-medical-schools-world-wide/

World Medical Association (2016). WMA statement on body searches of prisoners. Taipei, Taiwan. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-body-searches-of-prisoners/

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Published

2021-10-20 — Updated on 2021-12-29

How to Cite

Weishut, D., Aitchison, L., & Steiner-Birmanns, B. (2021). We need to teach human rights in medical schools. Torture Journal, 31(2), 147–148. https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v31i2.128025