Double Discrimination: Gender Bias in Women's Mental Health Care
New findings reveal troubling gender bias in women's mental health treatment in Spain.
Key Points
- • Women face double discrimination in mental health treatment.
- • Studies show women are prescribed more anxiolytics than men.
- • Chronic pain is often linked to anxiety and depression, particularly in women.
- • 15% of sexual and reproductive health services lack psychological support.
Recent findings in Spain underscore significant gender-based discrimination in the mental health treatment of women. At the Spanish Congress of Psychiatry, experts highlighted that women are disproportionately prescribed anxiolytics compared to their male counterparts, indicating a troubling trend wherein women’s emotional distress is often pathologized. Psychiatrist Roser Martínez Riera explains that this bias not only affects the treatment but exacerbates existing vulnerabilities in female mental health, especially during critical life stages like pregnancy and postpartum, when unique challenges arise such as postpartum depression and a lack of adequate psychological support.
Data reveals that 15% of sexual and reproductive health services do not offer psychological support, leaving many women without essential care during these crucial periods. Jesús Cobo from the Catalonia Perinatal Mental Health Program urges for improved training and resource allocation to address these pressing concerns. Additionally, chronic pain is correlated with anxiety and depression, particularly affecting women, complicating their mental health landscape further.
Mental health nurse Júlía Brynjólfsdóttir advocates for empowering women in recovery, as societal roles often burden women as primary caregivers for children with mental health issues, which adds a layer of guilt and stress. The play 'La dona del tercer segona' poignantly portrays this emotional struggle as many women feel doubly stigmatized: judged for both their gender and their mental health challenges. Organizations like Obertament have reported a dramatic rise in depression among women since the pandemic, with the incidence doubling, emphasizing the critical need for acknowledging and addressing such gender-specific discrimination in mental health care.
Personal accounts from women suffering under these societal pressures reveal profound feelings of worthlessness and a need for more supportive frameworks in mental health care. As these issues come to the forefront, experts are calling for systemic change to dismantle the biases that hinder effective treatment for women.