The scenario
Pregnancy is an important period in the life of a woman; it is the period when two lives share the same body. During this time, the physical, emotional and mental health is very important and it can affect the well being of the mother and the child. In this paper, abuses to women during pregnancy are discussed in detail and possible solutions are given that can be adapted for the well being of the women, children and the society. This paper also sheds light on the Canadian rights and laws that protect pregnant women. All the opinions are drawn based on the research on women in Canada (Canadian Human Rights Commission).
Abuse has been defined as threats or acts of harm that are physically, sexually or emotionally harmful. Pregnancy brings a lot of physical and emotional commitment. The women are expected to stay very careful during this period; any harmful effects during this period can result in temporary or permanent damages to the mother and the baby. A lot of care has to be taken so as to avoid any kind of stress from work or home environment. It is the duty of every human being to show care and empathy for the pregnant women around them.
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In real life, this is not the situation; pregnant women face a lot of abuse and harm (baby center). A simple example of everyday life can be a pregnant woman who uses public transport. They find it very difficult to on board the vehicles and off-board the vehicles, everyone is at a rush and nobody gives preference to the pregnant woman. In some cases, the person doesn't get the opportunity to board the vehicle and has to wait for a vehicle with a lesser crowd. In other situations where a queue is maintained, there is no separate counter for pregnant women and this causes them to depend on others to get their work done. The top of the list is in workplaces. Women are always subjected to some sort of abuse in workplaces. People have a general notion that pregnant women don’t deliver the work since they are undergoing such a physical transformation. Even if a task is impossible to complete under normal circumstances, a pregnant woman is blamed for being incompetent due to their physical condition. So when they try to reason out their problems in work, it is correlated with their personal condition and often disregarded as a physical inability or excuse (Canadian Human Rights Commission).
Due to irregularity in laws pertaining to pregnant women, we can observe that some organizations provide benefits to women during pregnancy and some organizations don't provide any sort of benefits to women during pregnancy. Some other organizations want to extract maximum work from the women without making any law breaches, keeping themselves on the safer side. Even though pregnant women work their best for the most part of the period, bosses have a mentality that pregnant women often hide under the shadow of pregnancy to evade work and see them as a liability until the pregnancy is over. This is reflected in their conversations to the pregnant women and others in the office, this puts a stress on the women to extra perform so as to overcome this misconception. It really takes a toll on the mental health of the pregnant women (baby center).
Kingston et al(2016) states that most of the women put themselves in a lot of stress and this also affects the unborn child. Also, other than harm at workplaces, conditions in the family and home surrounding must be considered. We have to throw light on the domestic issues that bother pregnant women as well. Some women face a lot of abuse and eventually end up being single mothers who go through the process all on their own and have to raise the child themselves. Problems between couples arise during pregnancy because of their spouses not taking care of them. Women feeling lonely during pregnancy leads to major problems affecting both the mother and the child.
Women’s Rights and Laws
In recent times, a lot of light has been shed to protect women’s rights. The Canadian human rights act (The Act) protects pregnant women against all discrimination due to gender and their pregnancy (Canadian Human Rights Commission). As we have seen in the scenario, the discrimination still stays in the society, we cannot completely rule out the discrimination to women during pregnancy. However, we can see the improved condition in organized workforces and government offices. Under the act, women are protected from all kinds of discrimination, it includes negative treatment, refusal to hire or promote, termination of employment, or harassment. Employers must accommodate pregnancy-related needs, such as maternity leave. Women face discrimination all the time, during pregnancy especially, by not getting promoted or allowed benefits, the companies feel that an increase in pay during pregnancy followed by maternity leave is an unwanted expense as the employee will not be giving their best during this time. Some women are asked to guide their peers or subordinates from home until they get back, to keep the work moving in the organization.
Termination of employment is strictly frowned upon, apart from the law. Still, the law protects women again termination of employment without any reason (Canadian Human Rights Commission). Pregnant women often rely on their pregnancy benefits from their employer to cope with expenses and carry on with life. It acts as a lifeline and plays an important role for women choosing their workplaces. However, this becomes tragic, if they are fired during pregnancy. If the employer is aware of the pregnancy while hiring and is doubtful of the candidate, then they should respectfully convey the same to the person. They shouldn't hire the candidate. If the candidate is working from a long time and is found inefficient, then proper notice has to be given prior to firing and allowed a relaxation period of time to find another job or just relieve from their position. They should also be given a chance to improve themselves. Termination without reason can be punished under the law.
Negative treatment is so common in workplaces, especially to women. Men are better paid than women, men are considered to work more than women, even though the performance of the person is irrelevant to gender and women work equally to men. Some work even better than men while receiving lesser wages than their male co-workers. This thought becomes worse when the women employee is pregnant. Employers think women hide under their pregnancy to escape from work. This results in the negative treatment of women employees under pregnancy. (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
Poor treatment includes not allowing flexible hours, harsh deadlines, overload of work, cutting off of benefits and so on. Leave towards medical checkups and treatments are not welcomed. Some organizations do not provide a lot of maternity benefits to their female employees. Harsh work environments are also observed where it is not suitable for a pregnant woman to work. Long hours of work without breaks, and extended work hours are also observed. Though the law protects women against these, women are hesitant to step forward and report these, since they have the fear of losing their job. These are not directly enforced but indirectly laid upon the employees in the form of increased targets and goals to be achieved. Eventually, the women have to force themselves to work extra hours, else it will reflect on their overall performance and indicate them as poor performing employees(Kohl,2015). The scenario has also changed in public places, where pregnant women and differently-abled persons are given top priority. Under the Act, pregnancy is not considered as a disability, but care should be taken to accommodate them as well (Canadian Human Rights Commission). Nowadays, civil constructions are designed to support this section of people by providing separate pathways and specially designed toilets.
In the end, this scenario has reviews and the women's rights and laws pertaining to them are analyzed. When pregnant women are subjected to any form of discrimination, they don’t have to put up with it, they can confidently file a complaint against the person/persons discriminating them (Canadian Human Rights Commission).
Even if it their workplace discrimination, including cases where women are denied maternity leave and maternity allowances, they can file a complaint against their employer. Before filing a formal complaint, reporting any form of first information at the time of discrimination incident is crucial. Women are asked to report rude behavior and negative treatment immediately to the law officials. It is necessary they also hold some kind of evidence to support them. The most important thing is that women should analyze their situation before taking a decision to have a child. Favorable family and economic conditions should be their top priority. This can be taken as a step of caution, to avoid any mishaps during pregnancy. Women must think if they are fully equipped to have the child or they can consider pregnancy at a later period of time. Proper food must be taken during pregnancy to cope with the physical and emotional changes that women go through during this period. In order to fight against discrimination, staying strong is important and good nutrition plays an important aspect in it. The mother is the first role model for the unborn child; it is very important that they set the standards high and care for their baby even under unusual circumstances. Social help groups and the government have come forward to establish very many programmes for pregnant women, including awareness events, health checkups, and medical aids.
Pregnant women must take this opportunity to build themselves and make the pregnancy a memorable period of their lives. Fear is the enemy, the law protects women and any form of the challenge must be faced without fear. There are a lot of un laws in the streets who do not care for anything other than money. They see pregnant women as an easily liable person who they can attack and take away their things. In such dangerous situations, the law comes second only to personal bravery and safety. In such dire situations, women have to equip themselves with items such as pepper sprays or mini knives to protect them. Informing a close relative or a friend about their whereabouts and actions can be very helpful during times of distress and discrimination. During the pregnancy period, sharing their workload and emotions as well as an important deal. The human rights and the law favor the pregnant women in all circumstances. But, special precaution must be taken from the individual as well. Being a responsible citizen and staying alert at all times is very important. Pregnant women must have all emergency contacts and social service numbers with them at all times, for example, ambulance, police, fire, etc.. They can save their spouse's name under ICE (In Case of Emergency) so that if they are unable to contact anyone, it will be easier for the others to assist them.
Canada has emerged to be one of the best nations in the world. The Canadian law gives spaces of all kinds of people to live peacefully and get justice. The Act gives women, especially pregnant women all the rights to lead a safe life in the country. No one can discriminate against them in their workplaces or even at home. The law covers a variety of social surroundings and situations, so women can move around freely and not bother about their safety. Any kind of discrimination is punishable under law and forfeiters of law will be brought to justice (Canadian Human Rights Commission).
References
- BabyCenter. Retrieved from https://www.babycenter.ca/a537568/your--pregnancy- rights-in-Canada.
- Canadianhumanrightscommission.Retrievedfromhttps://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/policy-and-best-practices-page-1.
- Kingston, D., Heaman, M., Urquia, M., O’Campo, P., Janssen, P., Thiessen, K., & Smylie, J. (2016). Correlates of abuse around the time of pregnancy: Results from a national survey of Canadian women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(4), 778–789. https://doi-org.libaccess.fdu.edu/10.1007/s10995-015-1908-6
- Kohl, J. P., & Greenlaw, P. S. (2015). The Pregnancy Discrimination Act: A Twenty Year Retrospect. Labor Law Journal, 50(1), 71–76. Retrieved from https://libaccess.fdu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libaccess.fdu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=1817015&site=ehost-live&scope=site
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