The continuum of violence against women: Gynecological violence within the Medical Model in Chile

•A definition of gynecological violence is introduced.•Partial evidence of the relationship between gynecological violence and belonging to marginalized social categories is provided.•The highest probability of being exposed to violence is reported for various categories that overlap with that of persons assigned at birth as women.•Gender biases within the medical model and the intersectional nature of violence are discussed. This study aims to investigate the presence of gynecological violence within the health system in Chile, quantify the magnitude of this problem, define its general contours, and shed light on a phenomenon that has long been silenced. Additionally, we are interested in detecting differences between public and private health services, as well as exploring the role played by variables such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and educational level in contributing to the prevalence of gynecological violence. This study employed a cross-sectional and not probabilistic sampling approach. It included a sample of 1503 women from all regions of Chile, who were of legal age and who had attended gynecological services. A questionnaire was applied between January 2021 and April 2022 using the online platform SurveyMonkey®. Data were collected through the second national survey on obstetric and gynecological violence (GinObs 2021). The study adheres to activist research methodologies and was conducted in collaboration with activists and academic researchers. 57.9% of the women participants reported having experienced violence. Such violence appears to occur most frequently in the public health system, although not exclusively, and the victims are often people who belong to native ethnic groups, who identify as of African descent, whose sexual orientation is lesbian, who are elderly, and who have a lower level of education. Gynecological violence is an integral part of the continuum of violence against women and is consistently reported in both public and private health services. This form of violence has serious consequences for women's health and constitutes a significant public health problem.