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Gender

Médecins du Monde is committed to promoting health for all, and especially for the people who are the most socially excluded from health systems. This is why we fight for non-discriminatory healthcare and combat inequalities. We promote and implement gender equality actions not only where we operate, but also through our internal policies.

The following principles guide our actions at all levels of our organization:

Looking at the context: Taking into account gender inequalities and discrimination specific to each context
Collaboration and coordination: Bearing a message shared with the entire MdM community on gender issues
Defending human rights: Advocating gender equality as a human right
Intersectionality: Considering how gender overlaps with other factors of discrimination such as age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, or disability
Questioning and fighting gender inequalities in healthcare: Implementing approaches such as empowerment and co-responsibility, which promote gender equality
Participation: Ensuring input from all relevant stakeholders, including users of the services
Promoting people’s bodily, psychological, and sexual autonomy: Fighting gender-based violence and promoting sexual and reproductive rights
Recognition of diversity: Taking into account the diversity of situations and people when responding to gender issues
Addressing gender-specific healthcare needs: Equipping teams and adapting services to meet people’s gender-specific needs
Cross-functionality: Mainstreaming the gender approach into actions in the field and in the way MdM operates

Health : a gender issue?

Gender as a social determinant of health

Médecins du Monde considers health as a biopsychosocial situation determined by people’s circumstances and way of life. Various factors condition people’s vulnerability to diseases, their use of care, and their ability to access and exercise their right to health: these are the social determinants of health.

Among these determinants, gender – in conjunction with other factors such as social class, age, ethnicity, and sex – is considered one of the social determinants with the greatest impact on people’s health. It will determine how women, men, and non-binary persons will become ill and how they should be treated.

Gender at the heart of our health actions

Médecins du Monde mainstreams gender throughout the project cycle in a cross-functional way. Doing so enables us to adapt our actions and address the gender-specific needs of the people with whom we work, as well as question and transform the gender inequalities that have an impact on health and on the exercise of the right to health.

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Empowerment

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Gender in societal issues

Bodily, sexual, and psychological autonomy

As part of its feminist commitment, Médecins du Monde takes a holistic approach to health that includes:

promoting and defending the sexual and reproductive rights of all people;
eliminating all forms of violence– and more specifically gender-based violence – that have an impact on the health of women, men and LGBTQI+ people who suffer from that violence; and
promoting positive mental health, which improves the well-being of all.

Gender-based and sexual violence in the workplace

Médecins du Monde has taken organization-wide measures to address gender issues. For instance, we are committed to promoting a culture of gender equality, non-discrimination, and non-sexism. In line with this commitment, we have established a policy to fight harassment, abuse, and sexual and gender-based exploitation.

This policy defines sexism as “a discriminatory attitude towards an individual because of their sex or, by extension, their gender” and distinguishes between ordinary, benevolent, and hostile sexism. It aids in identifying sexist behavior, sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation. It also highlights the existing mechanisms to prevent this type of violence and to protect the people involved in Médecins du Monde, by making our institution a place free of violence.