Dr. Lluïsa Garcia Esteve, psychiatrist and president of the Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Health (CVMIS) at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona was acknowledged by the Spanish Government, in the category of institutional response against violence “for promoting the multidisciplinary protocol for comprehensive care against sexual violence, a national and international benchmark, and for her tireless dedication and commitment to gender-based violence from the field of health“, according to the jury.
In her speech at the event, Dr. Garcia Esteve expressed her gratitude for the recognition of the importance of addressing, treating and caring for the health of women exposed to gender-based violence. And she stressed the fact that people often forget that gender-based violence is a public health issue that causes death, illness and suffering. Dr. Garcia Esteve also wished to share this recognition with the Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Health team, the great sensitivity of all the professionals involved at the hospital, and the managers of the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, who have given institutional support. During her speech, Dr. Garcia Esteve also shared it with health professionals in Spain who work, often going beyond their responsibilities, to improve the health and quality of life of women and their children who suffer violence. To close her speech, she dedicated this honour to “all the women who have placed their trust in us by seeking support and scientific knowledge to recover their health. This award is for all of them!”
Career of Dr. Lluïsa Garcia Esteve
Dr. Lluïsa Garcia Esteve is a psychiatrist, with an interest in incorporating the gender perspective into mental health. She is specialized in perinatal mental health and in the care of victims of gender-based violence. She graduated in medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1980 and specialized in Psychiatry at the University of Barcelona. She has also been a doctor of Medicine since 1990. For over 30 years, she has worked at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, where she is a senior consultant in the Psychiatry Service, and was the head of the Perinatal Health Unit from 2018 to 2021. Dr. Garcia Esteve created the first Perinatal Psychiatry programme in Spain, which has treated thousands of women with mental disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and in 2004, the Programme for the Prevention and Treatment of Psychological Sequelae in Sexually Assaulted Women. Moreover, she has dedicated herself to research in maternity and mental health at IDIBAPS (August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute) and has participated in the creation of clinical guidelines and training in perinatal mental health and gender-based violence and mental health, for other health professionals.
At present, she is president of the Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Health and, in this discipline the Clínic has become a benchmark in the comprehensive and proactive response to sexual assaults, collaborating with various institutions and associations in this task.
Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Health
The Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Health at the Hospital Clínic Barcelona was created in the early 1990s in response to the need for professionals from A&E and other clinical areas to treat victims adequately and comprehensively, with due diligence, avoiding revictimization and institutional violence. Likewise, the CVMIS has worked in collaboration with the Barcelona Circuit against Gender-Based Violence, health services, the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police force), the Institute of Legal and Forensic Medicine, the Ministry of Justice and other services and associations specialized in dealing with gender-based violence.
The CVMIS currently continues to lead initiatives to raise awareness and improve the institutional response to gender-based violence, consolidating itself as an example of best practice at national and international levels.
