Discrimination Against Women and Young Girls in the Health Sector

In August 2006 a survey was sent by the European Institute of Women's Health to a series of expert advisors in eight European countries requesting information for a report to the European Parliament on the topic of "Discrimination Against Women and Girls in the Health Sector".

The questions were as follows:

1. How would you describe the state of women's health in your country?

2. Are there any specific health policies for women?

3. Are health policies that are supposed to affect both women and men, designed differently for men and women?

4. Choose three issues from the list and describe how they apply to women in your country:

5. Are there any healthcare policies specifically for young girls?

6. Have you an example of ‘best practice’ in women’s health in your country?

7. Can you tell us anything more about how gender influences patterns of health in your country?

As specified in the tender, the countries for this study were Belgium, Bulgaria Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK). We include a short summary for each of these countries followed by the information received from each country expert.