Page 167 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 167
Monoligual Health?
‘my little darky.’ Despite the fact that she points out that it did not bother her,
it is necessary to draw attention to the problem of these forms of address.
Some migrants highlight the discriminatory behaviour of healthcare pro-
fessionals towards migrant women.
When I gave birth, it was a little bit problematic for me too, the nurses,
I think they were racists, some of them. You cannot avoid it, so for me it
was OK, as long as you are doing your job. As long as you are treating
me as the others, it is not necessary to talk with me. I see that some of
them are like that. You noticed it. And not only me, also towards other
women who come from different countries.
As presented below, discriminatory behaviour is often based on visual dis-
tinctiveness:
She behaved as if she was better than me [the nurse, MS], I felt that she
was watching me. [. . .] She only sees a person from the outside. Then I
told her that I was also a secretary that [. . .] that like her, I, know how to
use a computer, I can work. Then she was quiet.
While migrant women also presented positive experiences, we exposed
practices that are problematic because they violate the right to equal treat-
ment in the Slovenian health system (defined in the Patients’ Rights Act⁵.)
– those that are based on unequal power positions and reproduce existing
social relations on the axis of domination and subordination.
Healthcare Access
Despite the declarative universality of the right to healthcare, the inclusion
or exclusion of beneficiaries of health services depends on their legal status.
The Slovenian system of access to health services is based on health insur-
ance, which means that migrants have access to health services if they are in-
cluded in health insurance; otherwise, they will only be entitled to free emer-
gency treatment. In this respect, the Slovenian system mostly protects regu-
lar employees and their family members with permanent residence in Slove-
nia (Rajgelj, 2012). Bofulin and Bešter (2010) highlight the existence of a gap
between relatively well-regulated formal access to Slovenian healthcare and
actual unimpeded access to quality healthcare. They identify one of the ob-
stacles as the lack of information about the health system and the rights de-
⁵ Zakon o pacientovih pravicah, see http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO4281
165
‘my little darky.’ Despite the fact that she points out that it did not bother her,
it is necessary to draw attention to the problem of these forms of address.
Some migrants highlight the discriminatory behaviour of healthcare pro-
fessionals towards migrant women.
When I gave birth, it was a little bit problematic for me too, the nurses,
I think they were racists, some of them. You cannot avoid it, so for me it
was OK, as long as you are doing your job. As long as you are treating
me as the others, it is not necessary to talk with me. I see that some of
them are like that. You noticed it. And not only me, also towards other
women who come from different countries.
As presented below, discriminatory behaviour is often based on visual dis-
tinctiveness:
She behaved as if she was better than me [the nurse, MS], I felt that she
was watching me. [. . .] She only sees a person from the outside. Then I
told her that I was also a secretary that [. . .] that like her, I, know how to
use a computer, I can work. Then she was quiet.
While migrant women also presented positive experiences, we exposed
practices that are problematic because they violate the right to equal treat-
ment in the Slovenian health system (defined in the Patients’ Rights Act⁵.)
– those that are based on unequal power positions and reproduce existing
social relations on the axis of domination and subordination.
Healthcare Access
Despite the declarative universality of the right to healthcare, the inclusion
or exclusion of beneficiaries of health services depends on their legal status.
The Slovenian system of access to health services is based on health insur-
ance, which means that migrants have access to health services if they are in-
cluded in health insurance; otherwise, they will only be entitled to free emer-
gency treatment. In this respect, the Slovenian system mostly protects regu-
lar employees and their family members with permanent residence in Slove-
nia (Rajgelj, 2012). Bofulin and Bešter (2010) highlight the existence of a gap
between relatively well-regulated formal access to Slovenian healthcare and
actual unimpeded access to quality healthcare. They identify one of the ob-
stacles as the lack of information about the health system and the rights de-
⁵ Zakon o pacientovih pravicah, see http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO4281
165
