Health law and policy may not initially appear closely linked to EU equality law; however, the two are strongly interconnected. Through legal frameworks such as the Goods and Services Directive, the Recast Directive, and the Violence Against Women Directive, EU law influences gender equality in access to healthcare both directly and indirectly. This report explores these connections by drawing on comparative national expertise related to healthcare coverage, gender-sensitive medical care, obstetric violence, and sexual harassment within healthcare environments.

The comparative findings highlight significant gaps in healthcare coverage that disproportionately affect women. In many Member States, treatments primarily required by women such as abortion services, contraception, and care for endometriosis often lack adequate funding. In addition, shortages of specialists in countries including Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom further limit access to care. For instance, in the UK alone, approximately 750,000 women remain on waiting lists for gynaecological treatment.

In the areas of medical research and education, the continued reliance on a “male-as-default” model contributes to systematic shortcomings in diagnosing and treating women’s health conditions. In the Netherlands, up to 80 percent of patients with medically unexplained conditions are women. Similarly, in France, limited awareness of how heart attacks manifest differently in women can lead to treatment delays of up to 15 minutes. Across many countries, the problem is exacerbated by “medical gaslighting,” where women’s reports of pain or symptoms are frequently dismissed or underestimated.

Although most surveyed countries have anti-discrimination laws in place, relevant case law addressing discrimination in healthcare remains notably limited. Several barriers hinder enforcement, including patients’ difficulty in recognising and proving discriminatory treatment, significant power imbalances between healthcare providers and patients, fragmented complaint procedures, and equality bodies that often lack sufficient authority and resources to intervene effectively.
 

Source: https://www.uu.nl/en/news/gender-discrimination-and-inequality-in-access-to-healthcare-in-the-eu