Born and developed since the 1990s in Latin America, it is only in the last decade that the term obstetric violence has been recognised globally as a legal and social category. Defined as abuse by caregivers experienced by women during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care, this phenomenon intersects with other axes of structural inequality such as gender, nationality, class, race and religion, producing a negative and often violent experience of these periods. Although this concept is far from unanimous in the public and political space, several studies show the impact of abuse in perinatal care. In particular, research reveals that migrant women are more likely to experience racialisation processes, discrimination in access to care and differential care. The paper examines, from an intersectional perspective, obstetric violence against South Asian women in France. The presentation is based on an ethnographic research began in 2022, conducted with health professionals and South Asian women in public health services in the Seine-Saint-Denis district (France). The paper traces the history of 'obstetric violence' term in France in order to highlight the constitution of different practices and knowledge mobilised in the obstetrical context to deal - or not - with this type of violence. Integrating an intersectional analysis helps to reveal the dynamics that can shape women's vulnerabilities, highlighting the constant renegotiations of power relations within a network of existing oppressions. Finally, the paper underlines the production, reproduction, transformation and contestation of reproductive health experiences and norms - related to gender, sexuality, class, caste, religion and race - that govern relations between women and health professionals. The paper reveal the systemic violence experienced by allophone women and show how race and class articulate to produce specific oppressions for non-white women with a migratory experience, which may be invisibilised in the caregiving relationship.
