Child abuse thrives in conditions of secrecy and cover-up. Disclosure is perhaps our greatest weapon in the limited armoury we have against it. Yet as of the 1 July 2015, the Border Force Act imposes a two-year prison sentence for any ‘entrusted person’ who makes a record of or discloses ‘protected information’. As there is no explicit exclusion of health workers reporting on child abuse, World Medical Association leaders have said they must assume that this ‘extends to doctors working in refugee centres who report on their observations arising from their work.’

When a friend told me that two of her children had been homebirthed and she was thinking of having her third in a hospital, it was the answer that a friend of hers gave which made me sit up and take note. ‘What makes you think going to hospital will make the birth any easier?’ […]

Me: I really don’t want to have a caesarean. I don’t think I’ll need to, but if I do, I’d like it on record that I’d like my tubes tied while they’re in there Doc: (guffawing) You’re what, nearly thirty? Me: Sorry, how is that relevant? Doc: Well, it’s just that that’s a pretty major […]