The unborn are direct victims of prenatal domestic violence. The International Conference “Neuroscience, Prenatal and Postnatal Violence, and Legal and Forensic Protection: Towards integrated protection for mothers,unborn children, and children” (Strasbourg, European Parliament, 3.12.2025) was a success.
The excellent experts who intervened outlined the scientific evidence that shows the link between children health and domestic violence during pregnancy. Neuroscience demonstrates that trauma suffered during this phase profoundly affects fetal brain development, with potential long-term consequences for the child’s neurological development, psychological well-being, and cognitive abilities. The speech of Attorney Marco Bona, chairman of the Tort Reform and Access to Justice Group of the Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL), was about the right to health of the unborn and the children under the European legal framework.In theory their right to health is absolute and unbreacheable. However, in reality the legal protection of unborn and children is still far away from being ideal. Reality differs from the actual fulfilment of fundamental rights.
Breaches by the States of their positive obligations to protect unborn, maternity and children together with the cuts to public welfare also due to war economy are among the factors that reduce the pursue of basic human rights. However, as to the unborn the general lack of awareness of their rights is an additional factor that needs to be addressed with efforts similar to the ones employed in relation to the shortage of sensibleness about the seriousness of perinatal babyloss. It is necessary to bring the authorities and society to “see” these silent invisible victims. Accordingly, the laws addressing the protection of victims against domestic violence as well as any other crime affecting the health and future personality of the unborn should be amended in order to avoid any doubt as to the inclusion of the unborn within the notion of victim: the fetuses are direct victims of domestic violence taking place during pregnancy; they are not mere invisible spectators.
Information about the conference can be found at the following link: https://www.psafinternational.org/.