How one local lawyer is bringing awareness to a global health crisis for women of colour

Posted on 29 August, 2024

“My vision is for women of colour to feel safe enough to share their stories and to feel heard within the medical system.”

Lawyer Thuto Disele has a simple yet powerful wish – that we address the fact that women of colour suffer a higher maternal mortality rate than white mothers. One of the ways she says we can do this is through better awareness and more supportive frameworks across medicine.

Fresh from presenting on the topic at the Australian Lawyers Alliance Medical Law Conference, Thuto, an Associate at Maliganis Edwards Johnson (MEJ), says that she was drawn to the topic for both personal and professional reasons.

“I was alarmed by the rates of maternal mortality in neighbouring countries and how this could possibly affect people like me living in a multicultural country like Australia,” she says. “The insight I was able to gain through my research provided a deeper understanding of the historical reasons behind the disparity and mistrust for the health system in black communities which has manifested into what is now identified as implicit bias.”

Thuto Disele.

Thuto explains that her presentation “challenged medical and legal practitioners to evaluate the racial bias and disparities embedded in our medical systems as a result of historical traumas”, something that she sees first-hand.

“Medical negligence practice at MEJ includes many obstetric related which focus on birth trauma injuries whether that be physical or psychological. My research in relation to mortality rates and or birth trauma-related claims concerning women of colour is an avenue I would like to expand upon with our medical negligence team.”

“It is time to broaden our understanding of what is classified as a breach of duty of care resulting in medical negligence. With such an understanding, medical practitioners should be held accountable for failing to deliver patient-centred care based on what they know or ought to know.”

As well as promoting a broader understanding of these biases and disparities, Thuto’s vision for the future is one of agency for women of colour, where voices will be heard.

“One of the major contributing features of this disparity is the burden placed on these patients to advocate for themselves in a system which is systematically designed to silence their concerns,” she explains. “Therefore, my vision is to create a platform for victims to gain compensation in a meaningful way, against medical practitioners who have failed to turn their minds to the needs of their patients, resulting in avoidable injuries.”

Thuto at the Australian Lawyers Alliance Conference.

As for the reception to her presentation, Thuto says there is widespread hope among the legal community that something can be done – and soon – on both a global and local scale.

“Speaking to my colleagues in the industry this is something that is concerning a lot of Australians. However, case law is lacking and as legal practitioners we need such precedents to develop a blueprint for future claims, that’s why it is so important for people to come forward with their stories.”

“It is obviously a very sensitive topic which needs to be understood further to ensure such issues do not go untreated in what is now a multicultural country. The presentation was overall well received and, in my opinion, began a very important conversation.”

If this article raised concerns about your own treatment and you have legal questions you want to raise, you can connect with Thuto and her team at Maliganis Edwards Johnson.