BEST DOCUMENTARY At Your Cervix
At Your Cervix is the first documentary to expose the little-known practice of the non-consensual use of patients as 'practice dummies' by the American medical education system. In an era when conversations about both consent and reproductive justice
are paramount, it shines a light on the use of anesthetized or
unconscious patients by medical students to practice pelvic examinations
without the knowledge or consent of those patients.
The film goes inside medical schools and hospitals, following students as they try to reconcile their personal ethics with the abusive learning methods they encounter, allowing the audience to hear the stories of students and practitioners who, in order to learn, conducted non-consensual pelvic examinations on unconscious patients. It traces this abusive practice back to the genesis of modern gynecology and the modern American healthcare system - both of which were built on a foundation of racism, misogyny, and violence.
The film also introduces the audience to patients who have been victims of this practice - having entrusted their well-being to physicians who swore an oath to do no harm. They awoke after surgery or sedatives only to find they had been assaulted by the people and the system that was supposed to take care of them. Finally, the film introduces the audience to an alternative - the Gynecological Teaching Associate (GTA). An ethical and effective way of teaching that has existed for over 40 years, At Your Cervix shines a hopeful light on GTAs as the best way forward, empowering medical students to become holistic, compassionate, skilled physicians by making the "patients" themselves the teachers.
The Whistleblower Summit & Film Festival, the world's first and only festival by whistleblowers, for whistleblowers (advocates and journalists), is excited to announce an Extended Festival Run. It is your last chance to watch anything you may have missed during the summit. It's a week-long all-access pass from now through Sunday, August 6. It's not too late to watch what you want--when you want. This is your last chance to catch the award-winning films and unique discussion panels.
