Human Rights Groups Call On Canada To End Coerced Sterilization Of Indigenous Women

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Last edited Sun Nov 18, 2018, 05:57 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: The Guardian

Amnesty International said it will lobby UN committee to pressure government as at least 60 women join class action lawsuit.

Human rights groups are calling on Canada to end the coerced sterilization of indigenous women, as a growing number of victims seek to join a class action lawsuit against government and medical professionals.

At least 60 women have joined a pending class action lawsuit against doctors and health officials in the province of Saskatchewan, seeking compensation for the violation of their rights. The lawsuit has yet to be certified by a judge, but this week Amnesty International announced it will lobby the UN committee against torture to increase pressure on the Canadian government to act.

"Ultimately, this is about women who are supposed to have the right to make decisions about their bodies, having that right taken away from them," said Amnesty's Jacqueline Hansen.

The women allege their fallopian tubes were tied, burned or cut in public hospitals when the women were unable to give sufficient consent - which would be a breach of both medical ethics and the law. Some of the complainants have said they were told they would not be allowed to see their newborn child unless they agreed to the procedure. -MORE...


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/18/canada-indigenous-women-coerced-sterlilization-class-action-lawsuit

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In 2015 the continued use of coerced sterilization in Saskatchewan province was exposed. Women spoke out about their experiences, an investigation was begun and the health authority issued an apology and new criteria for tubal ligations. Yet some cases occurred as recently as 2017, according to the lawsuit.

Indigenous lawyer Senator Yvonne Boyer considers the problem more widespread than thought and told the Canadian Press. "I've had many women contact me from across the country and ask me for help." Minister of Indigenous Services, Jane Philpott described the practice as "horrifying" in an interview with the Canadian Press.



CBC, Indigenous Women Coerced Into Sterilizations Across Canada: Senator
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sterilization-indigenous-1.4902303



- Senator Yvonne Boyer, senator from Ontario says "tubal ligations carried out on unwilling Indigenous women is one of the "most heinous" practices in health care happening across Canada." Boyer is a Metis lawyer and former nurse.

CBC. When she was 17 years old, Liz was coerced by a Children's Aid worker into having an abortion and being sterilized at a northwestern Ontario hospital, she says -- an experience she's carried for 40 years. "It was a matter of me almost [being] cornered, if you will, by my worker at the time saying, 'You better have an abortion because if you don't, either way, we are going to take that child from you'," Liz says. New research shows the forced sterilization of Indigenous women is not just a shameful part of Canadian history. Reports from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the territories suggest it is still happening.

Peru's Forcibly Sterilized Women Find Their Voice, Jan. 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jan/04/peru-forced-sterilisation-quipu-project-alberto-fujimori
At least 300,000 people in Peru, the vast majority women are estimated to have been sterilised between 1990 and 2000, ostensibly under a government family planning programme.