Government has been slammed for its prevarication and failure to assist the HIV-positive victims of forced and coerced sterilisation, reports The Citizen.
Local NGO Her Rights Initiative (HRI), a social impact organisation that advocates for the sexual and reproductive rights of women, says more than 100 HIV-positive women were sterilised without their consent between 2007 and 2023, and has accused the Department of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities of doing nothing to help the victims.
A 2020 report by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) found that the Department of Health had violated 26 laws, including those related to women’s rights to dignity, bodily integrity and bodily security, concluding that HIV-positive women were subjected to forced and coerced sterilisations.
HRI founder Sethembiso Mthembu told The Citizen her organisation had repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to convince the department to intervene and fight for the victims’ rights.
“It is neglecting these women, and it’s siding with the government. This is contradictory because their mandate is to address the problems facing women,” she added.
Victims fight for justice
Since the victims had begun their fight for justice, ”the only thing the department did was issue a statement – a few years ago – condemning coerced and forced sterilisation”.
She said at one stage, the department had organised a consultative event, “but cancelled at the eleventh hour”.
“When we asked why, they told us that the Health Department had instructed them not to get involved in the issue. All we want is for them to agree to meet us to talk about the issue.
“We need them to collaborate with us and put pressure on the government to compensate the affected women through the Department of Social Development because some of the victims are even unable to work. We also want the department to run a victim support campaign.”
State slow to move
She accused the government of continually stalling, telling Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health last year that the victims had received no financial compensation, nor any form of redress for pain and suffering.
“This violates their right to access to justice and an effective remedy. The state has not provided programmes for mental health treatment, treatment of sterilisation side effects and gynaecological-urinary complications, nor any form of social support to the victims,” she said.
The Citizen article – HIV positive women fight for justice after sterilisation (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
MPs demand action after forced sterilisations on HIV+ women
HPCSA investigation into forced sterilisations ‘ongoing’
Commission’s report implicates the State in forced sterilisation of HIV+ women