The EFF party has filed criminal charges against the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE).
A report in The Citizen notes that EFF national chairperson Veronica Mente briefed police about the party’s complaint. The charges relate to alleged forced sterilisation of women in state hospitals. Two reports by the HRC and CGE refer to women who are HIV-positive being sterilised without their knowledge.
The HRC’s report, titled The People Living with HIV Stigma Index: South Africa 2014, states that 7% (476 women) of respondents reported being forcefully sterilised. The EFF’s Leigh Mathys wrote to the HRC requesting the organisation investigate the identity of the complainants so they could access justice. But the legal officer responding to the request passed the buck to the CGE, saying “the investigation and relief sort does not fall within the ambit of the commission’s powers”.
The EFF said both Chapter Nine institutions not only dropped the ball regarding tackling the alleged human rights violations against women identified, but they must also be criminally charged as accessories after the fact. “None of these institutions reported these findings to SAPS or the NPA,” said Mathys.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
HPCSA investigation into forced sterilisations 'ongoing'
Commission's report implicates the State in forced sterilisation of HIV+ women
HIV positive women face forced sterilisation
KZN women sue over 'forced sterilisation'