Although the South African government’s position that it is not its policy to carry out forced sterilisation, cases are allegedly emerging which are a contradiction to government’s standing on the issue.
The State’s policies are progressive and there are requirements that must be met before a sterilisation will be considered valid. However, forced sterilisations allegedly take place at the most opportunistic time – when the pregnant woman has to undergo a caesarian section.
In June and July last year, the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) instituted two damage claims against public hospitals on behalf of women who are HIV positive, who were sterilised without their informed consent. Both women alleged that the sterilisations were related to their HIV status.
Jody-Lee Fredericks, attorney at WLC explained, “World Aids Day takes place on 1 December and it needs to be highlighted that this is not an uncommon practice and that women must come forward, because unless they do, it will be difficult to put an end to the practice. Currently, the statistics are vague and this is another reason why they should come forward. More accurate statistics will reveal exactly what the extent of the problem is.”
Read: Forced sterilisations against HIV positive women must end
Fredericks feels that the South African government needs to do more to investigate cases of forced sterilisation in public hospitals, especially with regard to women who are HIV positive.
According to WLC, 48 women came forward between 2011 and 2014, claiming they had been forced to undergo sterilisations by health care workers in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The Sterilisation Act of 1998 is clear in stating that when a woman needs to be sterilised, her informed consent must be obtained. The Act actually provides rules as to how the consent must be obtained. And more importantly, that a woman must fully understand that the procedure is permanent and she will not be able to bear children ever again.
“The South African Constitution makes it clear that every woman has the right to make decisions about her own reproductive health. With coerced sterilisation, this right is taken away from her. In these cases, the women are not making the decision for themselves – someone else is,” Fredericks highlighted.
