Of 72 reported sterilizations, 20 women had been coerced or forced to undergo this irreversible operation. Most cases occurred in government hospitals during childbirth when the woman got a C-section. The average age at which sterilization took place was 29. Eleven women were forced to undergo sterilization. Health workers had failed to inform them properly about the procedure. They didn’t sign a consent form. Some of them only found out years later when they failed to conceive. Nine women were coerced to undergo sterilization. In these cases mothers were misinformed. For example they understood that the procedure would be reversible: ‘tied’ tubes could be ‘untied’ later on. Or health workers convinced them that sterilization would be the best option regarding their health.
The most common and significant effects are psycho-social (trauma), loss of female identity, abandonment by spouses and gender-based violence due to the inability to conceive children. A number of the women reported social isolation – inability to fit in the community and family. The demands from husbands for more children greatly impacted on their social wellbeing.
ICWEA demands:
Government and civil society undertakes skills enhancement of women living with HIV to increase their ability to negotiate and resist the violations and seek legal redress whenever such violations occur;
Promote psychosocial support to women experiencing SRHR violations through establishment of counseling services at the community level.
Note: After World AIDS Day, we will share a few experiences of women who have been forced and/or coerced into sterilization
November 30, 2015
