SOUTH AFRICA; AT LEAST 15 HOSPITALS AND 48 STAFF HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN COERCED OR FORCED STERILISATION OF WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS; ALLEGED NEWS. [1] A report by the Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa investigated reported cases and found that staff at the hospitals were party to gross human rights violations, as well as those of reproductive rights: Alleged News. [1]
Abortion without consent
Buyiselwa Daweti said her horrific ordeal with a private hospital in Cosmo City in 2002 inspired her to fight for reproductive health rights and awareness, especially for vulnerable women sterilised against their will; Alleged News. [1]
"I had an abortion without my consent, which is in line with [forced] sterilisation, based on a lie by a doctor, who said my twins were not growing. He gave me tablets stating he wanted the twins to grow. The next day, I had a miscarriage, which I thought was natural," Daweti said.[1]
Forced sterilisations
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), a Chapter 9 institution, released its report on 24th February 2020 revealing how hospitals forced and coerced women to agree to being sterilised, Alleged News. [2] The cases of violated women date back to 2001, Alleged News. [2] Some of the women made to sign sterilisation agreements while in severe pain only learned later from private gynaecologists that their fallopian tubes had been cut during labour, Alleged News. [2]
Learned during labour
Other women learned during labour that they would be sterilised, allegedly after hospital doctors told them women with HIV should not have children; Alleged News. [2] The CGE found that the women were made to sign forms under duress, as they were threatened with not being assisted with caesarean procedures they needed: Alleged News. [2]
CGE investigators visited 15 hospitals in Kwazulua-Natal and Gauteng with regard to the probe: the hospitals included Tembisa Hospital, Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg, Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi, Addington Hospital in Durban and Lower Umfolozi Hospital in Empangeni; Alleged News. [2]
Hostility
Detailing the hostility that she faced at a public hospital, one victim recalled a nurse telling her to stop asking too many questions because she was HIV positive: Alleged News. [2]
"Too many children"
In another case, Ms A claimed she went to Nkandla Hospital for ante-natal care in September 2011 but was not informed that she would be sterilised, Alleged News. [2] "The patient was not aware she was being sterilised until the doctor informed her. On inquiring about the matter, she was informed she was being sterilised because she had too many children," CGE chairperson Tamara Mathebula said, Alleged News. [2]
Gross human rights violation
Forced sterilisation was recognised as a gross human rights and medical ethics violation - often described as an act of torture, cruelty, inhumane and degrading - by a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur, Alleged News. [1]
Look into findings
The commission ordered that the Nursing Council of SA, the Health Professional's Council of SA, as well as the national health department look into findings implicating hospital staff found to have participated in the transgressions: Alleged News. [1]
UNAIDS statement
On 28 February 2020, a statement was issued from Geneva by UNAIDS, Alleged News. [3] UNAIDS has acknowledged the South African Commission on Gender Equality's February 2020 report and findings that women living with HIV have been subjected to forced and/or coerced sterilisation; Alleged News. [3]
UNAIDS thanked the International Community of Women Living with HIV, and Her Rights Initiative for bringing the cases to the attention of the Commission and UNAIDS commended the Commission for demanding a response; Alleged News. [3]
[1] Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni, "Hospitals, staff fingered for sterilisation", Alleged News
The Citizen newspaper, South Africa, Tuesday 25 February 2020;
[2] Bongani Nkosi, "Hospitals 'coerced' women to sterilise", Alleged News
The Star South Africa, 25 February 2020
[3] UNAIDS statement on the forced and coerced sterilization of women living with HIV, Alleged News
With thanks to The Citizen, The Star and unaids.org
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