Czech Republic: Hard won justice for women survivors of unlawful sterilization

The Czech Senate today finally voted to compensate thousands of Roma women who were unlawfully sterilized by the Czechoslovak and subsequently Czech authorities between 1966 and 2012, following a long campaign for justice by survivors.

Women were coerced into signing consent forms, often while they were in labour or recovering from C sections

Barbora Černušáková, Amnesty International

Barbora Černušáková, Amnesty International’s researcher on the Czech Republic, said:

“Thousands of women, the majority of whom were Roma, were sterilized in the former Czechoslovakia. Women were coerced into signing consent forms, often while they were in labour or recovering from Caesarean sections. In many cases they were not told what they were agreeing to. This was a gross violation of their rights, including the right to be free from torture, or ill-treatment; and a shameful chapter in the country’s history.

“Today’s vote will finally establish a path to justice for survivors of unlawful sterilizations. For decades these brave women have had to live with the trauma they were subjected to at the hands of the authorities, yet they never gave up fighting for their rights.”

No amount of money will bring us back the chance to have more children, but the compensation is important for justice

Elena Gorolová, a survivor of unlawful sterilization

Elena Gorolová, a survivor of unlawful sterilization who has been campaigning for justice for years, said:

“The compensation bill means a lot for me after all these years of struggle. Although the government apologized to us in 2009, it wasn’t enough. What kept me going was the fellow women who suffered sterilizations and had to live with it.”

“No amount of money will bring us back the chance to have more children, but the compensation is important for justice. A lot of things happened during all those years. We got older and some of us have died, but I kept telling myself: you cannot just let it be.”

“The struggle is not over. Our group of volunteers will now be helping survivors to prepare the evidence and submit their applications for compensation. It won’t be easy, but these women deserve it.”

Unlawful sterilizations happened in a context of widespread discrimination against Roma people, which impacted every aspect of their daily life and continues to do so: from schools, through employment to housing where they routinely experience racial segregation and being pushed to the margins.

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture made it clear that sterilizations amount to a treatment of intrusive and irreversible nature. When lacking a therapeutic purpose and administered without the free and informed consent, they constitute torture or ill-treatment, prohibited by Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Amnesty International press office at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7413 5566. 

Background

After years of campaigning by survivors including Elena Gorolová, the Czech government in 2009 apologized to them for the unlawful sterilizations. However, until now their human right to redress for the severe harm they endured has been denied, and any form of judicial remedy has been inaccessible for most survivors due to the statute of limitations.

According to the Czech Ombudsman, thousands of Roma women were sterilized in the former Czechoslovakia. The compensation bill adopted by the Senate applies to any person who was unlawfully sterilized between 1966 and 2012.

Survivors of unlawful sterilizations will be eligible for compensation of 300,000 CZK (10,000 GBP), which must be applied for through the Ministry of Healthcare, within three years of the law entering into force.

The new law establishes a process for women who were subjected to this procedure to apply  for compensation, which includes requirements  to provide evidence supporting the claim; and a description of the case, including the name of the hospital where the unlawful sterilization was carried out.

As documented by the European Roma Rights Centre, the sterilization procedure was often performed at the same time as caesarean sections or women were presented with consent forms when in great pain or distress during labour or delivery. However, there were also cases when Roma women underwent the procedure after threats to institutionalize their children or withdraw welfare benefits.