{"id":17814,"date":"2023-10-25T16:40:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T20:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cssspnql.com\/imposed-sterilizations-revealing-the-hidden-truth\/"},"modified":"2023-10-25T16:41:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T20:41:17","slug":"imposed-sterilizations-revealing-the-hidden-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cssspnql.com\/en\/imposed-sterilizations-revealing-the-hidden-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Imposed sterilizations: Revealing the hidden truth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many people are uninformed about imposed sterilization and are perplexed by this practice and the degree of violence it entails. However, to this day, Indigenous women continue to see their rights severely violated in the context of gynecology and obstetrics care. To learn more about imposed sterilizations among First Nations women, Suzy Basile and Patricia Bouchard, respectively professor and doctoral student at the Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec en Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue and authors of the first report<\/a> on imposed sterilizations in Quebec, kindly answered some of our questions.<\/p>\n\n

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In a few sentences, can you explain what imposed sterilization is?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Imposed sterilization refers to a medical procedure that permanently compromises a woman\u2019s fertility, in this case the ligation of the fallopian tubes or a hysterectomy (referred to as la grande op\u00e9ration [the big operation] in French). The situations we\u2019re interested in involve Indigenous women who did not provide their free and informed consent, either because they were not given sufficient information about the procedure and its outcome, or because the surgery was done without their knowledge. <\/p>\n\n

The Phase I report on the imposed sterilization research project was published in November 2022. Can you summarize the results and name a few findings from this first phase?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Thirty-five people took part in Phase I, which made it possible to document this phenomenon for one of the first times in Quebec. Several cases were reported in interviews, including incidents of obstetric violence, imposed abortions, and multiple violations of First Nations and Inuit women\u2019s right to free and informed consent in the context of childbirth. Looking at the testimonies as a whole, there are many commonalities between these events, even though they took place in different administrative regions and several years apart. The violence that Indigenous women experience while receiving gynecological and obstetrical care in Quebec is therefore ongoing and recurrent. <\/p>\n\n

What is Phase II of the imposed sterilization research project? What is its purpose?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

After the report was published, many women recognized themselves in the situations described by the participants and wanted to add their voices. It’s therefore important for the team to meet with them to give them an opportunity to share their stories. Also, Phase I took place during the pandemic, so we couldn\u2019t conduct in-person interviews and visit communities. Since this is a sensitive topic, some people weren\u2019t comfortable sharing this sad part of their lives on Zoom or over the phone. Now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, we were able to visit several communities this summer and are continuing to do so this fall. Phase II also documents additional topics, such as imposed abortions, birth alerts, and possible blood tests on newborns.<\/p>\n\n

Can you explain how the working group set up by the College of Physicians is contributing to this research? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The creation of a think tank on the termination of pregnancies and imposed sterilizations among First Nations and Inuit women in Quebec was one of the 31 recommendations made in the report. The College of Physicians quickly took note of this and brought together some of its members, First Nations representatives and researchers to continue the reflection and deploy a concrete action plan. The working group\u2019s mandate is expected to end in December 2023 with the presentation of measures that will be put in place by the College of Physicians to ensure that there are no longer any imposed abortions and sterilizations in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n

What are the long-term effects of imposed sterilizations on First Nations communities?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The repercussions are profound and multifaceted, starting with the victim of such an act, her family and her community. These acts of violence create a significant shock wave that causes dismay and incomprehension. Harming a woman\u2019s fertility has serious consequences on her self-esteem, femininity, conjugal relationship, and trust in health and social service professionals, among other things. In addition, there are sometimes significant health issues, such as pain and early menopause with unpleasant symptoms. <\/p>\n\n

What lessons can be drawn from these terrible events to prevent such practices from happening again in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

On the one hand, imposed sterilization is a phenomenon that can be studied from a historical perspective in many countries around the world. Yet in Canada, this severe violation of fundamental rights must be studied from two perspectives: in the past and in the present. The most recent case of imposed sterilization reported to us in Quebec occurred in 2019, which means that action must be taken here and now to prevent other Indigenous women from undergoing sterilization without their consent. The 31 recommendations made in the report are supported by other studies, as well as by the findings of various commissions of inquiry. They relate to education, prevention, sanctions and the documentation of the phenomenon. Each of these is a building block ensuring that imposed sterilization truly becomes a thing of the past in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n

What is the impact of this research to date?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

At this point, it has been 11 months since the report was made public, and there have been several noteworthy consequences:<\/p>\n\n