The story appears on

Page A12

September 2, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeWorld

Sterilization in Canada 鈥榳idespread鈥

The coercive sterilization of indigenous women in Canadian health centers during the 1970s was more widespread than previously believed, with impoverished communities in the north disproportionately targeted, a researcher has found.

The Canadian government was often aware of the problem, but did not act to stop it, said Karen Stote, a women鈥檚 studies professor at Waterloo, Ontario-based Wilfrid Laurier University who conducted archival research for a recently released study.

Historical documents do not say how many of the nearly 1,200 sterilization cases, including more than 550 at federally operated 鈥淚ndian鈥 hospitals between 1971 and 1974, were undertaken by force or fraud, but evidence suggests coercion was widespread, Stote said.

鈥淐onsent forms (for sterilizations) were not translated into indigenous languages, people weren鈥檛 necessarily understanding what was happening in the doctor鈥檚 office,鈥 Stote said.

鈥淚n some areas, they (doctors working for the government) were promoting birth control to reduce the size of indigenous communities,鈥 she said, calling the sterilizations a symptom of broader colonialism.

Stote鈥檚 study 鈥淎n Act of Genocide: Colonialism and Sterilization of Aboriginal Women鈥 is not the first to document the practice, but her research suggests the problem was more widespread than previously thought. Alberta province has apologized and paid compensation for past sterilization campaigns on people considered mentally challenged and other disadvantaged groups.


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend