Forced sterilization of girls and women with disabilities is internationally recognized as a harmful practice based on tradition, culture, religion or superstition. Perpetrators are seldom held accountable and women and girls with disabilities who have experienced this violent abuse of their rights are rarely, if ever, able to obtain justice. Successive Australian Governments have not acknowledged this pervasive practice, nor expressed regret, nor offered redress to the women and girls affected.

This Submission looks in detail at forced sterilization as a violation of human rights and provides an analysis of how the practice contravenes every international human rights treaty to which Australia is a party. It examines the human rights treaty monitoring bodies responses to the practice of forced sterilization around the world and clearly demonstrates that Australia’s apathy and indifference to the issue sees it lagging behind the rest of the developed world, at the expense of the human rights of disabled women and girls.

This Submission has endeavoured to identify key recommendations for consideration, whilst acknowledging that much more intensive work is required. Critically, any work in this area must be based on the understanding that women and girls with disabilities must be at the forefront of any and all consultative and decision-making processes.