Know Your Rights
Am I a survivor?
Many survivors may not realize that they are survivors. If this applies to you, you are not alone. Are you wondering…
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Were you sterilized with or without your knowledge?
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Were you pressured by medical staff or social service supports?
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Are you unsure whether you gave consent?
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Were there confusing circumstances around your giving consent?
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Do you often wonder if the decision was truly yours?
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Do you have questions generally about your sterilization experience?
Answering yes to any of these questions MAY indicate that you are a survivor.
For more clarity, support or to talk to someone on our team please contact us.
Indigenous women, men, Two-Spirit, and transgender people have the right to be able and empowered to freely and responsibly make decisions about their own bodies, including if, when, and how many children to have.
In many Nations, there are teachings that surround the roles of women, men, and Two-Spirit in the community as well as Creation stories that connect spirit, purpose, and free will. The history of forced sterilization in Canada demonstrates the erosion of rights of Indigenous people through colonization.
In 2014, the World Health Organization released an interagency statement for “Eliminating forced, coercive, and otherwise involuntary sterilization.” The international statement partners are:
The following guiding principles were established as an international standard of what full free and informed consent means:
Autonomy of decision-making
Provision of information and support
Access to medical records
Without discrimination
The Canada Health Act does not currently define valid consent. The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia has been exploring forced sterilization and consent, defining consent as a basic human right within health care. The FNHA’s consent and coercion guide for health care practitioners quotes lawyer Alisa Lombard, who stated that: “Consent in the context of sterilization specifically requires acute attention to the fiduciary relationship between patient and physician which always governs that relationship. Bodily autonomy is inalienable, and consent requires rigorous—not casual—adherence to the legal requirements of consent. The inalienable right to bodily autonomy is subject to the legal tenets of proper and informed consent, which include capacity, specificity, voluntariness and information.”
The Criminal Code of Canada does not specifically address health. Currently, the issue of forced sterilization falls under aggravated assault. Bill S-250 will amend the Criminal Code by criminalizing forced sterilization. The bill identifies the Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice as the recognized body to advance a universally understood national standard of full, free, and informed consent around sterilization procedures.
Current consent standards taught to health professionals exist across multiple jurisdictions and are interpreted in various ways. The Canadian Medical Association defines the following requirements for valid consent: “For consent to serve as a defense to allegations of either negligence or assault and battery, it must meet certain requirements. The consent must have been voluntary, the patient must have had the capacity to consent, and the patient must have been properly informed.”
Survivor to Survivor
“You have the right to change your mind. You have the right to say no. You have the right to take time to process information.”
“In hindsight, the pressure to decide was instant, and there was no time to process, so I know now that I wouldn’t have allowed the process to go so fast. I would have called support like an Indigenous navigator or liaison worker, doula or midwife, and I think patients need to know they shouldn’t feel pressured or coerced into decisions. Me I don’t like disappointing people, and I experienced the need to go along with what the doctors were telling me. Now that I’ve gone through healing, I worry that those who still are living in trauma states can’t say no or that the information is only available once, and decisions need to be made after the information is provided to you. You deserve to have the emotional, mental and spiritual capacity to process information about sterilization before consenting.”
“For me, I did say no. They did it anyway. I was physically unable to help myself. If this happens, what do you do? I wish I had my partner or support there. They made my husband leave; they asked him to sign papers, and he refused and got mad, and then they asked him to leave. I was alone, and I said no, and they didn’t listen. Today, in 2024, I wish every Indigenous woman has someone they trust with them. With my daughters, when they went into labour, I made sure I was there.”