Women With HIV Are Being Forcibly Sterilized in South Africa

  • Women were coerced into agreeing: Gender Equality Commission
  • South Africa has the biggest HIV epidemic in the world
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State hospitals in South Africa have sterilized some pregnant HIV-positive women without their consent, according to an investigation by the government’s Commission for Gender Equality.

The investigation was prompted by a 2015 complaint by the non-profit Women’s Legal Centre, which documented 48 cases where women were allegedly either forced or coerced into agreeing to the procedure while giving birth.