24 April 2001
Sterilisation of Girls and Young Women with a Disability
A report titled The Sterilisation of Girls and Young Women: Issues and Progress, by researchers Susan Brady, John Briton and Sonia Grover, was released today.
The report, commissioned by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to assess progress since the 1997 report on the same issue, reviews statistical and anecdotal data on unlawful sterilisations, the support available to girls and young women and their parents concerned about menstruation and fertility, and discusses simplifying the legal process to make it more accessible and less adversarial.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Susan Halliday and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski, have made the report available to stimulate further debate on the important issues raised by the research.
"The report makes an important contribution to the ongoing community debate about the sterilisation of young women and girls with a disability," the Commissioners said in a joint statement. "In particular, it contributes to discussion about ensuring better protection of the human rights of girls and young women with a disability and, in addition, it encourages a less adversarial process for making decisions about sterilisation. It will also contribute to debate about necessary education programs and the support and assistance provided to girls and young women with a disability and their families in dealing with menstruation and fertility. Parents play a key role in ensuring the well-being of girls and young women with disabilities and clearly must have access to information and services to assist them fulfill that role."
To coincide with the release of the report, the Commission will:
- Ask the Federal Attorney General and Minister for Health to seek a review of the Medicare Benefit Schedule to require Medicare claims for sterilisation procedures for minors (under 18) to be accompanied by either a formal authority or full clinical notes on the need for the procedure;
- Urge the Attorney General to place the issue of how to best achieve a non-adversarial and inexpensive formal approval process on the agenda of the Standing Committee of Attorneys' General;
- Liaise with peak government and non-government disability service providers to encourage them to ensure that local service providers have adequate information about the law in relation to sterilisation of children, have appropriate policies and procedures in place, and have available the resource materials required to enable them to effectively assist families in dealing with fertility and menstrual management.
For further information, contact: Janine MacDonald (02) 9284 9880 or 0412 783 631.
The report is available on the Comission's website at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/sterilisation/index.html
Last updated 2 December 2001.
