Sterilisation fight on

STRATEGIES: LAWYERS TO CONSIDER VARIOUS LEGAL OPTIONS >>→ Class action may be on cards in battle for redress of coerced and forced women.

- Masoka Dube

Dancers perform in front of a float as they take part in the Festival of Light in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Saturday.

(Picture: AFP)

Her Right Initiative (HRI) lawyers have confirmed they instituted legal action on behalf of the victims of forced and coerced sterilisation that happened between 2007 and 2023.

In an interview with The Citizen yesterday, Prof Ann Strode, from the School of Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and technical advisor to HRI, said the organisation was using multiple legal strategies to try to get redress for the 104 sterilised women that they represent.

“The international law firm, DLA Piper, has taken on the matter and is investigating various legal options, including a class action against the department of health. It has already issued a letter of demand for redress for the victims. It is hoped that civil action against the department will be successful,” said Strode.

Strode said they were also pressuring the parliamentary health portfolio committee to make sure that the department reports back on the steps it would be taking to resolve the matter.