Forced Sterilisation in the European Union

Forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities is a pervasive abuse and a gross violation of their fundamental rights. Nevertheless, it is ongoing and widespread across Europe and worldwide.

EDF under its commitment to women’s rights and gender equality is advocating to end forced sterilisation on all Members States. 

What EDF is asking for

Update: 7 February 2024: 

The European Commission presented a proposal for a Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence to the European Parliament and the Council on the 8th of March 2022. We strongly campaigned for it to include the criminalisation forced sterilization of forced sterilisation in this proposed Directive. Unfortunately, we were not successful. Read our reaction

Now, we renew our call for:

  • The criminalisation of forced sterilisation by all EU Member States with no exception based on disability or legal capacity. We hope the Member States take the opportunity to implement the Directive in their national laws to go beyond its minimum requirements. 
  • The adoption of measures at EU and Member States levels to ensure access to justice, including adequate criminal sanctions, and compensation for victims.
  • The ratification of the Istanbul Convention by all EU Member States and Council of Europe members.

Read our report

Our report “Forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities in the European Union” reveals that at least 13 EU countries still authorise forced sterilisation. Due to this unacceptable situation, we are calling for the EU to insert a total ban on this practice in the upcoming legislation on combatting violence against women.  

The report is also available in Easy-To-Read


Please note that information from the launch of the report will be progressively updated.
The information for Austria has been revised. There is no legal possibility in Austria to authorise forced sterilisation against a person’s will.

Watch the Executive Summary Report in Sign Language below

Transcription:

Forced sterilisation is a gross violation of fundamental rights. Moreover, it is a harmful practice and example of gender-based violence that is still inflicted mainly on people with disabilities, Roma and intersex people across Europe.

It is prohibited under numerous international texts: the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, among others. Nevertheless, it is still allowed by law in several EU Member States.

As of August 2022, we found that:

  • Only 9 EU Member States explicitly criminalise forced sterilisation as a distinct offence in their criminal code1.
  • At least 13 EU Member States still allow some forms of forced sterilisation in their legislation: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia2. They authorise either a guardian, a legal representative, an administrator or a doctor to consent to thesterilisation of a person with disabilities on their behalf.
  • 3 Member States authorise the forced sterilisation of minors: Czechia, Hungary and Portugal.
  • In at least 3 EU Member States the use of contraception or sterilisation can be a requirement for admission to residential institutions: Belgium, France and Hungary.

Although not always explicitly named as such, the widespread practice of sterilising a person without their free, prior and informed consent and/or knowledge is forced sterilisation.

Act to end forced sterilisation in the EU

Harmful and terrible practices may still take place, in silence and impunity, in all EU member states. Join us to #EndForcedSterilisation. 

Related information

Our campaign on the media

Communications Actions

Lastest news on forced sterilisation

| Women and girls
EU shamefully fails to ban forced sterilisation

We are deeply disappointed with the European Institutions' decision not to criminalise forced sterilisation under the agreement reached...

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| Women and girls
Shame! EU Member States fail to criminalise forced sterilisation and rape  

In 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic...

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| Human Rights, Women and girls
A silenced truth: forced sterilisation must be criminalised!

I was crying and asking them please not to put me to sleep. I was saying please let...

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Contact

Marine Uldry
Marine Uldry

Human Rights Policy Coordinator
marine.uldry@edf-feph.org