รายละเอียดกระทู้

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3805215.htm MARK COLVIN: It may come as a shock to some that people are still being forcibly sterilised in Australia. That may be because when it does happen, it happens to the disabled, and it's frankly, under-reported. But it does happen, and sometimes sterilisation is even forced on disabled people who are capable of giving or withholding consent. Now a Senate committee wants that, at least, to change. But the committee stopped short of recommending a total ban on forced sterilisations. Will Ockenden reports. WILL OCKENDEN: There's long been anecdotal evidence that many women with disabilities are being sterilised without giving their consent or without their knowledge. Therese Sands is from People with Disability Australia, the national peak disability rights and advocacy organisation. THERESE SANDS: Because there are no support services or there's perhaps no specific education and training for people with disabilities around managing, say their menstruation, menstrual period or managing sexuality or dealing with those issues, often the first response is a sterilisation procedure. WILL OCKENDEN: The reasons often given for sterilisation is because it helps carers better look after a person with a disability, who may not understand how to deal with tampons and pads and the blood from menstruation. Therese Sands says there are also other reasons. THERESE SANDS: If you look at tribunal and court judgements, it is often around menstrual management and taking the burden of care off parents. Sometimes it relates to the fact that they don't want unwanted sexual attention, they, there may be a view that it will stop sexual abuse or sexual assault or unwanted pregnancy. WILL OCKENDEN: She says it often surprises people to hear that there still can be forced sterilisations in 21st century Australia. THERESE SANDS: Even though you need court or tribunal authorisation, that court or tribunal authorisation is actually allowing the non-therapeutic sterilisation to incur in some cases. WILL OCKENDEN: For nearly a year, a group of Senators have grappled with the controversial human rights issue. Today, a Senate committee looking into it tabled its report. The committee chair is Greens Senator Rachel Siewert. RACHEL SIEWERT: Sterilisation of people with disability, who have legal capacity, and capacity to consent, should be banned. There is no place in this country for people that have capacity to consent that these practices should be carried out without their consent, that is very clear. WILL OCKENDEN: A report delivered wide-ranging findings, and had 28 recommendations, ranging from a strengthening of laws, to better education for medical professionals. One recommendation said there should be a ban on forced sterilisation in cases where the person has the ability to give consent. Another recommended that irreversible sterilisation should be banned if the person could one day develop the future capacity to consent. RACHEL SIEWERT: Because it is very clear there is a lack of understanding of people's rights, of the needs of people with disabilities, there is a lack of understanding in the legal system, in the medical system and in the support system. WILL OCKENDEN: The Senators also investigated reports that some people with a disability were sterilised without giving consent. Anecdotal evidence was also provided to the hearings that some parents are visiting overseas countries to have the sterilisation procedures done. The Senators recommended that that should be banned, and that the people who do it should face criminal charges. Labor Senator Clair Moore. CLAIR MOORE: What we as a committee with strong support from the people who gave evidence, we all agreed that is wrong. That shouldn't happen, that's something that we're saying should be illegal. WILL OCKENDEN: The recommendations stopped short at the outright banning sterilisation for people with no capacity of consent. In those cases involuntary sterilisation would continue to be allowed. But Liberal Nationals Senator for Queensland Sue Boyce who instigated the parliamentary inquiry, says the circumstances must be specific. SUE BOYCE: I hope we would never ever ever see the situation in Australia again where there was the forced irreversible serialisation of a woman with a disability because she couldn't manage her period, or because her carers found it hard to manage her period. I don't think we ever want excuses about it's so tough on the carers used again, because we should be supporting those carers so that they can provide good quality care. WILL OCKENDEN: Therese Sands from People with Disability Australia welcomes most of the recommendations, saying changes are desperately needed. But she says disappointed that there still may be cases, albeit not very often, of forced sterilisations. THERESE SANDS: They have left a window open where a court or tribunal can, could still authorise sterilisation for a non-therapeutic purpose without the consent of a child or adult. That's the, that's the part that we probably differ in terms of our views. MARK COLVIN: Therese Sands from People with Disability Australia, ending Will Ockenden's report.