Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) Issues Paper 2004
SCAG Draft 'Children with Intellectual Disabilities (Regulation of Sterilisation) Bill 2006'
Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Policy & Position Paper
Responses to Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)
Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) provided a detailed response to the 2004 SCAG Issues Paper. WWDA's 'Submission to the Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments regarding Non-Therapeutic Sterilisation of Minors with a Decision-Making Disability' clearly articulated the organisation's position on the issue, that sterilisation is an act of unnecessary and dehumanising violence which denies a woman's basic human right to bodily integrity and to bear children and which results in adverse life-long physical and mental health effects. WWDA stressed that sterilisation can be justified only in circumstances where it is necessary to save life or preserve the health of the individual.
Since 2001, WWDA has called on the Australian Government to develop universal legislation which prohibits sterilisation of children (regardless of disability) except in those circumstances which pose a serious threat to health or life.
One of the stated objects of the proposed Act is 'to protect children with intellectual disabilities from unauthorised sterilisation procedures being carried out on them' (Children with Intellectual Disabilities (Regulation of Sterilisation) Bill 2006). WWDA asserts that the correct and proper way of 'protecting children with intellectual disabilities from unauthorised sterilisation procedures' is for the Australian Government to act immediately to ban all sterilisations of children under the age of 18 years, unless the sterilisation is being performed as a life saving measure or medical emergency (WWDA 2001, 2004).
The United Nations also recommends this position. In considering the Australian Government's second and third periodic reports on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child made the following recommendation in its Concluding Comments Report:
In the light of the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with Disabilities (General Assembly Resolution 48/96) and of the Committee's recommendations adopted at its day of general discussion on 'Children with Disabilities' (see CRC/C/69), the Committee encourages the State Party to: e) prohibit the sterilization of children, with or without disabilities...' (UN CRC/C/175/Add.268, 20 October 2005).
To date, it appears that the New South Wales (NSW) Government is the only State/Territory Government which supports WWDA's position on this issue. In 2004, the NSW Government, through Attorney General Bob Debus, formally detailed its position to the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG):
.......The [NSW] Government supports the submission from Women With Disabilities Australia that sterilisation of minors with a decision-making disability should be prohibited except where there is a threat to life or health. Sterilisation is a matter for adulthood and should only be carried out in children for immediately needed therapeutic purposes........NSW will not adopt any uniform legislation unless the Government is sure that sterilisation is prohibited except where there is a serious and immediate threat to health or life.' (Hon Bob Debus, NSW Attorney General, 2004).
In recent months, in response to the Draft Children with Intellectual Disabilities (Regulation of Sterilisation) Bill 2006, WWDA has actively sought to re-iterate its recommendation to the Australian Government and the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) that:
the Federal Government develop universal legislation which prohibits sterilisation of children except in those circumstances which amount to those that are a serious threat to health or life. In the case of adults, WWDA also strongly recommends that sterilisation be prohibited in the absence of the informed consent of the individual concerned, except in those circumstances where there is a serious threat to health or life.
WWDA has written formally to a wide range of stakeholders, both within and outside Australia, to not only raise awareness of the development of the Draft Children with Intellectual Disabilities (Regulation of Sterilisation) Bill 2006, but also to seek endorsement and support of WWDA's position on the issue. Examples of stakeholders WWDA wrote to include:
To view WWDA's paper go to: Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Policy & Position Paper: 'The Development of Legislation to Authorise Procedures for the Sterilisation of Children with Intellectual Disabilities' (June 2007)
WWDA has received a large number of responses to our recent advocacy work on this issue, and these continue to come in to the WWDA Office. Examples of the responses received to date are provided below.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Submissions from Other Organisations/Bodies
Responses from Other Stakeholders
Responses from Government Departments/Agencies
This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.