Report sheds light on decades of Indigenous women’s forced sterilization in Quebec

The report on the forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Quebec is alarming.

The number of Indigenous women in the province who have been subjected to forced sterilization and other forms of obstetric and gynecological violence is much higher than previously thought, according to a new report.

On Tuesday, researchers at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscaminque (UQAT) released new findings – a follow-up to the first phase of their research published nearly four years ago.

At that time, 35 women’s testimonies were collected related to incidents that took place between 1980 and 2019.

Twenty-two stories involved cases of forced sterilization.

The researchers decided to expand their work with a second phase, covering the period from 1956 to 2023 and adding more testimonies.

This new report includes 132 testimonies in total, with 77 cases of forced sterilization documented, primarily in Innu and Atikamekw women.

“The first phase came out in 2022 and by then we knew that other women would like to talk to us and were not able to because of the pandemic, because of personal issues and so on,” said the report’s lead author, Suzy Basile, a professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Women’s Issues at UQAT.

“At that time, the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador asked us to go ahead with the second phase of that research, knowing that other women would like to talk to us.”

Obstetric or Gynecological Violence (OGV) can include forced or coerced sterilization, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or psychological violence, or ethnic-based discrimination.

Fifty-eight per cent of the women interviewed said they were subjected to forced sterilization.

The most recent case documented was in 2022.

Thirty-nine per cent said they had experienced other forms of OGV.

The youngest woman interviewed was 15 years old at the time of the events, while the oldest was 40.

“We know since years, since decades that this kind of violence happened amongst First Nations, Indigenous women in Canada, it’s not a surprise,” said Basile. “Now, we are able to put it down on paper and have something to prove that these events really happen. Because up until now, we really haven’t had the documentation [for Quebec].”

Many women who had experienced forced sterilization only found out after the fact.

“I never said I wanted a tubal ligation; I never consented to that. I wanted to have more children,” explained one woman.

Another said, “I didn’t sign anything agreeing to a tubal ligation ... They decided to do it without my consent. Without my signature. They did it during my C-section.”

“Some of them went through a C-section, for example, and that was done at that time without telling them, without them knowing that they were going through tubal ligation,” explained Basile. “They would find out months or years later. They’re trying to have another baby. It doesn’t work. They consult their physician about that, and they were told, well, sorry, ma’am, but you have been sterilized four years ago.”

Basile says it comes down to prejudiced views towards First Nations women, which she says remains strong today.

“Many health-care providers told women that they make too many babies and Indigenous people are costing too much to the state … they are not responsible, they are not able to take care of their kids properly, so they should stop making babies.”

The report makes a number of recommendations, including for Indigenous organizations to ensure women and girls know their rights, and calls for a monitoring system to be put in place to better document cases of forced sterilization and OGV.

It also calls for a moratorium on the destruction of Indigenous medical records.

The researchers also want to see federal and provincial governments make formal apologies to First Nations women who have experienced OGV, and to recognize the presence of systemic discrimination in Quebec’s health-care system.

“The provincial election is coming soon,” said Basile. “It’s the right time for them to think about their positions again, about systemic racism, for example.”