Yes, and you can find the same declaration translated into Spanish by AIES
at http://www.asoc-ies.org/violencia/index.html#dec_edf
Please, give difussion for those Spanish speaking readers!
Thanks
Marita Iglesias
www.asoc-ies.org
www.forovidaindependiente.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Hall-Bentick" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 1:09 AM
Subject: EDF Declaration 25th November International Day for the Elimination
of Violence against Women
fyi.
----- Original Message -----
From: Peláez Narváez, Ana
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 8:28 AM
Subject: [GPDD] EDF Declaration 25th November International Day for the
Elimination of Violence against Women
Dear Colleagues,
From EDF we have prepared a Declaration against forced sterialisation of
girls and women with disabilities in relation to the International Day for
the Elimination of violence against Women. I hope you can help us to
distribute it as widely as possible.
All the best,
Ana Pelaez
COMMEMORATING THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR
THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
AGAINST THE FORCED STERILISATION OF
GIRLS AND WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
25th November 2009
Today, 25th November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women, the European Disability Forum (EDF) joins the struggle
against all forms of gender violence, to which thousands of women in the
European Union and worldwide fall victim.
In light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (Article 12, Equal recognition before the law, Article 16,
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse, Article 17, Protecting the
integrity of the person, and Article 23, Respect for home and the family),
EDF recognises that forced sterilisation is a form of violence that violates
the rights of person with disabilities to form a family, decide on the
number of children they wish to have, gain access to information on family
planning and reproduction, and retain their fertility on an equal basis with
others.
In light of the above, EDF declares:
a.. In several countries in Europe there is clear evidence that forced
sterilisation continues to be carried out on many persons with disabilities,
above all on girls and women with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities
and without their consent or their understanding the specific purpose of the
medical operation, under the pretext of the wellbeing of the person with
disabilities.
a.. For many girls and women with disabilities this experience, to which
they are forced against their will, intimidated and pressured, is a denial
of their right to access appropriate services. Their fundamental human
rights, including the right to safeguard body integrity and maintain control
over their reproductive health, are violated and removed, at times without
their realising.
a.. The consent of the parents or person that represent a girl or woman
with a disability, when requested because of her minor age or previous legal
incapacitation, must in all cases be based on the respect of the human
rights and will of the women or girl with a disability. It is also the
responsibility of the relevant medical personnel to ensure that the woman or
girl with a disability is adequately informed about the fact that the
surgery or medical intervention will lead to her being sterilised and the
consequences of this for her future.
a.. Women and girls with disabilities have the same right to maternity as
other women. Adequate services are the solution for ensuring that women in
need of support can enjoy this right fully.
In light of the above, EDF calls for:
a.. All public powers to revise the legal framework regulating forced
sterilisation, addressing the issues of "informed consent" and "legal
capacity" in order to make the necessary accommodations and fulfil the
spirit of, and obligations under, the Convention, which requires signatories
to introduce legal reforms acknowledging that respect for the home and
family and the dignity and integrity of persons with disabilities are
fundamental rights which may not be violated.
a.. Studies to be undertaken to bring to light the reality of
sterilisation in Europe in the case of persons with disabilities, such
studies to include the perspectives of gender, age and type of disability
and offer accurate statistical data on forced and therapeutic sterilisation.
a.. Necessary measures to be taken in terms of awareness, information and
training aimed at both the families of girls and women with disabilities who
are most vulnerable and at greatest risk of suffering forced sterilisation,
and professionals, above all health care professionals and those involved in
the legal field, to ensure they listen to the voices of girls and women with
disabilities during legal investigations and proceedings. These measures
shall be taken in close co-operation with representative organisations of
persons with disabilities.
a.. Appropriate schemes must be developed with the objective to ensuring
both that pregnant women and girls with disabilities get support in
preparing for maternity and that mothers with disabilities in need of
support to take care of their children have access to adequate assistance
and services.
LET'S JOIN FORCES TO PUT AN END TO GENDER VIOLENCE ONCE AND FOR ALL!
TOGETHER WE CAN!
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