Abstract

Strategic litigation of women's right to found a family and non discrimination: the cases of sterilization without informed consent of HIV positive women in Namibia

Presented by Linda Dumba (Namibia).

L. Dumba

Legal Assistance Centre, Windhoek, Namibia

Issue: In February 2008, media reports in Namibia indicated that HIV positive women seeking assistance with the delivery of their babies were sterilized without their informed consent at state health facilities. This is an emerging human rights issue, the extent of which is yet to be discovered.
Description of the intervention: The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) in Namibia is litigating against the Namibian government on behalf of sixteen HIV positive women who were sterilized without informed consent. This practice clearly violates the rights to found a family and to equality and non-discrimination guaranteed under the Namibian Constitution and existing regional and international human rights agreements.
Lessons learned: To ensure the women's rights violations are addressed, the LAC decided to invest in litigation as the primary vehicle to enforce women's rights

1. because there is a reasonable chance of success of implementation of any decision that the Court will make;
2. to hold the government accountable and end the practice; and
3. to compensate the women for the wrongs that they suffered.

Next steps: Six out of the fifteen cases are scheduled for hearing on the merits from 1 to 4 June 2010 and 15 to 18 June 2010. Litigation as an advocacy tool must be accompanied by other methods of advocacy for it to bring about any social change. Therefore next steps include making recommendation on the draft Reproductive Health Policy, lobbying government to reform the current Sterilization Act, undertaking a research project to document the extent of the issue in Namibia and conducting legal education workshops to raise awareness on the outcome of the Court's decision.