On 19 July 2016, KELIN’s Programme Manager on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Ms. Saoyo Tabitha Griffith, made a poster presentation at the 21st international AIDS 2016 conference, held in Durban, South Africa. The poster, titled ‘Public interest litigation to challenge the forced and/or coerced sterilization of women living with HIV’ followed KELIN’s successful submission of an abstract under Track D’s category on Social and Political Research, Law, Policy and Human Rights.
The poster, which received significant attention from participants, aptly discusses the challenges faced by women living with HIV when forced or coerced into sterilization without their informed consent. The poster further represents the legal interventions that KELIN has been making towards breaking the silence on sterilization of Kenyan women living with HIV.
KELIN is currently pursuing two cases at the High Court of Kenya, namely petitions 605 and 606 of 2014, which have both challenged the sterilization of five women living with HIV in Kenya. To date, there are only four countries in Africa where this human rights violation has been researched and/or litigated. This includes Namibia, South Africa and Kenya where women have openly challenged the vice in court and in Uganda where the International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa recently concluded a study titled ‘Violation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Women Living With HIV in Clinical and Community Settings in Uganda’ which highlighted sterilization as a common practice.
Overall, as a result of this strategic international platform, KELIN hopes that there will be increased knowledge and candid discussions on sterilization as a violation of women’s bodily autonomy and integrity in Africa. We also hope that the discussions centered on the poster will strengthen our networking and assist other countries in the region to identify litigation tools, strategies and opportunities available to condemn this violation within their countries and receive justice for the victims.
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms: Twitter: @KELINkenya using these hashtag #AIDS2016,
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
For more information contact:
Tabitha Saoyo,
Programme Manager, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights,
Mombasa Road, Somak Building 4th floor
P.O Box 112-00200, KNH,
Tel +254202515790; Cell +254 790339963;
Email: tsaoyo@kelinkenya.org
