Today, March 21st 2018, the Swedish parliament takes the decision to pay compensation to trans people who were forcibly sterilized between 1972 and 2013. Approximately 600-700 people will be eligible for this compensation of 225 000 SEK/～EUR 22 500. Sweden is the first country to compensate trans people for the severe human rights violation that the forced sterilizations constituted.

– It has been a long struggle and I am happy that RFSL has played a great role in this historic victory. We have strived for this since 2013 when the requirement of sterilization to change one’s legal gender was abolished. Money can’t undo the harm of unwillingly losing your reproductive abilities, but the monetary compensation is an important step for the state to make amends to all those subjected to this treatment, says Emelie Mire Åsell, the trans and intersex spokesperson of RFSL.

RFSL welcomes this decision that will mark an end to a very long process. Sweden becomes the first country to pay damages to the victims of forced sterilization as a requirement to attain legal gender recognition. The global trans movement has followed the Swedish process and RFSL hopes that the progress in Sweden can lead the way for other countries to pay damages to trans people who have been forcibly sterilized. Hopefully this will also help push countries who still have this requirement to abolish this harmful procedure. Read more via RFSL