Although there are no official statistics on the number of Roma women who have undergone forced sterilisation in the Czech Republic, there seems to be an increasing recognition of the problem; that the government “expressed regret” yesterday for “illegal” sterilisations in the country is a positive development yet falls short of a fully appropriate response. There remains great disagreement about how sterilisation was used, with doctors and medical officials claiming that it was used solely in cases when it was medically necessary and Roma and human rights groups arguing that it was used as a form of birth and population control and that women were coerced or not given sufficient information about the implications of the procedure. Despite this, a 2005 report by the Czech Ombudsman accepted that forced sterilisations had occured and found instances of recommendations at the regional or local levels for “health education programmes” to reduce birth rates and family sizes within the Roma community. It went on to suggest a policy of state compensation for women who had been affected during the period 1973 to 1991. A state compensation policy has, nevertheless, never been developed, although some women have been compensated in an unofficial manner.

While compensation for past injustices is one response to the problem that needs to be addressed, it is important for the government to investigate fully claims that the practice is on-going. Cases of forced sterilisation have been reported in 2007 and 2008, despite claims that it was abandoned as a practice in 1991. The Roma community suffers from a particular disadvantage when it comes to medical treatment in the Czech Republic; not only do they face discrimination in services and treatment, they also face distrust of the medical community and a lack of knowledge about treatments and about their rights. These related problems are at play in situations of forced sterilisation and women are thus particularly vulnerable, as these procedures generally follow the birth and often in a confused environment.

Even if a policy of state compensation would be put into place, it would do little to avoid future abuses of patients’ rights and wishes. Rather, the Czech government should not only investigate cases of forced sterilisation, the doctors who performed them and under what circumstances but they should also launch disciplinary action against those involved. Addressing the issue represents a major stumbling block for the Czech state in promoting and protecting the rights of all its citizens and for addressing discrimination that seems inherent to the medical system. While addressing the problem is an important first step, it must not be the only step; serious and meaningful investigations must follow if the government is serious about bridging the gaps in Czech society.