Swedish Public Health Minister Gabriel Wikström told Dagens Nyheter that the government will soon present a proposal to the Trans people that was forced to sterilisation until 2013 to get compensation from the state.

Frida Sandegård - RFSL Leader

RFSL welcomes that the government goes ahead with the damages to be paid to the persons that was forced to sterilisation when they applied for a change of legal gender.

It is very welcome that the government, as the first in the world, paying out damages in recognition of the crimes committed against the state’s transgender people. The amount proposed by the Swedish Government is too low compared to the violation that forced sterilisation persons exposed. RFSL has previously argued for damages of SEK 300 000, which is a level we stand by, says RFSL leader Frida Sandegård.

Swedish public health minister spoke on Friday about the level of damages that will be SEK 225,000, SEK 75 000 lower than what RFSL has argued. RFSL’s calculations based inter alia on the degree of disability as a sterilisation considered as well as the gross violation of forced sterilisations must be considered.

Already in 1972, the Swedish government stated that the forced sterilisations carried out with the support of the 1941 sterilisation act based other values and conditions than contemporary. Despite this, introduced the same year a law requiring sterilisation of trans people who wanted to change legal gender. Forced sterilisations continued for 14 years after the Swedish State noted that other forced sterilisation would receive compensation. This allows assault against transgender people are particularly rough.

A damages can never replace the damage occurred or mitigate the violation, but the amount must be in line with what is considered proper recognition of the state’s abuse, says Frida Sandegård.

RFSL welcomes the news that the damages should be available to all forced sterilisation, and in the continuing work on legislation to monitor that as well will be the case.

MySoCalledGayLife.co.uk supports RFSL view, but we think Swedish State should pay twice of the amount suggested by the Swedish public health minister – at least compensate with 450,000 SEK to each transgender person that has been violated in this gross state abuse. The compensation should “hurt” the state so much, so they will think twice on the next crossroad when there is a choice between gross state abuse or being human – and the state next time chooses being human instead of the road they chose for the transgender people in Sweden before 2013.

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