Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust

10: Forced Sterilization and Abortion as Sexual Abuse

chapter @ 10 Forced Sterilization and Abortion as Sexual Abuse ELLEN BEN-SEFER Forced sterilization and forced abortion are acts of sexual violence and gender-based discrimination as defined by the World Health Organization .1 The procedures can be fatal, and when they are not, they can give rise to lifelong consequences ranging from physical injury, such as tearing of tissue, to trauma to permanent infertility. Although some literature details cases of forced sterilization of both women and men, as well as the forced abortion of Jewish and Gypsy (Sinti and Roma) women’s fetuses during the Holocaust, accurate numbers of victims cannot be known.2 Abortion and forced sterilization still are not discussed in depth in historical books about the Holocaust. One reason may be that women who had forced abortions or were sterilized were subsequently murdered, and another is that the victims may have had considerable di