"Shocking violation of human rights": Whistleblower reports of forced sterilization in US detention centers

Nurse Dawn Wooten makes grave allegations against a detention center for immigrants in the US state of Georgia.

Women should be forcibly sterilized there.

• A whistleblower makes serious allegations against a reception center.

• Immigrant women are said to have been sterilized there without their consent.

• Now even the House of Representatives is dealing with it.

Georgia

- About the

in the

,

To

which

- especially from Central and South America - are brought after their arrival, there has been frequent criticism.

A good two years ago, there was fierce opposition to the measures taken by the Trump * government to separate children from their parents.

Now a

who apparently worked in such a

in the US state in

, went public.

She doesn't just talk about the lack of Corona * tests and protective clothing.

Allegedly, the doctors there should also

carry out

on women.

Whistleblower scandal in the USA: hysterectomies in over 20 cases

The

worked until recently in the Irwin County Detention Center in

.

She now reports in a multi-page letter to the state government - which she wrote in cooperation with several human rights organizations - of inhumane conditions in the

.

She would have complained several times about the

to her superiors - without success.

The only consequence was that she was demoted from a full-time to a part-time position on demand, reports the

, citing the American news portal

.

The worst accusation is made against the responsible police and customs authority

(ICE): Women are said to have had their ovaries removed without their consent.

They should have

a

have been forcibly sterilized.

A courageous nurse at Irwin Country Detention Ctr is speaking out about abuses, racism and # COVID19 hazards for detainees and guards: https://t.co/Ne3dLZtmWC

We & @GovAcctProj are representing her & have filed complaint w / DHS Office of Inspector General: https://t.co/1HPQl96PVP

- Project South (@ProjectSouth) September 14, 2020

Wooten

herself reports on her experiences with the

.

“Everyone who goes to this doctor gets a

- pretty much everyone.” In one specific case, “the left ovary was supposed to be removed because of a cyst;

the doctor removed the right one.

She was upset.

She had to go back to have the left one removed and was given a full

.

But she still wanted children. ”The

:“ There were several inmates who told me that they had been to the doctor, had

and didn't know why. ”One reason for this was the language barrier - it was probably no translators on site.

In some cases, pressure should also have been exerted on the women.

estimates the number of

to be over 20.

Forced sterilization in a reception center in the USA: that's what the authorities say

The

passed the

investigation into these incidents

on to the Office Inspector General (OIG).

Regarding the allegations, the agency said: "Basically, however, anonymous, unsubstantiated allegations made with no factual verifiable details should be treated with appropriate skepticism." The

, which

operates the

facility, says, "[We] are them

and

the people we care for.

We are fully committed to providing high quality and culturally appealing services in a safe and humane environment. "

WATCH: I spoke with the whistleblower, nurse Dawn Wooten, who made the complaint with @ProjectSouth and the @GovAcctProj to the DHS IG about a high number of hysterectomies.

“I had a detainee who asked me," she said, "what is he doing, collecting all of our uteruses?" Pic.twitter.com/lW2iiQI5Ge

- Jacob Soboroff (@jacobsoboroff) September 15, 2020

allegations

were also confirmed by another employee and by immigrants themselves.

The lawyer for the human rights organization

, Priyanka Bhatt, says that in the past few years women have come up to her several times and have

reported

.

The allegations are now widely spread.

Protestants have already gathered in

front of the

headquarters

in New York and Chicago,

calling for

the

.

And

spokeswoman

Democrat

announced an investigation.

"If that is true, then the

horrific conditions described

by the

- including the allegations of

carried out on immigrants

- are a shocking

."

US President Donald Trump is meanwhile blowing strong winds in the election campaign.

He is particularly criticized for the forest fires in the west of the country.

You can find more information about the election campaign in the USA in our news ticker.

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Sven Hoppe