One of the key findings in Slovakia is that, despite a 20-year struggle for justice, Roma women who have been forcibly, involuntarily and illegally sterilised cannot receive compensation. The investigation reveals that there was a systematic practice in Slovakia of sterilising Roma women and abusing their socially vulnerable position. The same practice continues to this day by the Slovak government, which refuses to compensate women for its own wrongdoing.
The Czech Republic, on the other hand, has paid compensation to Romani women. However, the insightful findings of the Czech team revealed that, based on the data on sterilisation performance, it is highly likely that the Czech state is continuing the practice on a small but existing scale and that sterilisation of Roma women is still taking place. The data shows that this is the case even in the same hospitals that were 'famous' for illegal sterilisations in previous decades.
Photo credit: Soňa Maletzová
*The investigation has received the Main Prize for Considerate Journalism in the category of written reportage, awarded by the Slovak Antipoverty Network, October 2025
