Promoting the medical and legal rights of HIV-positive women

Source: Master of Laws in Medical Law cum laude graduate Sarah Patel.

Titled: Towards Restoration for HIV-Positive Victims of Forced and Coerced Sterilisation in South Africa: Revisiting the Role of the Medical Profession, the study was supervised by Freddy Mnyongani.

"My research broadly deals with the issue of forced and coerced sterilisation of HIV-positive women in South African public hospitals. In 2020, the Commission for Gender Equality released the findings of its investigation into this issue and since then, little substantive progress has been made in providing relief for the victims," said Patel.

Her research found that the medical profession, namely the surgeons performing such procedures, as well as nurses, have played a key role in causing violations in the first place.

‘It would stand to reason that they must have some role to play in “undoing the harm” caused by their actions. My research considered a specific form of reparations “restitutio in integrum” meaning, “restoration to the original position” as a possible solution to the problem of limited legal recourse," she said.

"I identified various considerations, both medical and legal, that would need to be borne in mind should such a remedy become operable by the South African government. There is always hope that such research can shine a spotlight on the human rights violations taking place right under our noses. Both HIV/Aids and gender-based violence are topics that we cannot escape if we wish to develop as a society."

The candidate attorney fell in love with research when she began working as a part-time research assistant at UKZN’s School of Law under Bonginkosi Shozi and then worked remotely as a full-time litigation executive for a law firm in the United Kingdom.

"It was tough to juggle work and studies, but the support of my family and friends kept me from feeling overburdened.

"I was awarded a UKZN Scholarship upon completion of my LLB and without it, I may not have even decided to pursue a master’s. It is definitely a worthwhile qualification because it allows for specific content to be studied from renowned experts in the field.

"From forensic sciences, to medical malpractice, medical negligence and intellectual property of medicines, I gained a high level of knowledge."