Victims of illegal sterilizations from 1966 to 2004 can receive one-time compensation in the amount of 5,000 euros. Based on a request, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic would decide on its allocation. Victims can apply for compensation until the end of 2025, otherwise it will expire. This comes from the draft law on one-time financial compensation of persons sterilized in violation of the law, which the members of the National Council (NR) of the Slovak Republic moved to the second reading on Tuesday.
"The intention of the petitioner is to try to close the human rights and social issue, in connection with which, by resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 674 of November 24, 2021, the Government of the Slovak Republic apologized for the sterilization of women in violation of the law and condemned the violation of the human rights of the women concerned," explained Peter Pollák (OĽANO), who submitted the proposal.
The application should contain a description of the decisive circumstances under which the sterilization was carried out, in particular the designation of the medical facility and the time when the sterilization took place. The application should be accompanied by an extract from the medical documentation or other documents proving the fact that the sterilization was carried out in violation of the law. "Taking into account the significant time gap between the performance of the medical act of sterilization and the reasonable assumption of the destruction of the relevant medical documentation and the related impossibility for the applicants of securing the necessary documentation to prove the right to compensation, the law also provides as a possibility of credible proof of the claim the statement of the applicant, which can only be refuted by the existence of questionable evidence," added the MP.
In addition to the Ministry, the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma communities, the Labor, Social Affairs and Family Offices and the Legal Aid Center should also accept applications. At the same time, they should provide assistance to applicants when submitting an application and supplementing it. The law could come into effect on the day it is promulgated.
Source: TASR
