Survivors.

All requests for information or general queries can be directed to this contact form.

California Compensation Program

In 2021, California passed the California Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program, which provides compensation to survivors of eugenic sterilization laws from 1909–1979 and survivors of involuntary sterilizations in women’s prisons after 1979. The Sterilization and Social Justice Lab’s research helped inform this effort, and the lead author of the bill was Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo. The bill was co-sponsored by the Back to the Basics Community Empowerment, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ), and California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), in collaboration with the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab and with contributions from the Belly of the Beast film team. The SSJL was the source for demographic information and contextual historical research to identify survivors from the historic era. We estimate that as many as 455 survivors may still be alive in 2021. See this fact sheet for more information. 

The California Forced or Involuntary Sterilization Compensation Program will compensate approximately $25,000 per survivor, and will support the development of plaques and markers that raise awareness and acknowledge the history of eugenics and involuntary sterilization in the state. The SSJL is gratified that this bill will provide long-awaited compensation to survivors of involuntary sterilization in California. 

​The Social Justice and Sterilization Lab does not handle claims. For any queries or requests for interviews about the California Compensation Program, contact the Compensation Board directly at FISCP@victims.ca.gov or visit their website at https://victims.ca.gov/fiscp/.

Survivor Resources

We are not able to provide assistance to victims of sterilization or offer counsel on cases of reproductive injustice. Instead, we have listed a few resources that survivors can reach out to and receive help.
National Hotlines
  1. Crisis Text Line is a free confidential text message service for people in crisis. Text HOME to 741741.
  2. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224

Organizations
  1. Nationwide
    1. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund is a national civil rights law and policy center focused on advancing the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. 510-644-2555 | info@dredf.org
    2. If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice works to transform the law and policy landscape through advocacy, support, and organizing so all people have the power to determine if, when, and how to define, create, and sustain families with dignity and to actualize sexual and reproductive wellbeing on their own terms. info@ifwhenhow.org
    3. In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda is a national-state partnership focused on lifting up the voices of Black women leaders at the national and regional levels in the fight to secure Reproductive Justice for all women, femmes, and girls. 202-545-7660
    4. Indigenous Women Rising creates space for indigenous people to tell their own stories on their terms as an act of resistance, self love, and love for their ancestors and family, reclaiming what colonialism and white supremacy has tried to strip from them: identity, culture, tradition, and language.
    5. Mental Health America has a list of resources to help those seeking mental health treatment services across varying communities and needs. 703-684-7722
    6. National Center for PTSD provides research, resources, and education on PTSD and traumatic stress.
    7. Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) is an anti-sexual violence organization, and carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. 1-800-656-4673
    8. SisterSong is a Southern-based, national membership organization, focused on building an effective network of individuals and organizations to improve institutional policies and systems that impact the reproductive lives of marginalized communities. 404-756-2680 | info@sistersong.net
  2. California
    1. Back to the Basics Community Empowerment Organization addresses the social traumas of a community through education, advocacy, and creating access to resources so individuals can experience a better quality of life. Provides educational workshops, service provider training, and life impact sessions to schools, employers, and community members, as well as crisis assistance to individuals after experiencing various forms of trauma and hardships through community intervention.
    2. Black Women Birthing Justice is a grassroots collective in Oakland, California working to transform birthing experiences for Black women and birthing people.
    3. California Coalition for Women Prisoners monitors and challenges the abusive conditions inside California women’s prisons, advocating for the release of women and trans prisoners, and supporting women and trans people in their process of reentering the community.
    4. California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) is a statewide organization committed to honoring the experiences of Latinas and Latinxs to uphold their dignity, their bodies, sexuality, and families. CLRJ builds Latinas’ and Latinx’s power and cultivates leadership through policy advocacy, community education, and community-informed research to achieve reproductive justice.
    5. California Partnership to End Domestic Violence provides a map for finding domestic violence organizations within California.

Survivor's Perspectives

Our policy is to not give out any contact or identifying information of sterilization survivors. Instead, for survivor perspectives and stories, we recommend checking out No Más Bebes, Belly of the Beast, Wicked Silence, Amá, A Whisper Past by Leilani Muir, “‘You Just Feel Like Nothing’: California to Pay Sterilization Victims” by Amanda Morris in The New York Times, The Cloak of Competence by Robert B. Edgarton, and Laboratory of Deficiency by Natalie Lira.