When SisterSong heard about the involuntary sterilizations taking place at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia we released a statement and call to action. We asked you to join us in working to free those detained there and to demand an end to the egregious medical violations that were happening to Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x, Muslim, queer, and trans folk, and all people of color. 

8,525 of you signed on to that statement and have played a huge role in the victories we have seen happen. Currently there are no immigrants detained at Irwin County and it is set to shut down this year (2021).

 At least 19 women at a Georgia immigration facility are now alleging that a doctor performed, or pressured them to undergo, “overly aggressive” or “medically unnecessary” surgery without their consent, including procedures that affect their ability to have children, according to a new report and other records obtained by The Times. Read the L.A. Times article here.

 A huge part of our work has been educating the community on what involuntary sterilizations were, why they are happening at Irwin and other detention centers and sharing the history of sterilization in this country.

 Below you can download our sterilization brief: Involuntary Sterilizations Continue - Response to Irwin County Detention Center Allegations (amenable) which will give you an overview of what has happened at Irwin and take you on a journey to learn about more historic events of involuntary sterilization that have happened in the United States.