{"id":105763,"date":"2026-06-12T14:23:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=105763"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:23:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:23:25","slug":"testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation A Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec en Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue study released in May documents obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Indigenous women in Quebec\u2019s healthcare system. Phase I of the study collected 35 testimonies from First Nations women, and was published in November 2022, revealing accounts of forced sterilization and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Phase II analyzed testimony from 94 First Nations women, including three Cree participants, and identified 55 cases of imposed sterilization and 39 cases of other obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV). The report looked at incidents that took place between 1956 and 2023 involving women aged 15 to 40, that resulted in lasting trauma. UQAT professor Suzy Basile told the Nation the project emerged in 2020 from a conference in… <\/p>\n

\n
\n
This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>\n
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation A Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec en Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue study released in May documents obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Indigenous women in Quebec\u2019s healthcare system. Phase I of the study collected 35 testimonies from First Nations women, and was published in November 2022, revealing accounts of forced sterilization and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Phase II analyzed testimony from 94 First Nations women, including three Cree participants, and identified 55 cases of imposed sterilization and 39 cases of other obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV). The report looked at incidents that took place between 1956 and 2023 involving women aged 15 to 40, that resulted in lasting trauma. UQAT professor Suzy Basile told the Nation the project emerged in 2020 from a conference in... <\/p>\n

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nTestimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation A Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec en Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue study released in May documents obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Indigenous women in Quebec\u2019s healthcare system. Phase I of the study collected 35 testimonies from First Nations women, and was published in November 2022, revealing accounts of forced sterilization and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Phase II analyzed testimony from 94 First Nations women, including three Cree participants, and identified 55 cases of imposed sterilization and 39 cases of other obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV). The report looked at incidents that took place between 1956 and 2023 involving women aged 15 to 40, that resulted in lasting trauma. UQAT professor Suzy Basile told the Nation the project emerged in 2020 from a conference in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":885,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/\",\"name\":\"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/12\\\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Turtle Island News\",\"description\":\"Your Source for Local News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Turtle Island News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"width\":140,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Turtle Island News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/TurtleIslandNews\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/newsattheturtle\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\",\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynda Powless\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/lynda\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News","og_description":"By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation A Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec en Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue study released in May documents obstetric and gynecological violence experienced by Indigenous women in Quebec\u2019s healthcare system. Phase I of the study collected 35 testimonies from First Nations women, and was published in November 2022, revealing accounts of forced sterilization and mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. Phase II analyzed testimony from 94 First Nations women, including three Cree participants, and identified 55 cases of imposed sterilization and 39 cases of other obstetric and gynecological violence (OGV). The report looked at incidents that took place between 1956 and 2023 involving women aged 15 to 40, that resulted in lasting trauma. UQAT professor Suzy Basile told the Nation the project emerged in 2020 from a conference in","og_url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/","og_site_name":"The Turtle Island News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":725,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynda Powless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_site":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynda Powless","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynda Powless","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458"},"headline":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse","datePublished":"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/"},"wordCount":885,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["National News","ticker"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/","name":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse - The Turtle Island News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-12T18:23:25+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/12\/testimony-of-trauma-indigenous-victims-of-obstetric-and-gynecological-violence-share-their-stories-of-abuse\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Testimony of Trauma \u2013 Indigenous victims of obstetric and gynecological violence share their stories of abuse"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","name":"The Turtle Island News","description":"Your Source for Local News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization","name":"Turtle Island News","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","width":140,"height":150,"caption":"Turtle Island News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/newsattheturtle","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458","name":"Lynda Powless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lynda Powless"},"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/author\/lynda\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105764,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105763\/revisions\/105764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}