Enforced sterilization, also known as compulsory sterilization, refers to forcibly sterilizing an ethnic group as part of a systematic attack against that ethnic group. Sterilization, which usually involves surgical procedures, eliminates a person's ability to procreate. Widespread or systematic enforced sterilization is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
[Last updated in November of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]