Intersex Human Rights Australia

WHEN the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) undertook its The Sex Files consultation with Australia’s LGBTQI community, Commissioner Graeme Innes made clear that the investigation would not take into account the very real and many needs of Australia’s intersex people. Intersex people were welcome to take part nonetheless, he said.

The Rainbow Report-Final 2011 Part 3 - click to listen to this MP3 podcast.

Instead we were informed that The Sex Files enquiry would only take into account procedures for changing documentation for trans people. Given that this was the very first enquiry by an Australian federal agency to recognize that intersex people exist at all, members of OII Australia and other intersex Australians took part in the hope that the Commissioner might take our concerns on board.

The result was The Sex Files report that contains a number of recommendations that will be very damaging to intersex Australians although they may be good for trans people in this country.

Now, trans organizations are pushing for The Sex Files recommendations to be implemented despite the damage to intersex, and political organizations are supporting them in these demands.

Internal links:

• OII Australia – Intersex & The Sex Files: Good for trans, bad for intersex
• OII Australia – OII’s Letter in Response to AHRC’s Sex Files Concluding Paper, pointing out its dangers for intersex Australians