UN Free & Equal campaign publishes intersex fact sheet

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United Nations Human Rights Council
Overnight, the UN OHCHR released a long-awaited intersex fact sheet, as part of the Free&Equal campaign.

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Being intersex is much more common than most people think – according to experts there are as many intersex people as there are red haired people.

Because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatized and subjected to multiple human rights violations, including violations of their rights to health and physical integrity, to be free from torture and ill-treatment, and to equality and non-discrimination.

It’s a short, well-balanced and informative document that details the human rights violations faced by intersex people, and action points for member states and institutions. The action points provide a very useful benchmark for work on intersex human rights and health issues.

The Fact Sheet highlights the 2013 Senate Committee report, “Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia” on page 2.

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