Intersex Human Rights Australia

Today, we celebrate World Children’s Day 2024 with the theme “Listen to the Future”. This is a call to action for us to actively listen to children and honour their voices, dreams, and rights. Every year, World’s Children Day is celebrated on 20 November, marking the date that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted.  

This year is the 35th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – a special moment where governments (including Australia) agreed on 54 different rights that every child under 18 years old should have to live a safe, healthy and happy life.

As we listen to the future, we must also champion the right of every child to bodily autonomy. This includes recognising and supporting intersex children, ensuring they grow up in a world that respects their bodies and identities without unnecessary medical interventions. We must give children the opportunity to make informed choices about their bodies when they are old enough to understand and give informed consent, in line with the principles of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 12 states that “Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”

By listening to and respecting a child’s informed choices, embracing diversity and promoting bodily autonomy, we create a future where every child, regardless of their gender or physical characteristics, can thrive and be heard.

Australia appeared before two UN Treaty Body committees in September 2019: the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Both Committees subsequently issued strong recommendations on the rights of children with intersex variations. Read about their conclusions here: UN Treaty Body statements on intersex human rights in Australia – Intersex Human Rights Australia

Read the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child here: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child