Congratulation to Christiane Völling. A German court has become the first in the world to find a surgeon guilty of conducting non-consensual surgery on an intersex child.
A media release by the Australian Coalition for Equality, with a commentary by OII Australia.
Lisa Pryor has written on “therapists with unconventional qualifications”, noting that no government body charged has power to “discipline unregistered therapists”. OII Australia always recommends that people choose a properly qualified therapist. The article carries some useful information for making this choice.
We are pleased to report that the Australian Passport Office, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has made first steps in reforming its practices in relation to what it calls ‘sex and gender diverse’ people. We thank them for this. It should be noted, though that DFAT’s new position is essentially a return…
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The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a paper titled Surgery on intersex infants and human rights. We deeply regret the report’s equivocation on surgery to modify the appearance of intersex infants and children. The report acknowledges such interventions without commenting on their necessity or lifelong consequences. It is available for download here.
Howard “Tiger” Devore features in this documentary about intersex genital mutilation.
According to two regional newspapers, Glenda Graban of Picton, NSW, has persuaded the NSW Health Department to change the name of the NSW Birth Defect Register to something kinder and more humane. Great work, Glenda! It is reported that NSW Minister for Health John Della Bosca has agreed in principle to the change of name,…
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OII Australia is sensitive towards photographic depictions of intersex individuals. The reasons for OII Australia’s sensitivity are exemplified in this article about non-consensual photography. We can’t help but wonder if the photographic voyeurism, and staff attitudes towards this person’s body, impacted on the quality of care that was given – the person is known to…
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If you are writing about intersex people, our bodies, identities and human rights concerns, this page outlines why we use words the way we do.
There are two fundamental issues that must be considered when considering terminology around intersex. Intersex is a scientific term that describes all differences of sex biology within the animal kingdom that are not hermaphroditic…
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From the Sydney Morning Herald of 3rd June, this report by Andrew Darby: Routine operation may be a crime Once routine, now often thought unkind, the cut may also be illegal. Parental consent might not be enough to protect the circumcisers of baby boys from later legal action. In a rare legal analysis of the…
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