Every few years, the UN Committee against Torture reviews the performance of member states against the obligations of the Convention Against Torture. In June this year, OII Australia made a submission to the Committee to help it prepare a “List of Issues Prior to Reporting”, for the government to respond to. The Committee has now…
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The Family Court has recently published a decision on the sterilisation of a 5-year old child and, unfortunately, it reveals that: earlier genital surgery that “enhanced” her genitals without Court approval was viewed without concern, and with no evidence of necessity. The idea of “enhancing” the genitals of an infant or young child is disturbing….
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With kind permission from both author and journal, we are pleased to share a paper by Aileen Kennedy entitled “Fixed at birth: Medical and legal erasures of intersex variations”, published earlier this year by the UNSW Law Journal. There is complicity between the medical and the legal construction of variations of sex development as pathological…
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The Board of OII Australia is excited to announce that, after many years of operating entirely through the work of volunteers, our two co-chairs will become our joint Executive Directors as of 1 December 2016.
Intersex Awareness Day this year was very significant. The United Nations, regional human rights institutions and the Australian Human Rights Commission all made intersex-specific human rights statements for the first time. The UN also launched an awareness website. The United Nations and regional human rights institutions called for immediate action to end human rights…
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Thanks to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, for two powerful statements issued overnight. Firstly, the UN has published a statement for Intersex Awareness Day, signed by UN Committees on Torture, the Rights of the Child and the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as Special Rapporteurs and experts,…
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On 26 October, Intersex Awareness Day, co-chair Morgan Carpenter gave a talk at UTS entitled “Intersex, thinking outside the box: intersex, identity, harmful practices and 20 years of activism.” Date: Wednesday 26 October, 2016 Time: 12 to 1pm Location: CB08.02.002 (the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building) RSVP to spence.messih@uts.edu.au This event was kindly supported by…
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Body shaming is an intersex issue, perhaps even more than any other issue. This post intersperses quotations about intersex infants and children with quotations about the bodies of public figures.
Much of the reporting on some women athletes participating in the Rio Olympics is insupportable. It makes assumptions about their bodies, sex, gender identity and expressions that is deeply concerning. Much reporting fails to acknowledge the lack of scientific evidence for body policing by sporting institutions, and the deep personal cost of such assumptions, which…
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OII Australia co-chair Morgan Carpenter has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Reproductive Health Matters. Here is the article abstract: Intersex people and bodies have been considered incapable of integration into society. Medical interventions on often healthy bodies remain the norm, addressing perceived familial and cultural demands, despite concerns about necessity, outcomes, conduct and…
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The sponsorship of LGBTI events by IVF businesses raises ethical issues not just about the elimination of intersex traits, but also about the nature of community and comprehension of issues relating to intersex bodily diversity.
OII Australia has submitted suggested issues for consideration by the UN Committee Against Torture, for its next review of Australia.
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