For an introduction to these issues, see our page on discrimination
Over recent days, there have been a number of articles stating that the German federal government is proposing a “third gender” or blank sex designation on birth certificates for intersex people. As with recent federal Australian identity guidelines, the German proposals have generated enormous interest. From Der Spiegel: The option of selecting “blank”, in addition…
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LGBTI human rights organisations today welcomed the commencement of federal protections on the grounds of ‘sexual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, ‘intersex status’ and ‘marital or relationship status’.
It’s time to stop. In 2013, cosmetic genital surgeries still take place on intersex infants in Australia to make them “appear normal”. The surgeries are carried out primarily for social reasons: fears of family and social stigma. Clinicians themselves acknowledge that there is no firm evidence of good outcomes, especially for sexual function and sensation….
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The Senate’s Community Affairs Reference Committee has just published its first document on involuntary or coerced sterilisation. A second report, focusing on intersex people, will be published in a couple of weeks (update: likely in late September). We welcome the report, its focus on the human rights of people subjected to non-consensual sterilisation, and its…
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The Australian Senate is currently conducting an Inquiry into the involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities and intersex people. Two recent submissions by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group (APEG) and the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (RCH) to the Inquiry offer some surprising admissions: medical interventions take place for social rationales, sometimes portrayed as…
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The Senate’s Community Affairs Committee has announced that the final report of its inquiry on the involuntary and coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities will now be split into two reports. The first report, in relation to people with disabilities, will be released on the scheduled date of 17 July. A second report, focusing on…
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We’ve heard reports today that Alex Greenwich MP is to introduce legislation into the NSW state parliament to prevent discrimination against gay, or LGBT, or LGBTI students. The language varies from report to report, but we need to point out that the new federal Act will prevent discrimination against intersex students on religious grounds. Here’s…
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We have made a fourth submission to the Senate Inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation. It follows a submission by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, a feature article in The Age, and new developments in Europe and the US.
Download this press release as a PDF For immediate release: Wednesday 26th June 2013 Press Contacts: Gina Wilson, Organisation Intersex International (OII) Australia, 0418 290 336 Justin Koonin, NSW Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby,0414 269 339 Sally Goldner, Transgender Victoria, 0407 946 242 Peter Hyndal, A Gender Agenda, 0408 111 410 Anna Brown, Victorian Gay…
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OII Australia is relieved and excited at the passing of the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013, without a vote at 8:30pm, AEST. For the first time in Australia, and for the first time internationally, intersex people are recognised fully and authentically in anti-discrimination legislation. Intersex people are born…
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The Age newspaper printed two articles on intersex by journalist Andrew Bock on Thursday this week: It takes more than two and Call to end intersex genital operations. The news article contains a call by OII Australia and the AIS Support Group Australia to end appearance-related genital surgeries on intersex infants. This reflects our call…
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The House of Representatives today passed the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013. The Bill remains the subject of a Senate Inquiry, which will report on 17 June 2013. The Bill adds the following attributes to protection measures in the Sex Discrimination Act: 7 Subsection 4 (1) Insert: intersex…
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