Legal (page 2 of 5)

Articles about legal cases and judgements, and policing matters. Read our briefing papers on bodily integrity, discrimination, identification documents and detention

Morgan Carpenter: head shot

Kirby Institute lecture by Morgan Carpenter

A recording of a 2019 lecture by co-executive director Morgan Carpenter at the Kirby Institute, UNSW, on “medical and legal contradictions on the meaning and needs of intersex people”.

the shape of Tasmania, in purple

Tasmania: unfinished business

IHRA welcomes aspects of the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018, that has been passed by the Tasmanian Parliament. In particular, insertion of the attribute of “sex characteristics” in law is very welcome. However, we note that anti-discrimination protections on grounds of sex characteristics only apply to persons with intersex variations of sex…
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Law: an icon showing an outline of scales in balance

Detention

A briefing on issues affecting people with innate variations of sex characteristics in detention settings.

an equals sign inside a circle

Discrimination

A briefing on discrimination issues affecting people with innate variations of sex characteristics due to our bodies, identities, or assumptions about our identities.

Australian Law Reform Commission submission

Submission to the ALRC on reform of the family law system

IHRA has made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission regarding its discussion paper on reform of the family law system, with a focus on reform of the welfare jurisdiction to ensure that children with intersex variations and persons with disabilities are protected from harmful practices.

The symbol of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in purple

Submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

IHRA has made a submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, kindly endorsed by the AIS Support Group Australia, Disabled People’s Organisations of Australia, National LGBTI Health Alliance, and People with Disability Australia. As a member of the Australian Child Rights Taskforce, IHRA also participated in the development and submission of a joint shadow report.

IHRA logotype

Appropriating ‘DSD’ as a way for trans people to access surgery

Over recent years we’ve commented on appropriation of intersex by multiple different groups of gender diverse people, including based on the harmful idea that being intersex ‘messes with the system‘, the harmful idea that being transgender is a form of ‘brain intersex‘, and the harmful idea that intersex is a non-binary gender. We know these…
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Orchid

Submission to the AHRC on protecting rights in medical settings

We are pleased to share our submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission on protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions. It is kindly endorsed by the AIS Support Group Australia, Disabled People’s Organisations Australia, LGBTI Legal Service and People with Disability Australia.

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry logo

Morgan Carpenter: new peer-reviewed papers on medical “normalisation” and legal “othering”

Update: The book chapter is now available freely via the author’s website We are pleased to share a current and recent peer-reviewed journal article by co-executive director Morgan Carpenter, on intersex health and human rights, and an associated book chapter. In an open access peer-reviewed journal article and a book chapter, Morgan describes contradictions where…
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an outline of a court building

Statement on Re: Kelvin

We commend the Full Court of the Family Court in deciding to permit a competent transgender adolescent to make their own informed decision about stage 2 hormone treatment, in consultation with clinicians and their parents. We hope that Kelvin is also well connected with his peers. As the Australian Human Rights Commission has noted, this…
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an outline of a court building

The Family Court case Re: Kaitlin [2017] FamCA 83

The Family Court of Australia has recently published a new case involving an intersex child, this time where the parents sought consent for their child, an adolescent, to obtain treatment for “gender dysphoria”. Unlike in the recent Family Court case Re Carla (Medical procedure) [2016] Fam CA 7, the case was not supported by a…
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