Legal (page 3 of 6)

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

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…
Read more →

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…
Read more →

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…
Read more →

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…
Read more →

Darlington retreat

Darlington Statement

The Darlington Statement is a joint consensus statement by Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand intersex organisations and independent advocates, agreed in March 2017. It sets out the priorities and calls to action by the intersex human rights movement in our countries.

RightsTalk, 22 February 2017: Anna Brown, Imam Nur Warsame, Morgan Carpenter, and Ed Santow

Morgan Carpenter: RightsTalk on protecting the rights of intersex people

On 22 February 2017, co-executive director Morgan Carpenter spoke at an Australian Human Rights Commission RightsTalk, on “Creating Equality – The Role of Law in Protecting SOGII Rights”. The event was hosted by Human Rights Commissioner Ed Santow, with Anna Brown, Director of Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Human Right Law Centre and Imam Nur Warsame,…
Read more →

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

UN Committee against Torture: Australia must respond to list of issues

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…
Read more →

an outline of a court building

The Family Court case Re: Carla (Medical procedure) [2016] FamCA 7

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….
Read more →