Marriage and relationships issues.
We welcome the 61.6% majority ‘yes’ verdict, and a majority in every State and Territory. OII Australia hopes that Parliament will now legislate to enable every adult couple to marry, irrespective of their sex characteristics.
Intersex people are diverse: some of us are married, or able to marry legally in Australia, while others of us are not. OII Australia supports a YES vote. We encourage our members, supporters and broader constituency to vote YES for marriage equality, and we encourage you to talk with your family, friends and colleagues about…
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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.
This submission to a Senate inquiry on an exposure draft marriage bill discusses the role of medical interventions in preparing intersex bodies for marriage, as well as issues accessing marriage. It analyses the implications of marriage laws in Australia before marriage equality.
OII Australia made a submission on the matter of a proposed plebiscite or referendum on the matter of marriage in Australia. In common with many other LGBTI organisations, OII Australia opposes such a referendum due to the likely mental health impact on people born with intersex variations and our families. More information Our submission, published…
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The Senate of Australia is currently engaged in an inquiry on the recognition of foreign same-sex marriages. Tony Briffa married Manja last year, in New Zealand, in a marriage that is not recognised as either opposite sex, nor same-sex, marriage. Tony wrote a personal submission to the inquiry, which OII Australia supported. Tony spoke at…
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Tony and Manja Briffa spoke at a Marriage Equality rally in Melbourne, on 16 August 2014. Here’s Tony’s speech. UPDATE, 24 August: Details of the Senate submissions and hearing have moved here. Thank you for the introduction and thank you to Equal Love for continuing the campaign for marriage equality for 10 years! I’m an…
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Here are this year’s Intersex Awareness Day words, by Morgan Carpenter, OII Australia president. Intersex Awareness Day, 2013 Today is Intersex Awareness Day. In a nod to Stonewall, the date marks the first public protest by North American intersex activists. The event marks a good moment to pause and reflect, and honour the people who…
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I support marriage equality and acknowledge the great work done by Australian Marriage Equality (AME) over the years. I am disappointed however, that they are now pushing legislation in NSW and Tasmania that will exclude some intersex and trans people from marriage. This clearly is not “marriage equality” which is why I am calling on AME…
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Tony Briffa, our Vice President, is getting married to Manja today in council chambers in Dunedin, NZ. Tony is a Councillor and former Mayor of Hobsons Bay, Victoria. We share Tony and Manja’s excitement! We hope that today is beautiful for both Tony and Manja and we wish them heartfelt best wishes for a wonderful…
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Congratulations to the ACT government for today tabling their Marriage Equality Bill! The Bill is very inclusive: it permits everyone not covered under the Commonwealth Marriage Act to get married, so couples that are not comprised of “a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others” will be able to get married (and…
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“In the Case of C and D” isn’t the only Australian case of which we are aware of an annulment of marriage due to one party being intersex, but obtaining good, detailed documentation on such cases can be a major challenge. Broadcast journalist Ian Richardson has done an amazing job in documenting the story of…
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