For an introduction to these issues, see our page on bodily integrity
O&G Magazine, the magazine of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) published a special issue on LGBTQIA people for December 2018. It contains articles on intersex people by Morgan Carpenter and Dr Jenny Beale, and relevant content by Dr Kimberley Ivory, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and others.
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.
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.
On invitation, Morgan Carpenter has written a blog post for the journal Reproductive Health Matters: “Intersex human rights: clinical self-regulation has failed”. Here’s an extract: There is neither clinical consensus nor clinical evidence to support current coercive practices [8]. Clinical bodies face multiple challenges in constructing evidence to support these clinical practices. A deliberate historic…
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We are pleased to share our submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission in respect of its inquiry on protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions. The submission has been kindly endorsed by the AIS Support Group Australia (AISSGA), Disabled People’s Organisations Australia (DPOA),…
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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 medicine construct intersex bodies as either female or male while law and…
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In a new joint paper in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, Katrina Karkazis and Morgan Carpenter detail the choices and harms involved in unnecessary regulations affecting the participation of some women with intersex variations in elite sport. In April 2018, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) released new regulations placing a ceiling on women…
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This open access paper published by Harvard’s Health and Human Rights Journal highlights how international clinical classifications facilitate or specify practices that violate the human rights of intersex people. It also provides some analysis of a recent Family Court case, analysed from a slightly different perspective to recent papers in Bioethical Inquiry.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched a major project to consult on protecting the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions. The project is being assisted by an expert reference group that includes directors of IHRA, AISSGA and representatives of other intersex/parent-led organisations, disability and…
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Morgan Carpenter, for IHRA (then OIIAU), and Bonnie Hart, for the AISSGA, made a joint letter of submission in March to the Medical Board of Australia on proposed “Draft revised guidelines Sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship”. Intersex variations (often contentiously termed “disorders of sex development” in clinical settings) relate to personal sex characteristics, and…
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At present, a minority of Australian have digital health records, and such records are not used routinely. As the number of people with digital records increases, it is likely that they will increasingly be used as a way of documenting and tracking our health. The implementation of the government’s national My Health Records scheme for…
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IHRA has made a Shadow Report submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), on the situation of intersex people in Australia. This submission builds upon our recent submissions to the Australian Law Reform Commission and the UN Human Rights Committee, within parameters set by a much reduced word count. It…
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