UN Treaty Body statements on intersex human rights in Australia
Multiple UN Treaty Body committees have issued concluding observations to Australia on the rights of children with intersex variations.
Briefing papers (page 1 of 2)
IHRA policy briefing papers
Researching intersex populations
Advice and recommendations on including people born with variations of sex characteristics in research studies and surveys.
Education
People born with intersex variations face stigmatisation and discrimination in education settings. Policies designed to support students with particular identities may not recognise issues faced by people with particular bodies.
Detention
Intersex people, like other people, may be convicted of offences, or detained awaiting trial. People with observable variations in sex characteristics may face harassment and stigma in places of detention, and may be vulnerable to harm.
Intersex people and sport
Intersex people suffer exclusion and stigmatisation in sport. On a day-to-date level, the most significant issue is body shaming. However, intersex women face uncertainty, exclusion without evidence, and public humilation.
Discrimination
People born with variations of sex characteristics experience stigmatisation, discrimination, bullying, body shaming and other forms of harm because of our sex characteristics, and also because of assumptions about our identities.
Eugenics
Many intersex traits are genetic, with an identified origin. The elimination of such traits from the gene pool is an established and growing phenomenon.
Bodily integrity
We all have a right to bodily integrity, to not be subjected to invasive or irreversible medical procedures that modify sex characteristics, unless necessary to avoid serious, urgent and irreparable harm.
Identification documents
Intersex people have diverse sex classifications and gender identities. This page presents background information and guidance on how to respect the diversity of intersex lived experience.
Clinical opposition to early intersex medical interventions grows
Clinicians are increasingly raising their voices in opposition to forced and coercive interventions, including Physicians for Human Rights and the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association, but more action is needed – particularly in Australia.
Demographics
The diversity and demographic characteristics of intersex people are not widely understood. This page presents details from an independent Australian sociological survey of 272 people born with atypical sex characteristics in 2015.
Intersex in the workplace
Guidance for employers, union representatives and staff on intersex issues in the workplace.