Intersex
Intersex – from the Latin inter, meaning “between,” and sexus, meaning “sex” – is an umbrella term referring to people born with sex characteristics, including genitalia, gonads, and chromosome patterns, that do not fit stereotypical binary notions of male or female bodies.
Intersex is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of naturally occurring anatomical variations. In some people, intersex traits are visible at birth, while in others they become apparent only during puberty. In some chromosomal configurations, intersex traits may have no external manifestation at all.
According to expert estimates, between 0.05% and 1.7% of the population is born with intersex traits; the upper estimate is approximately the same as the number of red-haired people.
An intersex characteristic is a characteristic related to biological sex, which distinguishes it from sexual orientation or gender identity. An intersex person may be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual, and may identify as a man, a woman, both, or neither.
Because the bodies of intersex people differ from the bodies of most other people, they are often subjected to stigmatization and numerous violations of human rights in childhood and adulthood, including violations of the right to health and physical integrity, protection from torture and ill-treatment, and the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
Physical integrity. A practice has developed whereby intersex children are often subjected, without necessity, to surgical and other procedures in an attempt to make their appearance conform to stereotypical ideas of one of the two sexes.
The consequences of such procedures, which are often irreversible, may include lifelong infertility, pain, incontinence, loss of sexual sensitivity, and psychological suffering, including depression. These procedures are regularly carried out without the full, free, and informed consent of the person, often when the person is still unable to participate in decision-making because of their age. Such procedures may violate the person’s right to physical integrity, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, and a life free from harmful practices.
Such procedures are often carried out on the basis of cultural and gender norms and discriminatory ideas about intersex people and their integration into society.
Discriminatory attitudes cannot justify violations of human rights, including the forced performance of medical procedures and violation of the right to physical integrity. States are obliged to combat harmful stereotypes and discrimination, rather than contribute to their reinforcement. Claims about the health benefits of such procedures are sometimes used to justify them, but such claims are often based on insufficient evidence and fail to take into account possible alternative solutions that would respect physical integrity and personal autonomy.
Unfortunately, such views and social pressure are often supported by doctors and parents of intersex children, who approve and/or consent to such procedures despite the absence of medical indications, urgent need, or other necessity, and despite the fact that carrying out such procedures leads to violations of human rights standards.
Consent is often given in conditions where there is no information about the short-term and long-term consequences of such operations and no contact with other people in similar situations, including intersex adults and their families.
Many intersex adults who were subjected to such operations in childhood particularly emphasize the shame and stigmatization associated with attempts to eliminate intersex characteristics, as well as significant physical and psychological suffering, including suffering connected with extensive painful scarring. Many also believe that a sex and gender identity were imposed on them that did not suit them.
Given the irreversibility of such operations and procedures and their impact on a person’s physical integrity and autonomy, these procedures should be prohibited when there are no urgent medical indications and no consent from the patient.
Intersex children and their families should receive adequate counselling and support, including from other people who have found themselves in similar situations.
Discrimination. Intersex people are often subjected to discrimination and violence if their intersex characteristics become known, or if people believe that intersex people do not conform to their ideas about gender norms.
Laws prohibiting discrimination usually do not contain provisions concerning intersex people, which makes this population vulnerable to various forms of discriminatory action, including restrictions on access to health care, education, public services, employment, and sport.
Health-care workers often lack the necessary training, knowledge, and understanding required to take into account the specific needs of intersex people, to ensure the protection of their health, and to respect their autonomy and right to physical integrity and health.
Some intersex people also face obstacles and discrimination if they wish or need to change the sex marker in their birth certificate and other official documents.
Intersex athletes face particular difficulties. In some cases, intersex women athletes have been disqualified because of traits characterizing them as intersex. At the same time, the presence of intersex characteristics in itself does not guarantee higher performance in sport, while other physical characteristics that affect athletic performance, such as height and muscle mass, are not subject to similar control and do not affect eligibility.
Legal remedies. Intersex people must be protected from violations of their rights. Violations must be investigated, and appropriate measures must be taken against alleged perpetrators. Victims must be ensured access to effective legal remedies, including redress and compensation.
The views of intersex people must also be taken into account in the development of legislation and policies that affect their rights.
Necessary measures. States must:
- Prohibit surgical operations and other procedures aimed at changing the sex characteristics of intersex children in cases where there are no medical indications for doing so, and ensure the protection of the physical integrity of intersex children and respect for their autonomy;
- Ensure that intersex people and their families receive adequate counselling and support, including from other people who have found themselves in similar situations;
- Prohibit discrimination on the basis of intersex characteristics or status, including discrimination in education, health care, employment, sport, and access to public services, and combat such discrimination through appropriate initiatives;
- Ensure the investigation of human rights violations against intersex people, take appropriate measures against alleged perpetrators, and guarantee victims access to effective legal remedies, including redress and compensation;
- Ensure that national human rights institutions conduct research and monitoring concerning the observance of the human rights of intersex people;
- Ensure accessible procedures for changing sex markers in birth certificates and other documents;
- Ensure the training of medical personnel on the medical needs and human rights of intersex people, as well as on the provision of appropriate counselling and care to parents and intersex children, based on respect for autonomy, physical integrity, and the sex characteristics of intersex people;
- Ensure the training of judicial officers, immigration officials, law-enforcement personnel, health-care and education workers, as well as employees and officials of other bodies and institutions, in order to guarantee respectful and equal treatment of intersex people;
- Ensure the involvement of intersex people and organizations defending their interests in consultations and participation in the development of research, legislation, and policies affecting their rights.
The mass media should:
- Reflect the views of intersex people and groups representing their interests in print publications, television, and radio broadcasts;
- Present objective and balanced information about intersex people and issues related to their human rights;
- Refrain from making assumptions about the sexual orientation or gender identity of intersex people.
You, your friends, and other people can also help:
- Report any forms of discrimination or violence against intersex people;
- Remember that intersex people may have any sexual orientation and any gender identity (UNFE).
Reference:
UNFE. (n.d.). Intersex: Fact sheet. Retrieved from https://unfe.org/system/unfe-68-Intersex_Factsheet_Russian.pdf
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