WHO, OHCHR, UNICEF + 4 More Condemn Intersex Sterilisations + IGM, Demand Apology + Redress!


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Zwischengeschlecht.org on Facebook Hip, hip! Yet another victory for the movement to end Intersex Genital Mutilations!

The World Healt Organisation (WHO) together with the
– Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
– UN Women,
– UNAIDS, the
– United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
– United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the
– United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
issued a ground-breaking Interagency Statement on
>>> “Eliminating forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization”
.

It criticises in no uncertain terms not only castrations of intersex children, but also IGMs in general.

And it contains equally clear-cut demands of state and institutional bodies, including

  • Independent and impartial investigation of all incidents
  • Recognize past or present policies, patterns or practices, issue statements of regret or apology to victims
  • Collection of data and monitoring
  • Provide appropriate and humane notification to people concerned
  • Access, including through legal aid, to administrative and judicial redress

Markus Bauer and Daniela Truffer (Zwischengeschlecht.org / StopIGM.org) were consulted by the WHO for the interagency statement, together with representatives of other intersex organisations, including Anne Tamar-Mattis (Advocates for Informed Choice, USA) and Mauro Cabral (Argentinia). May similar explicit demands on all forms of IGMs be issued by ever more human rights bodies – and states forced to implement them! It’s still a long way to go …

After the break: Relevant excerpts from the interagency statement!

Intersex Genital Mutilations • 17 Most Common Forms
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Historical Overview • What is Intersex? • How Common is IGM?
>>> Download PDF (3.65 MB)     >>> Table of Contents

>>> Download full WHO Interagency Statement on “Involuntary sterilization”


Background

Some groups, such as […] intersex persons, also have a long history of discrimination and abuse related to sterilization, which continues to this day. […] Intersex persons, in particular, have been subjected to cosmetic and other nonmedically necessary surgery in infancy, leading to sterility, without informed consent of either the person in question or their parents or guardians. Such practices have also been recognized as human rights violations by international human rights bodies and national courts (15, 64).

[…] [I]ntersex persons

Intersex persons may be involuntarily subjected to so-called sex-normalizing or other procedures as infants or during childhood, which, in some cases, may result in the termination of all or some of their reproductive capacity. Children who are born with atypical sex characteristics are often subjected to cosmetic and other non-medically indicated surgeries performed on their reproductive organs, without their informed consent or that of their parents, and without taking into consideration the views of the children involved (64; 147, para 57; 148; 149). As a result, such children are being subjected to irreversible interventions that have lifelong consequence for their physical and mental health (64; 150, para 20; 151).

Medical procedures that might result in sterility may sometimes be justified because of benefits to health, including the reduction of cancer risk (152). Such treatments may be recommended for […] intersex persons; however, they may be proposed on the basis of weak evidence, without discussing alternative solutions that would retain the ability to procreate (151, 153–157). Parents often consent to surgery on behalf of their intersex children, including in circumstances where full information is lacking (151, 158, 159).

It has been recommended by human rights bodies, professional organizations and ethical bodies that full, free and informed consent should be ensured in connection with medical and surgical treatments for intersex persons (64, 150) and, if possible, irreversible invasive medical interventions should be postponed until a child is sufficiently mature to make an informed decision, so that they can participate in decision-making and give full, free and informed consent (15, 149). It has also been recommended that health-care professionals should be educated and trained about bodily diversity as well as sexual and related biological and physical diversity, and that professionals should properly inform patients and their parents of the consequences of surgical and other medical interventions (149; 150, para 20; 160–162).

Remedies and redress

  • Recognize past or present policies, patterns or practices of coercive sterilization, and issue statements of regret or apology to victims, as components of the right to remedy for these practices.
  • Provide notification, through appropriate and humane means, to people who have been subjected to coercive sterilization, and who may be unaware of their situation, and provide information on the possibility of seeking administrative and judicial redress.
  • Promptly, independently and impartially investigate all incidents of forced sterilization with due process guarantees for the alleged suspect, and ensure appropriate sanctions where responsibility has been established.
  • Provide access, including through legal aid, to administrative and judicial redress
  • mechanisms, remedies and reparations for all people who were subjected to forced, coercive or involuntary sterilization procedures, including compensation for the consequences and acknowledgement by governments and other responsible authorities of wrongs committed. Enable adults to seek redress for interventions to which they were subjected as children or infants.
  • Guarantee access to reversal procedures, where possible, or assisted reproductive technologies for individuals who were subjected to forced, coercive or otherwise involuntary sterilization.

Monitoring and compliance

  • Establish monitoring mechanisms for the prevention and documentation of forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization, and for the adoption of corrective policy and practice measures.
  • Collect data regarding forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization, in order to assess the magnitude of the problem, identify which groups of people may be affected, and conduct a comprehensive situation and legal analysis.
  • Providers of sterilization services should implement quality improvement programmes to ensure that recommendations aimed at preventing forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization are followed and procedures are properly documented.
  • Establish mechanisms for obtaining patient feedback on the quality of services
    received, including from marginalized populations.

>>> Download full WHO Interagency Statement on “Involuntary sterilization”

Intersex Genital Mutilations • 17 Most Common Forms
Human Rights Violations Of Children With Variations Of Sex Anatomy
IGM – Historical Overview • What is Intersex? • How Common is IGM?
>>> Download PDF (3.65 MB)     >>> Table of Contents

2 thoughts on “WHO, OHCHR, UNICEF + 4 More Condemn Intersex Sterilisations + IGM, Demand Apology + Redress!”

  1. Greetings,

    This is excellent news! I would like to add the horror of coerced hormonal treatment. So many of us thankfully escape mutilation in infancy only to be mutilated at puberty.

    Please help us shed light on mistreatment at the hands of those that are sworn to protect us.

    Thank you,

    Galen Sanderlin
    Executive Director
    XXY Brain Trust

    Reply
  2. thank you galen for sharing and everyone for their efforts in raising awareness and being the cause of better care for everyone affected by the mistakes made at the handsof those we expect to help but whom haven’t. this was a great read.

    Reply

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