Intersex rights in the United Kingdom | |
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![]() Location of the United Kingdom | |
Protection of physical integrity and bodily autonomy | No |
Protection from discrimination | No / Yes (Jersey) |
Access to same rights as other men and women | No |
Changing M/F sex classifications | No |
Third gender or sex classifications | No |
Marriage | Yes |
Intersex topics |
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Intersex people in the United Kingdom face significant gaps in legal protections, particularly in protection from non-consensual medical interventions, and protection from discrimination. Actions by intersex civil society organisations aim to eliminate unnecessary medical interventions and harmful practices, promote social acceptance, and equality in line with Council of Europe and United Nations demands. [1] [2] Intersex civil society organisations campaign for greater social acceptance, understanding of issues of bodily autonomy, and recognition of the human rights of intersex people.
The island of Jersey has enacted limited protections from discrimination. These do not protect an intersex person from unwanted medical interventions, nor address other issues raised in the Malta declaration.
Hywel the Good's laws, c.940 CE, include a definition on the rights of hermaphrodites. [3] Henry de Bracton's De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae ("On the Laws and Customs of England"), c. 1235, [4] classifies mankind as "male, female, or hermaphrodite", [5] and "A hermaphrodite is classed with male or female according to the predominance of the sexual organs." [6] The 17th-century English jurist and judge Edward Coke (Lord Coke), wrote in his Institutes of the Lawes of England on laws of succession stating, "Every heire is either a male, a female, or an hermaphrodite, that is both male and female. And an hermaphrodite (which is also called Androgynus) shall be heire, either as male or female, according to that kind of sexe which doth prevaile." [7] [8] The Institutes are widely held to be a foundation of common law.
Accounts of intersex people include Hereford Mappa Mundi, a medieval map of the known world (c.1300), includes a hermaphrodite, outside the borders of the world known to its makers. [9] [10] In the mid 19th-century, The Welshman newspaper published an account of a child on 7 November 1851. [11] Another case was reported in 1906 by The Cambrian newspaper in Wales, on the death in Cardiff of an intersex child who, at post-mortem examination, was determined to be a girl. [12] Known historical intersex figures in the UK include Sir Ewan Forbes (1912-1991), 11th Baronet of Craigievar, Dawn Langley Simmons (1937 or 1922 to 2000), English author and biographer, and Georgina Somerset (née Turtle) (1923-2013), the first openly intersex person in the UK. [13] Prominent present day individuals include "national LGBT treasure" Seven Graham, writer Iain Morland, Lady Colin Campbell, author of Guide to Being a Modern Lady, Lisa Lee Dark, Welsh opera singer and voice actress, Dee Palmer of Jethro Tull, and Caroline Cossey.
The first recorded suggestion to replace the term 'hermaphrodite' with 'intersex', in medicine, came from British physician Cawadias in the 1940s. [14] This suggestion was taken up by other physicians in the UK during the 1960s. [15] [16]
The Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group (UK) established in 1988, three years after an equivalent Australian group, [17] and some years before the (now-defunct) Intersex Society of North America (ISNA). [18] It has since been joined by Organisation Intersex International UK, Intersex UK [19] and the UK Intersex Association (UKIA).
Intersex UK co-founder Holly Greenberry spoke at the "first United Nations Human Rights Council side event on intersex issues" in March 2014, alongside Mauro Cabral and representatives of Organisation Intersex International Australia and Zwischengeschlecht. [20] She was also quoted in a feature in The Independent stating: "We are at a tipping point ... Most intelligent human beings would be completely surprised and utterly dismayed at the civil inequality and human rights abuses that healthy intersex children and young adults are facing." [19]
In a 2017 BBC News report, a representative of the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group stated that doctors routinely withheld truth about patients' diagnoses from their patients up until 2012. [21]
Specialists at the Intersex Clinic at University College London began to publish evidence in 2001 that indicated the harm that can arise as a result of inappropriate interventions, and advised minimising the use of childhood surgical procedures. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] Data presented in recent years suggests that little has changed in practice. Creighton and others in the UK have found that clitoral surgeries on under-14s have increased since 2006, and "recent publications in the medical literature tend to focus on surgical techniques with no reports on patient experiences". [31]
Parents are frequently considered able to consent to feminising or masculinising interventions on their child, and this may be considered standard for the treatment of physical disorders. However this is contested, particularly where interventions seek to address psychosocial concerns. A BMJ editorial in 2015 stated that parents are unduly influenced by medicalised information, may not realise that they are consenting to experimental treatments, and regret may be high. [32] The editorial described current surgical interventions as experimental, stating that clinical confidence in constructing "normal" genital anatomies has not been borne out, and that medically credible pathways other than surgery do not yet exist. [32]
A footnote to a House of Commons report on transgender equality in 2016 suggested that intersex medical interventions were matters of the past, [33] and the country denied such practices in statements to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child later the same year. [34] However, this was belied by data presented to the UN Committee by intersex civil society organisations later in 2016, including National Health Service Hospital Episode Statistics and clinical publications. [35] In its concluding observations, the Committee expressed concern at "medically unnecessary surgeries and other procedures on intersex children before they are able to provide their informed consent, which often entail irreversible consequences and can cause severe physical and psychological suffering, and the lack of redress and compensation in such cases". It called on the government to "guarantee bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination to children concerned, and provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support", educate professionals, and provide redress. [36]
In 2017, the president of the British Association of Paediatric Urologists stated that "irreversible surgery is rarely performed in infancy" with parents fully involved in decision-making. Holly Greenberry of Intersex UK stated that parents remain coerced into making early surgical decisions. [21]
In October 2017, within a framework on protecting the integrity of the person, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called on the United Kingdom government to "repeal all types of legislation, regulations and practices allowing any form of forced intervention or surgery, and ensure that the right to free, prior and informed consent to treatment is upheld and that supported decision-making mechanisms and strengthened safeguards are provided, paying particular attention to women, intersex persons, girls and boys". [37]
Intersex people are protected from discrimination in Jersey. Since 1 September 2015, Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 includes intersex status within its definition of sex. Sex is one of the prohibited grounds under the act, meaning that discrimination on this basis is prohibited. The act provides that:
"Sex"
(1) Sex is a protected characteristic.
(2) In relation to the protected characteristic –
(a) a reference to a person who has that characteristic is a reference to a man, a woman or a person who has intersex status;
(b) a reference to persons who share the characteristic is a reference to persons who are of the same sex.
(3) In this paragraph, a person has intersex status if the person has physical, chromosomal, hormonal or genetic features that are –
(a) neither wholly male or female;
(b) a combination of male or female; or
(c) neither male nor female— Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013, Schedule 1, as amended [38]
The United Kingdom does not permit intersex people to change sex classification, except by declaring that they are transgender and following relevant medical protocols including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. [39]
Several intersex variations appear in a list by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority of "serious" "genetic conditions" that may be de-selected, including 5 alpha reductase deficiency and androgen insensitivity syndrome, traits evident in elite women athletes and "the world's first openly intersex mayor". [40] [41] In 2015, a Council of Europe Issue Paper on Human rights and intersex people stated:
Intersex people’s right to life can be violated in discriminatory “sex selection” and “preimplantation genetic diagnosis, other forms of testing, and selection for particular characteristics”. Such de-selection or selective abortions are incompatible with ethics and human rights standards due to the discrimination perpetrated against intersex people on the basis of their sex characteristics. [1]
Notable intersex rights organisations include Intersex UK, OII-UK and the UK Intersex Association. Notable advocates include Anick Soni, co-founder of charity InterconnectedUK and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, [42] [43] [44] and Seven Graham. [45] Iain Morland has written extensively on intersex issues, including through personal testimony. [46] [47] [48] Morland also co-founded Critical Sexology in 2002, a continuing interdisciplinary seminar series on gender and sexuality. [49]
Intersex medical interventions, also known as intersex genital mutilations (IGM), are surgical, hormonal and other medical interventions performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia and other sex characteristics, primarily for the purposes of making a person's appearance more typical and to reduce the likelihood of future problems. The history of intersex surgery has been characterized by controversy due to reports that surgery can compromise sexual function and sensation, and create lifelong health issues. Timing, evidence, necessity and indications for surgeries in infancy, adolescence or adult age have been controversial, associated with issues of consent.
The history of intersex surgery is intertwined with the development of the specialities of pediatric surgery, pediatric urology, and pediatric endocrinology, with our increasingly refined understanding of sexual differentiation, with the development of political advocacy groups united by a human qualified analysis, and in the last decade by doubts as to efficacy, and controversy over when and even whether some procedures should be performed.
Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) is a condition that results in the partial inability of the cell to respond to androgens. It is an X linked recessive condition. The partial unresponsiveness of the cell to the presence of androgenic hormones impairs the masculinization of male genitalia in the developing fetus, as well as the development of male secondary sexual characteristics at puberty, but does not significantly impair female genital or sexual development. As such, the insensitivity to androgens is clinically significant only when it occurs in individuals with a Y chromosome. Clinical features include ambiguous genitalia at birth and primary amenhorrhoea with clitoromegaly with inguinal masses. Mullerian structures are not present in the individual.
Disorders of sex development (DSDs), also known as differences in sex development, diverse sex development and variations in sex characteristics (VSC), are congenital conditions affecting the reproductive system, in which development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical.
Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies".
Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA) is a voluntary organisation for intersex people that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex people in Australia, and provides education and information services. Established in 2009 and incorporated as a charitable company in 2010, it was formerly known as Organisation Intersex International Australia, or OII Australia. It is recognised as a Public Benevolent Institution.
Intersex civil society organizations have existed since at least the mid-1980s. They include peer support groups and advocacy organizations active on health and medical issues, human rights, legal recognition, and peer and family support. Some groups, including the earliest, were open to people with specific intersex traits, while others are open to people with many different kinds of intersex traits.
The International Intersex Forum is an annual event organised, then later supported, by the ILGA and ILGA-Europe that and organisations from multiple regions of the world, and it is believed to be the first and only such intersex event.
Iain Morland is a British music technologist and author. He formerly lectured in cultural criticism at Cardiff University. His writings focus on issues of gender and sexuality, medical ethics, and science. In 2005, Times Higher Education described Morland as a leading academic in the field of sex research. He has edited an edition of the journal GLQ, and co-authored Fuckology, a critical analysis of the writings and practices of John Money. With Lih-Mei Liao, Morland co-founded in 2002 Critical Sexology, a continuing interdisciplinary seminar series on gender and sexuality. His audio work includes audio editing, sound design and programming.
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies."
Intersex Peer Support Australia (IPSA), also known as the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia, is possibly the oldest known intersex organization, established in 1985. It provides peer and family support, information and advocacy. The group is run by volunteers, for people with intersex variations such as androgen insensitivity syndrome. It changed name from the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia (AISSGA) to Intersex Peer Support Australia in 2019.
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". "Because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatized and subjected to multiple human rights violations".
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) than the non-intersex population, with an estimated 52% identifying as non-heterosexual and 8.5% to 20% experiencing gender dysphoria. Although many intersex people are heterosexual and cisgender, this overlap and "shared experiences of harm arising from dominant societal sex and gender norms" has led to intersex people often being included under the LGBT umbrella, with the acronym sometimes expanded to LGBTI. Some intersex activists and organisations have criticised this inclusion as distracting from intersex-specific issues such as involuntary medical interventions.
The following is a timeline of intersex history.
Intersex rights in New Zealand are protections and rights afforded to intersex people. Protection from discrimination is implied by the Human Rights Act and the Bill of Rights Act, but remains untested. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission states that there has seemingly been a "lack of political will to address issues involved in current practices of genital normalisation on intersex children".
Intersex rights in Australia are protections and rights afforded to intersex people through statutes, regulations, and international human rights treaties, including through the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based upon that person's intersex status in contexts such as work, education, provision of services, and accommodation.
Intersex people in the United States have some of the same rights as other people, but with significant gaps, particularly in protection from non-consensual cosmetic medical interventions and violence, and protection from discrimination. Actions by intersex civil society organizations aim to eliminate harmful practices, promote social acceptance, and equality. In recent years, intersex activists have also secured some forms of legal recognition. Since April 11, 2022 US Passports give the sex/gender options of male, female and X by self determination.
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". Such variations may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female.
Intersex people in Switzerland have no recognition of rights to physical integrity and bodily autonomy, and no specific protections from discrimination on the basis of sex characteristics. In 2012, the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics published a report on the medical management of differences of sex development or intersex variations.
Intersex people are born with natural variations in physical and sex characteristics including those of the chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". Such variations may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis allows the elimination of embryos and fetuses with intersex traits and thus has an impact on discrimination against intersex people.
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