October 26 is International Intersex Awareness Day, a day that highlights the human rights issues facing intersex people.For the estimated 1.7% of the population who were born with genetic, hormonal or physical sex characteristics that do not fit neatly into medical or social norms, intersex is the umbrella category under which they live. “We’re still born male and female, but we’re born with atypical characteristics,” explains Cody Smith, an advocate who worked on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report on intersex rights. “We are part of natural diversity [bodies] in the same way that redheads represent the natural diversity of hair color.”AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT But the glaring difference between redheads and intersex people is the glaring inequality they face. This is what Smith, who currently works at Intersex Human Rights Australia, has been fighting for for the past nine years.
What does the Human Rights Commission report recommend?
The Human Rights Commission’s landmark report makes 12 recommendations, including laws that prevent medical intervention without the prior, informed and personal consent of the person involved, unless it is medically necessary. This means that in the future, intersex children will not be forced to undergo surgery until they reach the age where they can give consent. Through consultations with intersex Australians, the Commission heard about a variety of genital surgeries that led to ongoing problems, including loss of fertility, urinary tract problems and loss or reduction of sexual function, sensitivity and ability to experience sexual pleasure. Medical violence inflicted on many is nothing but trauma. As a 30-year-old, Cody tells me about the pain of hearing recently about a 10-year-old who underwent these invasive surgeries. “It really turned into this intergenerational trauma and there was really no reason why it couldn’t have been stopped until now,” they say.
What is bodily autonomy?
The phrases “bodily autonomy” and “bodily integrity” are scattered throughout the report. We are becoming increasingly familiar with the concept of consent in the realm of sex, but often fail to apply it to other aspects of life. “Bodily autonomy is the right to make decisions about one’s own body and the right to consent and boundaries. When these procedures are mostly cosmetic or not necessary, and they can cause really, really long-term consequences for people,” Cody says, pointing to the loss of sexual sensation, the need for follow-up surgeries and reliance on hormone replacement. therapy as examples. “We’re talking about very, very drastic decisions that are made under the assumption that being normal is somehow better.” Advertisement ADVERTISEMENT
What are the mental health consequences of surgery without consent?
The report found that while people’s experiences varied, common themes that prevailed included distress, stigma, lack of social and personal support and challenging interactions with the health system. Medical interventions that occur during childhood contribute to poor mental health, increasing isolation and alienation. Cody also notes that because surgeries occur during childhood and teenage years, they can diminish a person’s education and employment prospects. “It can have a really serious impact on schooling, and there are some co-occurring disorders with learning disabilities when it comes to certain types of intersex relationships. So what we found is that there are a lot of intersex people who don’t get a full education [and] we have quite significant rates of high school dropout and poverty in the intersex community,” they say. And while high rates of suicide and mental health illness are overrepresented in intersex communities, Cody emphasizes that it’s not intersex that causes these problems, it’s how intersex people are treated in society that causes these problems.
Why is there still so much silence and taboo surrounding the intersex community?
Because “intersex” is a catch-all term that encompasses more than 40 different conditions, personal experiences vary greatly, including people’s journey to diagnosis. “Doctors encourage parents not to talk about surgery [and] they are basically lying about it. And so, even not having the language to understand my experiences as I was going through them was something that limited my access to the community,” Cody shares.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTPeople can be diagnosed at any stage of their lives. While some may have noticeable traits from birth, others find out through experiencing atypical puberty or even when trying to conceive a child. But what gave Cody the most encouragement and comfort was finding his intersex community. “[It made me] to realize that these experiences that were so alienating were not isolated. We’ve had shared experiences.” I ask Cody what they want for the future of intersex people. “It’s fine if an intersex person grows up and decides they need surgery to confirm their gender, but I want to see that their choice is made freely. I don’t want to see any more intersex people regretting their bodies. I don’t want any more operations without consent.”.squiggly_grey{fill:none;stroke:#d5d5d5;stroke-linecap:round;stroke-miterlimit:10;stroke-width:2px;}DashDividers_1_500x100Cody Smith is an intersex rights advocate based in Canberra. They encourage allies to confirm the Darlington’s statement which is a list of advocacy points to improve the lives of intersex people in Australia and New Zealand. Want more? Get the best stories from Refinery29 Australia delivered to your inbox every week. Apply here!Advertisement ADVERTISEMENT Related Stories 28 Gender Expressions to Know in 2021 Meet Melbourne’s LGBTQI+ Friendly Moving Service Why Consent and Pleasure Go Hand in Hand
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Source: HIS Education