11 December 2017 — ‘National Engagement on the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Intersex Persons’ Meeting, and the Publication of ‘National Intersex Meeting Report’, South Africa

11 December 2017 — ‘National Engagement on the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Intersex Persons’ Meeting, and the Publication of ‘National Intersex Meeting Report’, South Africa

Following the National Engagement on the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Intersex Persons meeting organised by Iranti with South African intersex activists, community members and stakeholders on the 11th of December 2017, the National Intersex Meeting Report was published in 2018, entitled ‘National Dialogue on the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of Intersex People.’

The Report focuses on female genital mutilation (FGM), intersex genital mutilation (IGM), circumcision, the language and framing of intersex in South Africa, infanticide, healthcare, the South African legal structure, social and cultural marginalisation (in sport, movement funding, state and civil society approaches and awareness, research, educational environments, and official documents and sex status), and the responsibility of Chapter 9 Institutions (State institutions supporting constitutional democracy in South Africa).

From the conclusion of the Report:

“On the 16th September, 2015 was the first time that UN convened a discussion specifically to discuss the human rights of intersex people. The High Commissioner noted ‘When I started as High Commissioner a year ago, I knew little about intersex people. I don’t think I was alone in this: it reflects a general lack of awareness. Too many people assume, without really thinking about it, that everyone can be fitted into two distinct and mutually exclusive categories: male or female.’

This, unfortunately, continues to be the case both globally and in South Africa specifically. Addressing the rights of intersex people means both acknowledging the diversity of human bodies and shifting language. It means ensuring that infants are not subject to invasive and unnecessary surgical procedures to ‘normalise’ their bodies. Moreover, intersex people have the right to be informed about their intersex status and to make their own choices regarding their bodies, the right to determine their own identities. In essence, we are talking about the right to bodily integrity and self-determination. The notion that human beings are born into one of two distinct and separate sexes is deep-rooted and contributes to an ongoing taboo and stigma regarding intersex lives. This culture of silence perpetuates a legacy of shame and secrecy along with the invisibility of intersex lives. It also prevents families and individuals from pursuing a model of full, free and informed consent.

Addressing the needs of intersex South Africans means recognising diversity, understanding the history of medical gatekeeping particularly with its relationship to Apartheid notions of race and class and advancing
legislation to address IGM and indeed the murders and death of intersex infants. As Rebecca Steinfeld and Brian Earp argue, and this is particularly true for Constitutional democracies, founded on a legacy of equality ‘Whatever specific policies are implemented, however, what is clear is that fundamentally different treatment of female, male, and intersex children —with respect to the preservation of their bodily integrity — will become increasingly difficult to justify in the coming years’.”

Read the full report.