Issue Areas: Intersex Human Rights

Intersex Human Rights Australia (formerly OII Australia)

Intersex Human Rights Australia is a national body by and for people with intersex variations.

Intersex Human Rights Australia (formerly OII Australia) was formed in 2009. They are deeply committed to regional and international intersex networks. Their advocacy work includes a shadow report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a formal submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the elimination of discrimination against women and girls in sport, and a side event “Intersex rights at the Human Rights Council”, for the 44th session of the Human Rights Council that was receiving and discussing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the “Intersection of race and gender discrimination in sport”. IHRA also presented a formal submission to the New South Wales Parliament’s Joint Select Committee inquiry into the Anti–Discrimination Amendment (Religious Freedoms and Equality) Bill 2020 about intersex and religion.

They engage with medical students and students of a range of other health disciplines, clinical institutions and associations, with training, screenings and debates.

One example of their community work is Family day, which was for intersex people and our families, including parents of children with intersex variations. During the covid–19 lockdown, they organized online meetings each Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime.

OII Francophonie

OII Francophonie’s history goes back to 2003, when it was founded as the ‘original OII,’ based in Quebec and Paris, from where the French name Organisation Intersex International derived.

OII Francophonie’s history goes back to 2003, when it was founded as the ‘original OII,’ based in Quebec and Paris, from where the French name Organisation Intersex International derived. OII Francophonie’s mission is to work towards the right to self-determination and the depathologization of intersex people, opposing the medicalized treatments that intersex children are subjected to. They also work to give voice to French-speaking intersex people and to raise awareness about intersex people’s experiences by organizing meetings and publications that include contributions from intersex scholars, activists and artists. Describing themselves as a feminist collective who does intersectional work, OII Francophonie supports intersex people throughout the French-speaking world through a ‘network of care’ that aims to work with respectful doctors. The organization is made up of volunteer members based in France, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, who are connected with other international intersex activists and organizations. OII-Francophonie hosted a summer school in Paris in 2006, with representatives from Canada, France, Belgium and the UK. They have been working with the Douarnenez Film Festival (France) since 2012 (film festival about minorities), and in June 2015, the Film Festival’s focus was on intersex visibility and included an international ‘residence’ for intersex activists. They are now working to strengthen the network and to develop organizational resources for French-speaking intersex organizations.

Intersex Day Project

The Intersex Day Project promotes human rights actions for Intersex Awareness Day (26 October) and Intersex Day of Solidarity (8 November), and also documents and shares the histories of the intersex movement.

The Intersex Day Project promotes human rights actions for Intersex Awareness Day (26 October) and Intersex Day of Solidarity (8 November), and also documents and shares the histories of the intersex movement. The Intersex Day Project is bilingual, and it was established in 2015 by Morgan Carpenter (Australia), with support from Laura Inter (Mexico). The project gratefully acknowledge the important contribution of Betsy Driver and Emi Koyama (US) in founding Intersex Awareness Day in 2004, and honours the vital contribution of Morgan Holmes, Max Beck and friends, who took part in the event, in Boston in 1996, that is marked by Intersex Awareness Day.

Genres Pluriels Asbl

Genres Pluriels was founded in 2007 to increase the visibility of trans*, intersex and gender fluid individuals and promote the rights of physical integrity and self-determination.

Genres Pluriels was founded in 2007 to increase the visibility of trans*, intersex and gender fluid individuals and promote the rights of physical integrity and self-determination. The organization raises awareness through media engagement, workshops and public activities, and through high schools and universities. Its interventions at the European Parliament/Council of Europe and in Belgian ministries aim to promote respect for the human rights of trans and intersex people. Genres Pluriels also provides psychological support to intersex people individually and through support groups. Genres Pluriels is increasing its focus on intersex issues by providing information in Belgium’s three official languages on its website, creating brochures to distribute to maternity wards in hospitals, holding public events on intersex issues, and producing a short film about the lived realities of intersex people.

Geten, Centre for LGBTIQA People’s Rights

Founded in 2001, Geten was the first organization in Serbia to acknowledge and base its work primarily on gender identity and expression.

Founded in 2001, Geten (formerly Gayten-LGBT) was the first organization in Serbia to acknowledge and base its work primarily on gender identity and expression. Its mission is to contribute to removing all forms of violence and discrimination toward LGBTIQ persons. Geten’s advocacy contributed to the adoption by the Serbian Parliament of amendments to the law on healthcare, enabling body modification procedures for trans people to be covered by health insurance.

In addition to advocacy, Geten builds and empowers trans, intersex and queer communities through support groups, an LGBT SOS help line, culture and arts, education, and networking. Kris Randjelovic, coordinator of Geten’s trans and intersex section, identifies as intersex and trans, and led the call to form Geten’s intersex support group two years ago. Geten is conducting qualitative research on intersex issues, and translating and publishing information to aid in the education of medical professionals, intersex people and their families.

Check out our 2018 International Trans Day of Visibility video featuring an interview with Geten-LGBT’s Intersex Section Coordinator Kristian Randjelovic:

Kristian was also featured in our 2016 Intersex Awareness Day video:

Bilitis Resource Center Foundation

Bilitis was founded in 2004 as an LBT women’s self-help group.

Bilitis was founded in 2004 and is now the oldest LGBTI organization in Bulgaria. Their intersex work is intersex–led. They advocate for protection against discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics in employment; to ban the “normalizing” surgery of intersex infants; for a quick, transparent and accessible process for legal gender recognition including for intersex people. They work on LGBTI issues in education, with the publication of studies on the experience of LGBTI students and LGBTI teachers. They are participating in the Bring-In project, funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, to promote the equality of intersex people in Greece, Hungary, UK and Bulgaria, by educating socialand healthcare professionals on how to recognize, prevent and combat discrimination towards intersex people, while raising public awareness and advocating for actions to combat the human rights violations intersex people face.
students and LGBTI teachers. They are participating in the Bring–In project, funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, to promote the equality of intersex people in Greece, Hungary, UK and Bulgaria, by educating socialand healthcare professionals on how to recognize, prevent and combat discrimination towards intersex people, while raising public awareness and advocating for actions to combat the human rights violations intersex people face.

Intersex Danmark

Intersex Danmark was formed in October 2014, when an Intersex activist realized that there were no non-pathologizing support groups for intersex people in Denmark.

Intersex Danmark was formed in October 2014. They are hopeful that thanks to their advocacy work the anti–discriminations laws will soon protect people with variations of sex characteristics, in labor market, hate crime, and general discrimination. They also work on intersex asylum rights and succeeded in having the Ministry of Immigration and Integration in Denmark send out information material on how to ensure the safety and wellbeing of LGBTI+ Asylum seekers in Denmark. The material was distributed to all centers for asylum–seekers in Denmark and contained some the recommendations they worked on, especially on the right to specialized healthcare for intersex asylum seekers. On awareness-raising, they build partnerships with many human rights, LGBT+ and feminist NGOs, and participate in conferences and media interviews.

Vivir y Ser Intersex

Vivir y Ser Intersex was initially founded as a blog with the purpose of producing original contents about intersexuality in Spanish language, because most content that can found on the Internet is written in English.

Vivir y Ser Intersex was initially founded as a blog with the purpose of producing original contents about intersexuality in Spanish language, because most content that can found on the Internet is written in English. So far, users from all over Latin America and Spain (but also from the US and other countries) have visited the blog. As a project, Vivir y Ser Intersex has a common mission shared along with other projects and groups: to raise consciousness about intersexuality, to increase its visibility, to educate people in general but also to raise other intersex persons and help them to express their voices and life experiences, exposing the issues many still face on a daily basis such as discrimination, stigma, and trauma from the unconsented medical procedures of which they’ve been subject; all of this especially (although not exclusively) with a particular scope on Mexico, Hispanic America and Spain. They are working closely with the other intersex organizers from Mexico and Latin America in general.

OII Italia

OII Italia’s advocacy work aims at stopping the violation of intersex people’s human rights, especially the unnecessary and non-consensual medical treatments inflicted upon intersex people to conform their bodies.

OII Italia was established in 2017, and co-founded by two intersex people. OII Italia’s advocacy work aims at stopping the violation of intersex people’s human rights, especially the unnecessary and non-consensual medical treatments inflicted upon intersex people to conform their bodies. To achieve this goal, this new group is working on building new alliances and a network of intersex activists and advocates in Italy. OII-Italia’s current main priority is to raise national awareness on human rights violations perpetrated against intersex people. OII-Italia aims at building a strong intersex movement in the country.