Intersex Awareness Day falls on 26 October. This year, Intersex South Africa (ISSA) and Iranti call for tangible action from the government of South Africa in the form of policy review and reform as well as the creation of strong legislative and policy frameworks that promote and protect the rights of intersex persons. 

Globally, intersex children have been subjected to Intersex Genital Mutilation (IGM) for decades to alter their appearance to be more typically male or female. These procedures are non-consensual, irreversible, and medically unnecessary yet they remain common practice in South African medical settings.

There are several pieces legislation in South Africa which specifically mention and deal with rights of intersex people, including the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act which broadens the definition of “sex” to include “intersex”, as one of the prohibited grounds upon which one may not be discriminated against. Despite critical flaws, the Alternation of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, 2003, allows intersex persons to change their sex descriptor, and intersex is also specifically mentioned in our new Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, so as to criminalise any hate crimes or hate speech aimed at intersex persons.

Unfortunately, no piece of legislation makes explicit reference of the rights to bodily autonomy and integrity or the right to self-determination for intersex people, nor are there any policies in place to guide medical treatment where necessary. This has resulted in no action by the government to protect intersex children from IGM, which has continued as an acceptable practice unabated, violating intersex people’s rights and inflicting life-long damage. Most disturbing is the proliferation of these practices at university clinics and state hospitals, effectively ensuring state funding for human rights violations. 

In response to a joint shadow report submitted by Iranti and its partners in 2016 to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the South African government acknowledged the ongoing violations and the urgent need for structural intervention. We commend the government for its continued engagement with these critical matters. In December 2017 the Department of Justice partnered with ISSA and Iranti to host the first National Engagement on the human rights situation of intersex persons. This year, we have seen the Departments of Justice and Home Affairs join us in bilateral engagements with the Europian Union, specifically visiting Belguim and Malta, to benchmark from some of the best legislation that exists currently on intersex issues, alongside our partners the African Centre for Migration and Society, The University of the Witwatersrand and ARASA. 

This SA-EU initiative will culminate in a conference in South Africa from 8 to 11 December, where the SA delegation will convene a national conference on shaping and advancing trans and intersex policies for South Africa.  Depathologisation is what Iranti, ISSA and our allies have fought for, and there is a collective recognition from the DOJ&CD, DHA and DoH that trans and intersex persons have been severely affected by systemic violations. 

• We call on the Commission on Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Rights to urgently address the high rates of infanticide of intersex infants in rural and traditional settings and engage in broad-based awareness and training of traditional birth attendants. 
• We call on the Department of Health to urgently enact a moratorium on intersex genital mutilation, to depathologise intersex variations in medical classifications, to ensure access to health based on ethical medical standards and to ensure that intersex persons have full access to their medical history.

• We call on the Department of Justice to prioritise its commitment to set up a working group between civil society and government that will focus on the amendment and drafting of legislation to address the current gaps and challenges.
• We call on the Department of Social Development to ensure the provision of competent, affirming, and holistic psycho-social support for intersex persons and their families, and engage in public awareness-raising. 
• We call on the Department of Basic Education to review its life science curriculum and ensure accurate, non-pathologising material on diversity in sex characteristics, and to prevent and address instances of discrimination, exclusion and bullying. 
• We call on the Department of Higher Education and Training to revise medical curricular on intersex healthcare to ensure alignment with international human rights standards and ethical medical practice.
• We call on the Department of Sports and Recreation to end all discrimination against intersex athletes and enact national regulations that enable and support the participation of intersex persons in sports.  
• We call on the South African Human Rights Commission to uphold its commitment to convene a national inquiry on the violations of intersex persons.

We urge all government departments and agencies to give systematic and consistent attention to the protection and promotion of the human rights of intersex people with the urgency it deserves.

For further information, contact:

Rumana Akoob ,Communications Specialist, Iranti – 078 036 6832

Crystal Hendricks, Board Member, Intersex South Africa – 062 134 0831