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    Resources on Intersex Issues and Human Rights

    This page provides resources for those looking to learn more about issues faced by intersex communities in their respective countries and regions, and the intersex movement at large.

    Legal / Human Rights

    1. Corte Constitucional de Colombia, Sentencia T-912/08, 2008. [Restricting surgery on intersex children].
    2. Council of Europe. (2015). Human Rights and Intersex People: An Issue Paper. Commissioner for Human Rights.
    3. Council of Europe. (2015). Infographic of the issue paper on human rights and intersex people, published by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. Commissioner for Human Rights.
    4. Council of Europe. (2014). Human Rights Comment by Commissioner Nils Muižnieks. A boy or a girl or a person – intersex people lack recognition in Europe..
    5. Council of Europe. (2011). Prenatal sex selection, Resolution 1829. Parliamentary Assembly, Strasbourg.
    6. Council of Europe. (2013). Children’s right to physical integrity, Resolution 1952. Parliamentary Assembly, Strasbourg.
    7. Eliminating forced, coercive and otherwise involuntary sterilization: An interagency statement, OHCHR, UN Women, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO. (2014). Published by the World Health Organization.
    8. European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. (2012) Trans and intersex people – discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender identity, and gender expression. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Union. Available for download here.
    9. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. (2015). The fundamental rights situation of intersex people: FRA Focus.
    10. Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act, Chapter 540 of the Laws of Malta. The Parliament of Malta. (14 April 2015).
    11. Ghattas, D. C. (2013). Human Rights between the Sexes: A preliminary study in the life of inter* individuals. Heinrich Böll Stiftung: Publication Series on Democracy, Vol. 34, p. 10.
    12. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. (2013). Situation of Human Rights of Intersex Persons in the Americas. Petitioners: Mauro Cabral, Natasha Jiménez, Advocates for Informed Choice, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Sexualidade e Relações de Gênero, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Consórcio Latino Americano de Trabalho sobre Intersexualidade.
    13. Irish Ombudsman for Children. (2013). Advice of the Ombudsman for Children on the general scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013.
    14. OII Europe. (26 March 2015). Statement of OII Europe on Intersex, Disability, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
    15. Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics (NEK-CNE). (2012). On the management of differences of sex development: Ethical issues relating to ‘Intersexuality’. Opinion No. 20/2012.
    16. Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, House of Representatives. (28 June 2013)
    17. Tamar-Mattis, A. (2013), Report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Medical treatment of people with intersex conditions as a human rights violation.
    18. The Parliament of Australia, The Senate, Community Affairs Reference Committee (25 October 2013). Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia.
    19. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2015). Concluding observations on Switzerland, [advance unedited version], 4 February 2015, CRC/C/CHE/CO/2-4, p. 9.
    20. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (16 September 2015). Opening remarks by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Expert meeting on ending human rights violations against intersex persons.
    21. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. UN Free & Equal Campaign – Intersex Fact Sheet.
    22. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, Free & Equal Campaign. (2015). What does it mean to be intersex? Activist Hida Vitoria sheds some light.
    23. United Nations, Special Rapporteur on Torture. (2013). Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Mendez. Human Rights Council, Twenty-second session, Report No. A/HRC/22/53, 1 February 2013.
    24. Zwischengeschlecht.org. (2014). Intersex genital mutilations: human rights violations of children with variations of sex anatomy: NGO report to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th periodic report of Switzerland on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). [Warning: Contains graphic material that may be deemed offensive.]

    Social Research

    1. Balocchi, Michela. (Ed.) (2014). The Medicalization of Intersexuality and the sex/gender binary system: A look at the Italian case. LES Online, 6(1), 65-78.
    2. Bastien-Charlebois, Janik et Guillot Vincent. (2013). Géographie de l’intersexualité, dans Arnaud Alessandrin (Ed.). Géographie des homophobies. Armand Collin, pp. 241–268.
    3. Bastien Charlebois, Janik. (2014). Sanctioned Sex/ualities: The medical treatment of intersex bodies and voices. Paper presented at the ILGA-World Conference: Decolonizing our bodies, Mexico City.
    4. Cabral, Mauro. (2003). “Pensar la intersexualidad, hoy”, en Maffia, Diana (Ed.) “Sexualidades Migrantes, Género y Transgénero”. Buenos Aires: Editorial Feminaria, pp.117‐126.
    5. Cabral, Mauro y Benzur, Gabriel. (2005). Cuando digo intersex. Um diálogo introductorio a la intersexualidad, cadernos pagu, Núcleo de Estudos de Gênero – PAGU/Unicamp, (24), pp 283-304.
    6. Cabral, Mauro. (Ed.) (2009). Interdicciones: Escrituras de la intersexualidad en castellano. Mulabi (Costa Rica), Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and Anarrés Editorial: Cordoba.
    7. Costello, Cary Gabriel. (2010). Caster Semenya: Una Perspectiva Intersex. In Almeida Ana y Vásquez Elizabeth, (Eds.) Cuerpos Distintos: Ocho Años de Activismo Transfeminista en Ecuador, Comisión de Transición hacia el Consejo de las Mujeres y la Igualdad de Género – Gobierno Nacional de la República del Ecuador, Manthra Editores, pp.. 69-72.
    8. Davis, Georgiann. (2015). Contesting Intersex: The Dubious Diagnosis. New York: New York University Press. First chapter available online.
    9. Fausto-Sterling, Anne. (2000). Sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality. New York: Basic Books.
    10. Holmes, Morgan. (2008). Intersex: A Perilous Difference. Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University Press.
    11. Holmes, Morgan. (2008). Mind the Gaps: Intersex and (Re-productive) Spaces in Disability Studies and Bioethics in Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 5(2), pp 169-181.
    12. Holmes, Morgan. (Ed.) (2009). Critical Intersex. Ashgate Publishing.
    13. Karkazis, Katrina. (2008). Fixing sex: intersex, medical authority, and lived experience. Durham, Duke University Press.
    14. Morland, Iain. (Ed.). 2009. Intersex and After. Special Edition of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 15(2).
    15. Morland, Iain. (2012). The Injured World: Intersex and the Phenomenology of Feeling. Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, 23(2), pp. 20–41.
    16. Van Lisdonk, Jantine. (2014). Living with intersex/DSD: An exploratory study of the social situation of persons with intersex/DSD. The Hague: Netherlands Institute for Social Research. Available for download here.
    17. Van Lisdonk, Jantine. (2014). Leven met intersekse/DSD: Een verkennend onderzoek naar de leefsituatie van personen met intersekse/DSD. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau. Available for download here.

    Policy

    1. Australian Human Rights Commission. (2015). Resilient Individuals: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex Rights: National Consultation Report.
    2. Malta Ministry for Education and Employment. (2015). Trans, gender variant and intersex students in schools: Policy. Respect for All Framework.
    3. Victoria State Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (n.d.). Gender identity (students with a transgender or intersex status).

    Other Resources

    1. Bastien-Charlebois, Janik. (2015). My coming out: The lingering intersex taboo. Montreal Gazette.
    2. Carpenter, Morgan. (2014). Submission on the ethics of genetic selection against intersex traits. Submission to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in relation to a review of Part B of the Ethical Guidelines on the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Clinical Practice and Research, 2007 (ART guidelines).
    3. Driver, Betsy. (2015). The origins of Intersex Awareness Day.http://intersexday.org/en/origin-intersex-awareness-day/
    4. Eisfeld, J., Gunther, S. and Shlasko, D. (2013). The State of Trans* and Intersex Organizing: A case for increased support for growing but under-funded movements for human rights. Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE) and American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
    5. Festival de Cinéma Douarnenez (37th Cinema Festival, Douarnenez) (2014), Dissidence Trans Intersexes.
    6. International Intersex Forum.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Intersex_Forum
    7. Intersex Awareness Day,http://intersexday.org/en/intersex-awareness-day/
    8. Viloria, Hida. (2009).Commentary: My life as a “Mighty Hermaphrodite”, CNN.
    9. What is Intersex? An Intersex FAQ by Inter/Act.http://interactyouth.org/post/97343969730/interact-has-been-working-with-mtvs-faking-it-on

    Clips / Documentaries

    1. Faking It: 9 Things You Need to Know About Being Intersex. (2014). MTV
    2. Intersexion: A Documentary about being Intersex. (2012). Director: Grant Lahood; Mani Mitchell. Trailer.
    3. ILGA meets… Natasha Jimenez. (2015) Transcript
    4. IDAHO Campaign: “I”, Tony (Your Story) (2013).
    5. Mika Venhola on Intersex, Venhola is a Paediatric Surgeon at Oulu University Hospital (Finland)
    6. UN Side Event on the Human Rights of Intersex People, Human Rights Council 30th Session, (2015). Footage from the side event on the human rights of intersex people, organised by Advocates for Informed Choice, SIPD, OII Australia, OII Chinese and OII Europe, supported by ILGA and COC Nederland.
    7. What It’s Like to be Intersex? (2015). Buzzfeed.

    Disclaimer:

    This is not an exhaustive list of resources. We prepared this list of resources for the purpose of providing information on the understanding that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.

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