Mission Statement
interACT works to empower intersex youth and advance the rights of all people with innate variations in their physical sex characteristics through advocacy, public engagement and community connection.
Compassion Statement
interACT believes that the law, properly used, is a tool for achieving justice; and that justice, properly understood, has compassion at its heart.
Legal advocates have always played an important role in protecting the most vulnerable members of society, such as young people born with intersex traits or variations of sex development.
Parents, doctors, mental health professionals, impacted adults and family members all care deeply about protecting these young people. However, the historical treatment of children born with intersex traits and the reality of society’s intolerance of difference has created so much pain and anger that these different groups of stakeholders have had a great deal of difficulty in communicating with each other.
Recognizing that all these groups have the best interests of children at heart, interACT believes that improving communication is a crucial part of improving care for young people born with intersex traits. So, while we are clear that these young people are our core constituents, we maintain a constant focus on respectful compassion for all those who care for the young people we serve.
Statement on Trauma and Healing
interACT acknowledges the legacy of trauma endured by people with variations in their sex characteristics, whether or not they identify as intersex. We are committed to taking trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches in our work. We strive to be a part of breaking the cycle of trauma by promoting and participating in open, compassionate dialogue, and individual and collective healing and reconciliation.
2024 Strategic Plan
In 2024 interACT launched our new strategic plan. We are excited to bring the impact of our important and unique program work to new heights!
Organizational History
interACT—formerly known as Advocates for Informed Choice (AIC)—was founded by attorney Anne Tamar-Mattis with an Equal Justice Works fellowship in 2006, and continued with an Echoing Green fellowship in 2008 with a focused mission of ending harmful medical interventions on intersex children. We began our operations with a national advisory board, including doctors, lawyers, mental health experts, and leaders of many different intersex organizations to establish our goals.
When interACT was founded, other organizations already existed that focused on peer support for parents and/or intersex adults, on political activism and awareness-building, on promoting research, and on advocacy in the medical community. Awareness of the legal questions surrounding children with intersex traits was beginning to grow, but no organization had undertaken legal advocacy on behalf of these children.
Pictured above: interACT’s first advisory board.