 Under intense questioning from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, a representative of the South African government stated: "I think as a government we do regognize that being intersex is a sexual characteristic and not a medical condition, but at the same time we recognize that there are still practices
interACT is pleased to announce the publication of "Normalizing Intersex" - a special edition of the Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics Journal published in partnership with the Voices project. This PDF version may be shared widely and includes a variety of important diverse intersex narratives speaking out about their experiences of oppression dealing with the medical
The interACT legal team recently submitted a document to the 59th Session of the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) urging them to consider some key questions around intersex in the future periodic review of the USA. This document provides an updated summary of the current standing of intersex surgery and human rights.  It also reiterates the fact
NIH Recognizes need to address intersex human rights and other community priorities in research interACT is making an impact by helping to set better priorities and better standards for federally funded intersex research. Â The administrative building of the National Institutes of Health is shown in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) We
We got some exciting news from InterACT Law and Policy this week. For the first time, the federal government has officially stated that, at least in the area of federally-funded health programs, discrimination against intersex people is prohibited! How did this happen? It started with passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare,
In one day, many of our LGBTQI friends in North Carolina lost all protections... and all of the public bathrooms! Now we see how quickly our protections can disappear. This bill was proposed, debated, voted on by both legislative branches and signed by the governor in one day. And once one state topples, the rest follow right along,
Tuesday, March 8, 2016, Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Méndez will be addressing the 31st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Special Rapporteur will discuss his latest thematic report on the topic of Gender Perspectives on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, country reports on Brazil, Georgia, and Ghana, and
UPDATE: Since the time this article was written on March 1, 2016 Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed the bill that would have made South Dakota the first state. to approve a law requiring transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their birth sex. Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard had an initial positive reaction to the
In 2010, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) commissioned the Institute of Medicine to assess the current state of knowledge about the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and to identify research gaps and formulate a research agenda that could guide NIH in enhancing and focusing research in this area. The resulting
The United Nations Human Rights Campaign just published this new fact sheet on Intersex as part of their "Free and Equal" Campaign from the Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (UN OHCH). To better explain intersex issues, the fact sheet states that intersex is "an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of
