Kathmandu (Pahichan) February 28 – Between 8 and 11 February 2018, the First Asian Intersex Forum, supported by the Intersex Human Rights Fund, took place in Bangkok, Thailand. During the Forum, the participants founded Intersex Asia – the first regional network of human rights-based activists and intersex Asian organizations working for the rights of intersex people, communities and movements.

The forum brought together 14 intersex people representing intersex organizations and communities from Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to press release.

Intersex Asia aims to work for the promotion and protection of human rights of intersex people in Asia, be a representative voice for Asian intersex people and communities, and ensure that the rights to life, physical integrity, physical autonomy and self-determination of intersex people, be promoted and protected everywhere.

This moment is a fundamental axis for the Asian Intersex Movement, since it marks a historic moment for the visibility and recognition of human rights in Asia.

Throughout Asia, the lack of knowledge of doctors on intersex issues leads to unnecessary and inhumane medical procedures, which include surgeries and “normalization” treatments for children, adolescents and intersex adults.

Because intersex people are born with physical sexual characteristics (which include genitals, gonads, hormones, and chromosomal patterns), they do not fit into the typical binary notions of male and female bodies, l * s niñ * s, and adult * s intersex, They are frequently stigmatized and subjected to multiple violations of their human rights, including violations of their rights to health and physical integrity, freedom from torture and ill-treatment, and equality and non-discrimination.

“As intersex people of Asia, we live in a society that perpetuates discrimination, violence and killings of intersex people, due to various cultural, religious, traditional and medical beliefs and practices. Therefore, we must be supported in order to promote the social, political and legislative changes that concern us,” the press release reads.

Intersex Asia is a stand-alone network, consisting of organizations run by intersex people, as well as intersex individuals, from Asian countries, who work to educate about intersex issues, and to generate visibility about human rights violations and discrimination faced by intersex communities.

The Intersex Forum Asia and Intersex Asia, also remember and affirm the Public Declaration of the Third International Intersex Forum (known as the Malta Declaration), the Intersex Declaration of the Intersex Pre-Conference at ILGA-Asia 2017, and the demands intended to put end to discrimination against intersex people, that promote and protect the human rights of intersex people in Asia, and to ensure the rights to life, bodily integrity, physical autonomy and self-determination. (See Public Declaration).

We affirm that intersex people are real, and that they exist in all regions and in all countries of the world, including in all Asian countries. Therefore, intersex people should be recognized as the agents of the social, political and legislative changes that concern them.

We are intersex activists, representing the diverse region of Asia, working together to end discrimination, and promoting and protecting the human rights of intersex people.

Demands

That the suffering and injustice caused to intersex people be recognized.

That it is recognized that sexism, medicalization and stigma suffered by intersex people, produces significant trauma and mental health problems.

Eliminate the stigma of all the terms that refer to the intersex.

Recognize that being intersex is related to biological sexual characteristics, and that it is different from a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. An intersex person can be heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual or asexual; and can be identified as a woman, a man, both or neither.

End mutilation and “normalization” practices, such as genital surgeries and other psychological and medical interventions, through legislative and other means. The intersex people must be empowered to make their own decisions that affect their own physical integrity, physical autonomy and self-determination.

Put an end to preimplantation genetic diagnosis, prenatal tests and interventions and selective abortion of intersex fetuses.

End inappropriate medical practices and protocols, including the administration of medications for the selection of a genus and medical interventions in fetuses and newborn babies, as a result of lack of knowledge about intersex people and intersex variations.

Put an end to the non-consensual sterilization of intersex people.

Depathologize variations in sexual characteristics in medical practices, guidelines, protocols and classifications, such as the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization.

Include intersex education based on human rights in prenatal counseling and support.

End infanticide, abandonment and honor killings of intersex people.

Put an end to practices that require normalization surgeries in intersex children to be assigned as a requirement for inheritance.

Guarantee that the right of inheritance to intersex people is not denied due to infertility.

Ensure that intersex organizations and peer support groups are recognized, funded and strengthened.

Protect intersex people from discrimination by adding the foundation of sexual characteristics to anti-discrimination legislation, and ensure protection against intersectional discrimination.

Protect intersex people in legislation on sexual violence and harassment.

Guarantee legal protection and support for intersex people with disabilities.

Recognize that intersex refugees need protection against discrimination and appropriate psychosocial assistance.

Guarantee equal and free legal protection of discrimination for intersex people, in marriage and in adoption laws.

Protect intersex people against discrimination in the workplace.

Create and facilitate supportive, safe and celebratory environments for intersex people, their families and their surroundings.

Provide intersex education based on human rights to empower intersex people and their families.

Help intersex people and their families connect and build intersex communities.

Ensure that intersex people have the right to complete information and access to their own medical records and history.

Protect the right of intersex people to privacy when they interact with civil and social institutions, such as hospitals, educational and governmental institutions.

Guarantee the provision of all human rights and citizenship rights to intersex people.

In order to guarantee the physical integrity and well-being of intersex people, psychosocial and peer support, autonomous and non-pathologizing, should be provided to intersex people throughout their lives (if required), as well as to parents. and / or care providers.

Ensure that all health care professionals and providers, who play a specific role in the well-being of intersex people, are adequately trained to provide quality services.

Provide accessible and appropriate medical care that meets the needs and problems of physical and mental health of intersex people

Register the * s intersex children as women or as men, with the awareness that, like all people, they can grow and identify with a different sex or gender.

Ensure that sex or gender classifications are modifiable through a simple administrative procedure at the request of the people involved. All adults and able children should be able to choose between: feminine (F), masculine (M), non-binary or multiple options. In the future, as happened with race or religion, sex or gender should not be a category in birth certificates or identification documents for anyone.

Ensure that all people who play a specific role in the well-being of intersex people, such as health care providers, parents and professionals working in the area of education, as well as society in general, are educated about the intersex issues from a human rights perspective.

Put an end to sexual verification tests that violate the fundamental privacy and dignity of intersex people, and ensure that they can participate in competitive sports, at all levels, according to their legal sex. The intersex athletes who have been humiliated * or stripped of their titles, must be reinstated and compensated.

Create awareness about intersex issues and the human rights of intersex people, in communities and in society in general.

Provide comprehensive sexual education, including references to intersex people and experiences, as well as intersex education based on human rights, at all levels of education.

Provide adequate recognition of the suffering and injustice caused to intersex people in the past, and provide adequate compensation, reparation, access to justice and the right to the truth.

In view of the above, the Asian Intersex Movement asks:

That international, regional and national human rights institutions take into account and give visibility to intersex issues in their work.

That national governments address the concerns raised by the Asian Intersexual Movement, and devise appropriate solutions in direct collaboration with representatives and intersex organizations.

That national governments put an end to harmful cultural practices, such as infanticide and honor killings of intersex people.

That the media and their sources guarantee the right of intersex people to privacy, dignity, and ethics and correct representation.

That community leaders get involved in intersex education to dispel the misrepresentations and stigma surrounding intersex people.

That the funders engage with intersex organizations and support them in the fight for visibility, increasing their capacity, building knowledge and affirming their human rights.

That human rights organizations contribute to building bridges with intersex organizations and to build a foundation for mutual support and meaningful engagement. This must be done in a spirit of collaboration, and no one should instrumentalize intersex problems as a means to other ends.