33 countries from all regions of the world have called on the UN Human Rights Council to urgently protect intersex people. They warn intersex people are not allowed ‘bodily autonomy’ and many nations deny them their ‘right to health’.
Intersex people are born with diverse sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. These may include genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns.
Up to 1.7% of the global population is born with such traits. However many countries and doctors view their bodies as different.
As a result intersex children and adults often face stigma and operations without their consent to ‘normalize’ them. Today Austria told the Human Rights Council on behalf of itself and 32 other