SA GROUP TO MARK INTERNATIONAL INTERSEX AWARENESS DAY

Transgender and Intersex Africa (TIA) has announced its support for International Intersex Awareness Day on the 26th of October.

On that day in 1996, intersex activists and allies from Transsexual Menace held the first public intersex demonstration in Boston, USA where the American Academy of Pediatrics was holding its annual conference.

In a statement, TIA said that the day is an opportunity to break the silence and address ignorance about the existence of the intersex community in South Africa.

TIA noted that it also an opportune time to highlight the challenges and struggles that intersex individuals face in the country.

This includes the “non-consensual and unnecessary genital mutilation” of intersex babies.

“Hundreds of intersex infants continue to be subjected to inhumane ‘corrective surgeries’ in order to align them to stereotypical norms of sex and gender. Many intersex people continue to live in silence and isolation as a result of the prejudice and discrimination they face from society,” said the organisation.

In this regard, TIA announced that it aims to increase access to medical care and legal services for intersex people.

“Intersex people should be celebrated as part of the diverse and variant human phenomenon. Intersex individuals should not be forced to undergo life impacting medical procedures without their consent and the proper information,” said Nthabiseng Mokoena, Advocacy Coordinator at TIA

“The medical pathological approach to intersex is still a big concern; intersex is not a disorder and should not be seen as one,” added Tebogo Nkoana, TIA’s Director.