Intersex rights in New Zealand are protections and rights afforded to

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

people. Protection from discrimination is implied by the Human Rights Act and the Bill of Rights Act, but remains untested. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission states that there has seemingly been a "lack of political will to address issues involved in current practices of genital normalisation on intersex children". In March 2017, New Zealand and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

community organizations issued a joint call for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable

intersex medical interventions Intersex medical interventions, also known as intersex genital mutilations (IGM), are surgical, hormonal and other medical interventions performed to modify atypical or ambiguous genitalia and other sex characteristics, primarily for the purposes ...

on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support.

History

Early

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

, like

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, held that hermaphrodites were to be treated as male or female depending on the prevailing sex. In the early part of the 21st-century, the

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

studied the circumstances of intersex people within the context of studies on the human rights situation of transgender people. Later work has examined the situation of intersex people separately, including the human rights implications of

, shame and secrecy. Notable civil society institutions and individuals include the

Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand Intersex Aotearoa is a nonprofit organisation based in New Zealand, and is a national advocacy and peer support organisation for intersex people. The organisation was founded in 1996 by Mani Mitchell, and has previously been known as the Intersex ...

Mani Mitchell Mani Bruce Mitchell (born 1953) is an intersex activist and counsellor from Wellington, New Zealand. In 2021, Mitchell was recognised as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Early life Mitchell was born and raised in the central North ...

and refugee

Eliana Rubashkyn Eliana Rubashkyn (; ), (born 25 June 1988) is a New Zealand pharmacist and chemist, known for being the first intersex person assigned male at birth legally recognised as a woman with a UN mechanism under the international refugee statute. Born ...

. Mitchell narrated the documentary ''

Intersexion ''Intersexion'' (2012) is a documentary about intersex people. The film was researched and presented by activist Mani Mitchell, New Zealand's first "out" intersex person.

'' in 2012. In March 2017, representatives of

participated in an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organizations and others. The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable

on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support.

Physical integrity and bodily autonomy

Protection of intersex children from harmful practices

In 2010 and 2016, the Human Rights Commission heard testimony from intersex people and from medical professionals, including information on medical interventions within New Zealand and in Australia, under the provisions of a High Cost Treatment Pool. The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions states that New Zealand laws and policies that prohibit

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

explicitly permit "normalizing" medical interventions on intersex infants and girls. Material presented by the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group to the Australian Senate in 2013 showed New Zealand to be a regional outlier in surgeries in cases of

congenital adrenal hyperplasia Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders characterized by impaired cortisol synthesis. It results from the deficiency of one of the five enzymes required for the synthesis of cortisol in the adrenal cortex. ...

, with genital surgical interventions favoured on infant girls aged less than 6 months. In a 2016 review of the country's performance under the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

, the government provided conflicting information on medical interventions, including information that contradicts reports made to the Human Rights Commission. In October 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued observations on practices in New Zealand, including recommendations to ensure "that no one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, guaranteeing the rights of children to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination". A 2016 Intersex Roundtable by the Human Rights Commission on genital "normalizing" surgeries found that there was a lack of political will to address surgeries, concerns with service delivery to parents and families, the development of legislative safeguards, and a need to test the right to bodily autonomy against the Bill of Rights Act. In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for acknowledgement, an apology, and compensation for intersex people who have been subjected to "involuntary or coercive medical interventions". In July 2018, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued concluding observations on harmful practices, recommending that New Zealand adopt "clear legislative provisions explicitly prohibiting the performance of unnecessary surgical or other medical treatment on intersex children before they reach the legal age of consent". The Committee also called for the provision of redress, and counselling and support to families.

Protection from discrimination

Inclusion of sex characteristics in anti-discrimination law

The New Zealand

noted in its 2004 report on the status of human rights in New Zealand that intersex people in New Zealand face discrimination in several aspects of their lives, however the law is unclear on the legal status of discrimination based on sex characteristics or intersex status. Currently, the Commission believes that the

Human Rights Act 1993 The Human Rights Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand that deals with discrimination. It was a consolidation and amendment of the Race Relations Act 1971 and the Human Rights Commission Act 1977. It came into force on 1 February ...

may protect intersex persons under the laws preventing discrimination on the basis of sex, and the Bill of Rights Act 1990 may adequately recognize rights to bodily autonomy and refusal of medical treatment, but this has not been tested.

Identification documents

New Zealand passports are available with 'M', 'F' and 'X' sex descriptors for applicants of indeterminate sex. Passports with an 'X' descriptor were originally introduced for people transitioning gender. Birth certificates are available at birth showing "indeterminate" sex if it is not possible to assign a sex. In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for an end to legal classification of sex, stating that legal third classifications, like binary classifications, were based on

structural violence Structural violence is a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. The term was coined by Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung, who introduced it in his ...

and failed to respect diversity and a "right to self-determination".

Marriage

Any adult couple is able to marry in New Zealand. A private member's bill by Labour MP

Louisa Wall Louisa Hareruia Wall (born 17 February 1972) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2011 to 2022. She has represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern and rugby union as a membe ...

which proposed defining marriage to be inclusive regardless of gender became law on 19 April 2013. The first same-sex marriages were conducted in August 2013.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Intersex rights In New Zealand LGBT rights in New Zealand Human rights in New Zealand