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 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 has previously been known as the Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand and Intersex Awareness New Zealand.Intersex Trust of Aotearoa New Zealand
, J R McKenzie Trust.

Mission

ITANZ is a charitable trust that provides education, information and training on intersex issues for organisations and individual professionals.Intersex Awareness New Zealand
Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, December 2013. Executive Director

is known as New Zealand's first "out" intersex person.

Activities

The Trust works with 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 ...

, Rainbow Youth in Auckland, Whanganui Women's Health Collective, and Working it Out in Tasmania.

Physical integrity and bodily autonomy

Trust members have participated in, and jointly held, roundtable events with the Human Rights Commission, including on the human rights implications of

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 ...

, shame and secrecy. Following a joint round table event with the Human Rights Commission, the Commission proposed to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that the New Zealand government enact legal and regulatory safeguards to protect the rights of intersex children, and ensure that children's rights to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination are respected. In October 2016, the 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". The recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child have been illustrated by ITANZ and Intersex Youth Aotearoa. In March 2017, representatives of Intersex Trust Aotearoa New Zealand 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.

Counseling services

Executive Director Mani Mitchell provides counselling for individuals and families.

Youth

A youth project, Intersex Youth Aotearoa, was launched in September 2015 to provide information and support to youth with intersex conditions.

Education and awareness

Mitchell, and other board members, have given presentations to a range of audiences, including the National College of Midwives biennial conference and the University of the Third Age. The Trust have supported the filming of award-winning 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.

'' (2012).

International organizing

Mitchell co-organized the third

International Intersex Forum The International Intersex Forum is an annual event organised, then later supported, by the ILGA and ILGA-Europe that and organisations from multiple regions of the world, and it is believed to be the first and only such intersex event. Predec ...

in Malta, 2013.The 3rd International Intersex Forum raises important issues
, Gay Express, 3 December 2013.

Affiliations

ITANZ a member of the

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization who is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a ...

References

External links

* {{intersex Intersex rights organizations Political advocacy groups in New Zealand Intersex medical and health organizations Intersex support groups Gender in New Zealand Charitable trusts Intersex rights in New Zealand