Intersex civil society organizations
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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 b ...
civil society organizations have existed since at least the mid-1980s. They include peer support groups and advocacy organizations active on health and medical issues,
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
,
legal recognition Legal recognition of a status or fact in a jurisdiction is formal acknowledgement of it as being true, valid, legal, or worthy of consideration, and may involve approval or the granting of rights. For example, a nation or territory may require a ...
, and peer and family support. Some groups, including the earliest, were open to people with specific intersex traits, while others are open to people with many different kinds of intersex traits.


History

Intersex peer support and advocacy organizations have existed since at least 1985, with the establishment of the
Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia Intersex Peer Support Australia (IPSA), also known as the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia, is possibly the oldest known intersex organization, established in 1985. It provides peer and family support, information and adv ...
in 1985. The Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group (UK) established in 1988. The
Intersex Society of North America The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Amb ...
(ISNA) may have been one of the first intersex civil society organizations to have been open to people regardless of diagnosis; it was active from 1993 to 2008. In May 2019, more than 50 intersex-led organizations signed a multilingual joint statement condemning the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into the
International Classification of Diseases The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a globally used diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. The ICD is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the directing and coordinating ...
, stating that this causes "harm" and facilitates human rights violations, calling on the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
to publish clear policy to ensure that intersex medical interventions are "fully compatible with human rights norms".


Resourcing

Intersex organizations are poorly resourced. An international report on ''The State of Trans* and Intersex Organizing'' by
GATE A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
and the American Jewish World Service in November 2013 found that, globally, "just over $40,000 addressed intersex issues" in 2010. At that time, "6% of all funding for human rights work went to promote LGBTI rights globally ($72.6 million out of $1.2 billion in total)." The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice established the first Intersex Human Rights Fund in 2015, in an attempt to address resourcing issues.


International Intersex Forums

International gatherings are known to have begun in the mid-1990s, including an ISNA retreat in 1996 that brought together activists from North America and New Zealand, and also a summer school organised by OII-France in 2006. The retreat is documented in a short movie entitled ''Hermaphrodites Speak'' and the film '' Intersexion'', and the summer school in a book, ''A qui appartiennent nos corps? Féminisme et luttes intersexes''. International Intersex Forums have taken place since 2011, organized by ILGA. These have brought together intersex activists and organisations from around the world, resulting in joint statements about human rights and bodily autonomy. The Malta declaration of the third forum called for an end to 'normalising' practices, prenatal screening and selective abortions, infanticide and killings, and non-consensual sterilisation. It also made recommendations on sex assignments of intersex children and adults.(Chinese) 2013 第三屆世界陰陽人論壇宣言
Oii-Chinese, December 2013


List of intersex organizations

This list contains both intersex-led organizations and some active allied organizations.


Africa

*
Intersex South Africa The Organisation Intersex International (OII) is a global advocacy and support group for people with intersex traits. According to Milton Diamond, it is the world's largest organization of intersex persons. A decentralised network, OII was founde ...
* SIPD Uganda


Asia

*
Intersex Asia Intersex Asia is a pan-Asian intersex human rights organization, established in 2018 and registered in Taiwan. History Intersex Asia was established at the First Asian Intersex Forum on February 10, 2018, in Bangkok, Thailand. The forum brough ...
* Oii-Chinese *
OII Russia Founded in 2017, Intersex Russia ''(Russian:'' ''Интерсекс Россия)'', also known as OII Russia, based in Moscow, Russia, is an organization working to spread awareness on topics of intersex, providing accurate and positive represen ...
*
Srishti Madurai Srishti Madurai was established on 2 September 2011 by Gopi Shankar Madurai as the first genderqueer and LGBT student volunteer group designed to target the problems of LGBT people in non-metro cities of Tamil Nadu. In October 2011 Srishti ...
(India)


Europe

*
Collectif intersexe activiste The Collectif intersexe activiste - OII France ("Intersex activist collective - OII France"; the collective"), until 2022 know as the Collectif intersexes et allié.e.s, abbreviated to CIA-OII France, is a not-for-profit association founded in 2016 ...
(CIA-OII France) * InterAction Suisse (Switzerland) * Internationale Vereinigung Intergeschlechtlicher Menschen (OII Germany) * Intersex Russia *
Intersex UK Intersex UK is an organisation by and for intersex people (those born with differences of sex development or variations of sex anatomy) in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Intersex UK works to protect the bodily autonomy and civil rights of inte ...
* OII Europe * Organisation Internationale des Intersexes - Francophonie (OII French-speaking) * OII UK *
Zwischengeschlecht Zwischengeschlecht (literally "between sexes") is a human rights advocacy group campaigning on intersex bodily autonomy issues. The group demonstrates outside medical events where surgical interventions are discussed or performed, engages with t ...
(Switzerland/Germany) • Caminar intersex (España -islas Canarias)


Latin America

* Brújula Intersexual (Intersex Compass) (Mexico and Latin America)


North America

*
Accord Alliance Accord Alliance was founded in March 2008 to support a dialogue on intersex patients and their care. They are a hosted project of the Tides Center, an organization that supports non-profit groups. Their stated mission is to promote comprehensive ...
(USA) * Brújula Intersexual (Intersex Compass) *
interACT Advocates for Informed Choice, doing business as, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex trai ...
, formerly known as Advocates for Informed Choice (USA) * Intersex Campaign for Equality (IC4E), formerly OII-USA *
Intersex Society of North America The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1993 by Cheryl Chase to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries.Matthews, Karen (Oct 22, 2000). Debate Grows Over Using Surgery on Infants with Amb ...
(ISNA) ''(defunct)'' * Organisation Internationale des Intersexes - Francophonie (Canada)


Oceania

* Intersex Human Rights Australia, formerly OII Australia * Intersex Peer Support Australia (also known as AISSGA, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia) *
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 ...
, also known as Intersex Awareness New Zealand


International

*
GATE A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
*
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 ...
(ILGA) *
Organisation Intersex International The Organisation Intersex International (OII) is a global advocacy and support group for people with intersex traits. According to Milton Diamond, it is the world's largest organization of intersex persons. A decentralised network, OII was founded ...
(OII)


See also

*
Intersex human rights Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies." Intersex peo ...
* List of intersex people *
Legal recognition of intersex people Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies". Ac ...
*
List of LGBT rights organizations This is a list of LGBT rights organizations around the world. For social and support groups or organizations affiliated with mainstream religious organizations, please see ''List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences''. For organization ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Organizations, List of Intersex Intersex organizations Intersex organizations Intersex in society Intersex-related lists