StopIGM.org

With human rights and ethics bodies increasingly criticising intersex genital mutilation (IGM) as a serious human rights violation and the first states adopting formal (albeit so far inadequate) laws prohibiting IGM practices, IGM practitioners are no longer able to simply ignore decades of criticism from persons concerned and their organisations. They have long since switched to covertly or now also openly campaigning against efforts to effectively protect intersex children in order to prevent or reverse intersex human rights as far as possible, and have developed strategies for doing so that can be observed time and again internationally, as described in our 2024 input to the UN High Commissioner (PDF, p. 9-10).

In Switzerland, we have recently observed new, particularly aggressive and alarming pro-IGM strategies and forms of campaigning which come in sheep’s clothing and are also targeted at allies, and which have already achieved some important victories. Promptly, this year this medical campaign is being drastically ramped up again.

So far, in 2024, the local IGM lobby successfully fought a federal motion for a criminal ban on IGM with an orchestrated public and political campaign in the National Council and Council of States, and instead pushed through a doctor-friendly motion for “self-regulation” through “guidelines”.

Moreover, doctors practicing IGM have hijacked a founding meeting convened by an intersex activist for an interdisciplinary association, ending in a hostile takeover. To the outside world, the new association “Varia Suisse” presents itself as progressive and claims to stand up for diversity, visibility and acceptance of intersex people. In public, the association conceals the topic of surgery (see also their English homepage, where under “Varia Suisse Urologie” only “pediatric urologists” are mentioned but not what they do), while the “interdisciplinary teams” of “Varia Suisse Urologie” continue to mutilate intersex children throughout Switzerland. 3 of the 5 board members of “Varia Suisse” work in the intersex team of Zurich University Children’s Hospital, with the current surgeon at the very top of their list …

Unfortunately, doctor-controlled “organisations of persons concerned” pretending to be “neither for nor against surgery”, but actually promoting IGM and the right of parents to have “surgery” done on their children, are nothing new. See for example CARES or similar CAH “parents and patients associations” around the globe, or the “qualified peer support” scheme in Germany.

What is new, however, is that, under a “progressive” cloak, “Varia Suisse” is working to establish itself in public as “the voice of the persons concerned” in order to then silence any criticism of IGM, for example by allies, “in the name of the persons concerned”.

To our knowledge also new and alarming is that, apparently, “Varia Suisse” was already able to successfully infiltrate european intersex meetings.

Next, “Varia Suisse” is planning two public events in Zurich. On the association’s English homepage, the “Varia Suisse Festival” is listed as another “project” in addition to “Varia Suisse Urologie” etc. On its own website in English, the “Varia Festival” claims to “explore the diversity of human identity […] showcasing works by artists with gender variations” (although the names of the participating intersex artists have since been removed from the website).

When intactivist allies recently criticised the IGM background of the organising association, they were promptly accused by the “Varia Festival” of spreading “hate” and destructiveness, and told that as “non-intersex persons” they had no right to speak out on this issue.

Most recently, as a reaction to similar various and repeated criticism, the “Varia Festival” homepage has added a banner with statements, including one that reads “We are against medically unnecessary procedures” (the ongoing IGM practices at the Zurich University Children’s Hospital and “Varia Suisse Urologie” notwithstanding).

To be continued – and, if the internationally well-connected IGM doctors keep winning, probably soon also near you …

Bias in intersex research
and the lack of implementation
of intersex human rights

>>> Slides + Script (PDF, 5 MB) 
>>> Video (vimeo, 15 min)
>>> Abstract

Something good to start the new year: We currently count 98 reprimands from UN Committees for intersex genital mutilation (IGM) to member states around the world. So, we don’t need a crystal ball to predict, 2025 will be the year the intersex human rights movement scores 100 UN reprimands for IGM.

When we started submitting NGO reports to UN Committees a good 10 years ago, such a number was beyond our imagination. Thanks to international cooperation with IGM survivors and reports from other intersex NGOs, soon it will be real (and we can retire).

You can find a list of the first 98 reprimands here (PDF, p. 11-15).

See also:
• ‘Only the Fear of the Judge Will Make IGM Perpetrators Change’
• “Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
• UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
• UN Committee against Torture (CAT): IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
• UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
• UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) condemns IGM Practices

Pursuant to the UN Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/55/14 “Combating discrimination, violence and harmful practices against intersex persons”, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is requested to submit a Report for its 60th Sesssion. The High Commissioner in turn reqested written inputs, including from intersex NGOs.

StopIGM’s submission (PDF | DOCX) focuses on medical and non-medical violence and harmful practices, inhuman treatment and other serious violations against intersex children, adolescents and adults, including intersex genital mutilation (IGM) (p. 1-3), its root causes, namely stigma and prejudice (p. 3-4), the so far 98 UN Treaty body Concluding Observations addressing such violations and the relevant articles in UN Conventions according to UN Committees (p. 5-6, 11-15), the minimum requirements to effectively combat such violence under international law (p. 7-9), the so far 6 (insufficient) legislative measures to prohibit IGM taken by states (p. 8-9), and the most common strategies by IGM doctors and aligned actors to prevent effective protections against IGM practices (p. 9-10). The Annexe (p. 11-15) lists the currently 98 UN Concluding Observations on IGM practices.

See also:
• ‘Only the Fear of the Judge Will Make IGM Perpetrators Change’
• “Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
• UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
• UN Committee against Torture (CAT): IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
• UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
• UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) condemns IGM Practices

[ Deutsch ]

Photo: Journée des Droits Humains 2015, Palais Fédéral Suisse, Berne 10.12.2015

>>> Analyse : “ Droits humains intersexes et politique LGBT en Suisse, 2023 ”
>>> La honte en direct: Procès-verbal + Video, Conseil des États 18.12.2023

Communiqué de presse par StopIGM.org, 18.12.2023

Conseil des États S. 51: “ La honte pour les droits humains des intersexes en Suisse ”

Cette semaine, le Conseil des États votera sur deux motions très différentes – toutes deux ayant pour objectif déclaré d’empêcher les mutilations génitales intersexes (MGI) :

• La motion originale 22.3355, soutenue par les personnes concernées y compris StopIGM, rejetée par le Conseil fédéral et la Commission des affaires juridiques du Conseil des États (CAJ-E)
• La contre-motion 23.3967 de la CAJ-E, rejetée par les personnes concernées y compris StopIGM, soutenue par le Conseil fédéral et la CAJ-E

” Pas en mon nom ! “, déclare Daniela Truffer, co-fondatrice du groupe de défense des droits humains StopIGM. ” En tant que victime de mutilations génitales intersexes, j’en ai marre que les pédiatres, et maintenant aussi le Conseil fédéral et la Commission juridique, prétendent constamment qu’ils savent tout mieux que les personnes concernées elles-mêmes et que les cinq comités de l’ONU, tous condamnant les mutilations génitales intersexes comme une pratique culturelle préjudiciable et un traitement inhumain depuis des décennies et appelant à leur prohibition pénale. ”
[ Lire la suite ]

Read moreCH > Conseil des États, 18.12.2023: “ Le jour de la honte ”

[ Deutsch ]

Le 10 décembre, c’est la journée internationale des droits humains. Zwischengeschlecht.info a publié à cette occasion une analyse sur les droits humains des intersexes dans la politique suisse à l’exemple de la Commission des affaires juridiques du Conseil des États (CAJ-E), maintenant aussi disponible en français.
>>> PDF (36kb)

Cette analyse met aussi en évidence les relations souvent problématiques entre les droits humains des intersexes et la “politique LGBT(I) réellement existant”, notamment en raison de l’instrumentalisation politique chronique et – ici de manière particulièrement frappante et choquante – du “pinkwashing” des mutilations génitales intersexes (MGI) :

>>> Télécharger en PDF (36kb)          >>> Agrandir l’image (85kb)

L’analyse se base d’une part sur les données de votepink.ch, plus précisément sur l’analyse législative des “votations LGBTQI” (en fait, aucune votation intersexe n’y figure) de Pink Cross, LOS et TGNS et sur le questionnaire électoral 2023 de Pink Cross (y compris une question – même si elle est formulée de manière vague – sur une interdiction des MGI). En outre, nous avons évalué les résultats du vote de la Commission des affaires juridiques du Conseil des États (CAJ-E) sur la seule votation intersexe à notre connaissance (motion 22.3355) au cours de la dernière législature, ainsi que, par contraste, les résultats du vote sur une “Interdiction des mesures de conversion” (22.3889) – tous deux unanimes selon le communiqué de presse officiel de la CAJ-E du 16.08.2023, mais pas avec le même résultat …
>>> Lire la suite

Read moreJournée des droits humains 2023 : “Année de la honte pour les droits humains des intersexes en Suisse”

>>> Slides + Script (PDF, 5 MB)         >>> Video (vimeo, 15 min)

We would like to thank the Centring Intersex Conference for making available online the presentation videos and abstracts of those who wished so. And we are grateful for all the constructive and interesting contributions by fellow intersex advocates, and allies, also in the discussions.
By popular request and as a late-ish tribute to Intersex Awareness Day 2023, we are sharing our presentation on Bias in intersex research, followed by the abstract.

Presentation @ Centring Intersex: Global and Local Dimensions, 21.02.2023
cc 2023 Daniela Truffer, Markus Bauer, StopIGM.org / Zwischengeschlecht.org
• Slides + Script (PDF, 13 MB):
https://stopigm.org/public/Bias-in-intersex-research-Centring-Intersex-Truffer-Bauer-StopIGM-21-02-2023.pdf
• Video of presentation (15 min):
https://vimeo.com/888452162
• Conference Programme and Abstracts (PDF):
https://research.hud.ac.uk/media/assets/document/hhs/CentringIntersexIssuesConferenceProgrammeDelegateVersion.pdf

Bias in intersex research and the lack of implementation of intersex human rights.
Analysis and proposals to ensure good practices
Markus Bauer [1], Daniela Truffer [1]
[1] StopIGM.org / Zwischengeschlecht.org, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract

Since the 1990s intersex advocates have been criticising medical research on intersex and the consequences of “corrective” surgery as biased, followed by similar criticism of social research. Documented criticism of medical publications includes sampling bias, directive questionnaires, lack of evidence as an argument to continue with nonconsensual surgery, and the recurring fallacy of “surgery is better now, and in 20 years we will be able to prove it”, as well as discrediting critical intersex voices as “zealots” and “a (small) group of activists standing on the barricades for sexual diversity”. Criticism of social sciences includes misrepresentation of intersex as a gender issue, erasure of human rights criticism, and academic complicity. In recent years, medical and social research on intersex has increased and a new type of research has emerged with an explicit focus on human rights.

We will analyse some recent salient examples and demonstrate that despite positive developments and examples of good practice, in many cases the aforementioned biases and fallacies persist and new ones are being added, while positive examples often only have limited reach. We will argue that these shortcomings and deficiencies in often not genuinely disinterested academic papers are a contributing factor to the lack of implementation of human rights, policy and legal directives, and propose measures to ensure good practices in intersex research.

Fighting the good fight – happy Intersex Awareness Day 2023!

•  Intersex Awareness Day 2013
•  Intersex Awareness Day 2015
•  Intersex Awareness Day 2016
•  Intersex Awareness Day 2017
•  Intersex Awareness Day 2018
•  Intersex Awareness Day 2019

M. is a French IGM survivor who is fighting a court case on the basis of article 222-10 of the French Penal Code (aggravated violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability) for having been submitted to non-consensual unnecessary procedures as a child, namely IGM2: “feminising” genital surgery, and IGM3: castration. However, their case was rejected by a final court decision of the French Highest Court (“Court de Cassation”) dated 6 March 2018, with the court arguing that the statutes of limitations had expired. M. took this rejection to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), where the case is currently pending (Application no. 42821/18 (in French) | English summary – for more information, see also 2020 CRC France NGO Report (PDF), p. 18.)

A Third Party Intervention by StopIGM.org (PDF, 175 kb), submitted to the Court upon invitation, provides a wider human rights background and context to the case, namely from the proceedings of UN Treaty bodies (p. 1-6) and relevant European Parliament (EU) and Parliament of the Council of Europe (PACE) Resolutions (p. 6-7), the responses of the French Government (p. 7-9), and a Conclusion: “Only the fear of the judge will make things change” (p. 9-10).

See also:
• ‘Only the Fear of the Judge Will Make IGM Perpetrators Change’
• “Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
• 50 UN Reprimands for IGM – and counting …
• UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
• UN Committee against Torture (CAT): IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
• UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
• UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) condemns IGM Practices

  CCPR 131st Online Session, 02.03.2021, 16:04h: Opening Statement by Head of Finnish Delegation, Krista Oinkonen (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Last week, the UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) as the Treaty body monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) has examined the human rights record of Finland during its 131th Session (online only due to COVID-19), originally transmitted LIVE and now archived at webtv.un.org:
Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3

A thematic intersex NGO report to the Committee by StopIGM.org proved that IGM continues in Finland with impunity at the University Hospitals of Helsinki, Tampere, Kuopio, Turku and Oulu – despite that the Finnish Government pledges to protect intersex children from cosmetic genital surgery in its current Government Programme.

And a Joint NGO Report co-authored by Finnish intersex NGO Intersukupuolisten ihmisoikeudet – ISIO ry noted concerns that the Government, instead of taking action to prohibit non-vital surgery, will merely continue with discussions without consequences, namely within the upcoming working group to reform the Trans Act set up by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The report also suggests to recommend to the Finnish Government to enact a law to prohibit non-vital surgeries and other medical interventions

StopIGM.org was following the Session LIVE, hoping the Committee will ask tough questions on IGM practices in Finland!

Session 3, Wed 3 March 2021, 16-18h CET

16:23h (Video @ 0:26:15): YAY!! Committee expert Ms. Hélène Tigroudja raises “non-consensual […], unnecessary medical surgeries” on intersex children! Notes Government Programme mentioned in State Report, asks about implementation, and lack judicial recourse and access to justice! Unofficial Translation (from original French):

“This brings me to question 9, the question about the situation of intersex persons or children. Here again the information we have received converges to say that there is a very serious problem in Finland of non-consensual and, above all, unnecessary medical surgeries. The NGOs report that too often these surgeries meet a social rather than a medical need, and indeed in the responses provided by the state some paragraphs of the report lack clarity on the safeguards taken to obtain the consent of the person concerned even when that person is a child.

My questions on this subject are therefore fairly simple. In paragraph 108 of the State report there is mention of a programme on the self-determination rights of intersex children which needs to be strengthened as stated in the State report. So can the delegation tell us how this plan is going to be concretely strengthened in terms of the effective protection of children’s self-determination, but also of their dignity, their integrity, their right to non-discrimination and, I would add, their right to access to justice, since the lack of judicial recourse against non-consensual procedures has also been very widely emphasised by civil society. More specifically, what guarantees, including procedural ones – and again, access to justice is an important element – what guarantees, including procedural ones, are in place to ensure that so-called corrective surgeries are not carried out without informed consent, and I stress the need for informed consent, so this need for precise medical information, and therefore informed consent from the patient, possibly informed consent from his parents, and so that, once again, the surgeries effectively respond to a medical or even vital imperative and not simply to a social imperative which itself conveys stereotypes.”

17:07 (Video @ 1:10:33): Delegation member Ms. Ritva Halila (Senior Medical Officer, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health) non-answers on IGM, claims Helsinki University Hospital the only one to perform “feminsing” surgery, that doctors say no unnecessary surgery at all performed, promises more “discussions”, promptly referring to the working group to reform the Trans Act, but completely ignores the question about access to justice.  Unofficial Transcript:

“I would like to continue on the response to question about intersex children. After 2016 when national advisory board and social healthcare ethics published its statement the Ministry of social welfare and healthcare ethics have had a of health – Ministry of social welfare and healthcare has had regular communication with children hospital of the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa that is the only hospital that makes surgical operations for persons that have been defined as girls.

Meanwhile the ministry of justice performed an expert report that has been mentioned also in the report of Finland one year ago.

The health care professionals in charge in the university hospital argue that no interventions are not made to correct the sex of the child and they also claim that non-medical interventions are not made.

However, as far as I understand and have heard along discussions with those people there is a clear disagreement in understanding which procedures are medically grounded, which procedures are necessary for the health of the child, and which procedures are cosmetics and they really claim – so I think that we need discussion on that.

Finland is nominating a working group by the end of march to amend the act of transgens, er, the rights of transgender persons and there is another person that will tell more about this. The task of the working group is also to evaluate how to discontinue cosmetic non-medical genital surgery for small intersex children. This working group will be multidisciplinary containing also representation of the NGOs involved in this discussion, and also an association of parents of intersex children. Thank you very much.” 

Let’s hope the Committee will issue strong binding recommendations, sternly reminding Finland of its non-derogable obligations under CCPR to effectively prevent genital mutilation of intersex children!

See also:
• ‘Only the Fear of the Judge Will Make IGM Perpetrators Change’
• “Harmful Medical Practice”: UN, COE, ACHPR, IACHR condem IGM
• 50 UN Reprimands for IGM – and counting …
• UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (CRC): IGM = Harmful Practice + Violence
• UN Committee against Torture (CAT): IGM = Inhuman Treatment or Torture
• UN Women’s Rights Committee (CEDAW): IGM = Harmful Practice
• UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): Violation of Integrity
• UN Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) condemns IGM Practices

IGM as a Harmful Practice: 2015 UN-CRC Briefing
• IGM: A Survivor’s Perspective • Intersex Movement History
• What are Variations of Sex Anatomy?  • What are IGM Practices?
• IGM and Human Rights  • Conclusion: IGM is a Harmful Practice
>>> Download PDF (3.14 MB)     >>> Table of Contents

Eliminating IGM practices by holding the perpetrators accountable via well-established applicable human rights frameworks, including Inhuman Treatment and Harmful Practices – Presentation @ UN expert meeting on Intersex Human Rights
>>> Download PDF (831kb)

Photo: Daniela Truffer and Markus Bauer (StopIGM.org) with the thematic intersex NGO report on Portugal
at the 128th CCPR Session, Palais Wilson, Geneva 06.03.2020

Press Release by StopIGM.org, 05.03.2021:

A year ago, the 128th Session of the Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) as the Treaty body monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) was suspended two weeks in due to COVID-19, making Portugal the last State Party to be examined for Intersex Genital Mutilation in Geneva.

Based on a thematic intersex NGO report and a briefing to Committee members by StopIGM.org, CCPR specifically questioned Portugal on “genital mutilation […] practiced on intersex children” and the lack of access to justice in such cases. However, Portugal non-answered on “female genital mutilation” and “trans and intersex health” instead.

As a result, CCPR has now reprimanded Portugal for IGM practices, specifically obliging Portugal to “strengthen the measures to end the performance of irreversible medical acts, especially surgical operations, on intersex children” and considering the practice as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment falling under the absolute prohibition of torture (art. 7 CCPR).

StopIGM.org welcomes this clear verdict, marking

• the 50th UN reprimand condemning IGM as a serious violation of non-derogable human rights
• already the 2nd reprimand for IGM to Portugal,
• the 23rd UN reprimand for IGM to an EU27 member state,
• the 5th reprimand for IGM by CCPR.

Portugal is another self-declared “intersex human rights champion” that, after in 2018 having adopted legislation aimed at protecting intersex children from IGM practices, claims to have abolished the practice altogether, echoing similar legislation and claims from Malta. However, in both states IGM persists with impunity, and accordingly in 2019 both Malta and Portugal have been reprimanded by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) condemning IGM as a “harmful practice” (just like FGM).

After the break: The full CRC Concluding Observations on intersex and IGM, the NGO report that prompted the CCPR investigation, and videos and transcripts of Portugal’s denials and excuses during the 128th CCPR Session.

Read moreIntersex Genital Mutilation: UN-CCPR reprimands Portugal – marking 50 UN reprimands for IGM, 2nd to Portugal

Thank you to everybody who helped making this new blog possible! (Photo: do_action Zurich)

Please update your bookmarks: After nearly a decade of intersex news, debate and action on our old blog at http://stop.genitalmutilation.org, now the entire content has been moved to this new blog in a more mobile-friendly format, https://StopIGM.org. Many thanks to the do_action Zurich team for setting it up!

Should you find something missing or not working, please drop us a line here. The old blog will no longer be updated, but will still remain online for a limited time – thereafter it will automatically redirect to the new blog. However, the entire old blog will remain archived at archive.org.

So watch this space for future updates – despite the ongoing Covid19 hiatus, recently there have been some exciting developments for intersex human rights at the UN in Geneva …