RFSL is supporting the work of Intersex Asia, a newly formed network for intersex individuals, organisations and initiatives in Asia. The project aims at growing the network and establishing the organisation, producing and sharing information about intersex human rights, as well as building the capacity of leaders of the Asian intersex movement.
Intersex individuals and organisations are building a movement to defend intersex human rights in different parts of the world. Intersex Asia consists of intersex activists representing the diverse region of Asia, working together to end discrimination, and promoting and protecting the human rights of intersex people.
Some of the demands put forward by Intersex Asia include:
• To acknowledge the suffering and injustice caused to intersex people.
• To recognise that sexism, medicalisation and stigmatisation of
intersex people result in significant trauma and mental health concerns.
• To remove the stigma from all the terms referring to intersex.
• To recognise that being intersex relates to biological sex characteristics, and is distinct from a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. An intersex person may be heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual or asexual; and may identify as female, male, both or neither.
• To put an end to mutilating and ‘normalising’ practices such as genital surgeries, psychological and other medical interventions through
legislative and other means. Intersex people must be empowered to make their own decisions affecting their own bodily integrity, physical autonomy and self-determination.
• To put an end to preimplantation genetic diagnosis, pre-natal screening and interventions, and selective abortion of intersex foetuses.
RFSL is supporting the work of Intersex Asia through a two-year grant, 2019-2020.
