Organisation Intersex International Australia

Organisation Intersex International Australia

Logo of Organisation Intersex International Australia
Abbreviation	OII Australia
Formation	2009
Type	NGO
Purpose	Intersex human rights, education and peer support
Region served	Australia
President	Morgan Carpenter
Website	oii.org.au

Organisation Intersex International Australia (OII Australia) is an unfunded voluntary organisation for intersex people that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex people in Australia, and provides peer support, education and information.^[1][2] Established in 2009, incorporated as a charitable company in 2010,^[3] and recognised as a Public Benevolent Institution,^[3] the organisation has played an active role during a period where it has been asserted, "Australia can lead the way for intersex people".^[4]

Board members

The current president of OII Australia is researcher Morgan Carpenter.^[5][6] Tony Briffa, known as the first publicly intersex mayor, is Vice President.^{[7][8][9][10]} Tony Briffa is also the Vice President of the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia. Founding president Gina Wilson stepped down on 1 September 2013.^[2][11] Founding Vice-President Chris Somers xxy also stepped down into a board position on 1 September 2013.^[6]

Anti-discrimination legislation

In late 2012, the governments' proposed Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill included intersex as a "gender identity", and failed to protect people with non-binary identities.^[12][13] Writing in the Equal Rights Trust journal Equal Rights Review, Gina Wilson wrote, "Legislators initially did not have a clear understanding of what intersex was, but having given evidence to Senate Committees and spoken with legislators individually we are hopeful that intersex will be a protected attribute under the Bill."^[1][14] A Senate Committee report on the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill agreed with the position taken by OII Australia,^[15] leading to the creation of a new protected attribute, stating:^[12][16]

The committee agrees with the evidence presented by Organisation Intersex International Australia, and other submitters, that intersex status is a matter of biology rather than gender identity, and as such should not be covered within the definition of gender identity in the Draft Bill. Further, the committee considers that the current requirement in the Draft Bill that intersex individuals identify as either male or female is misguided, and is unhelpful for intersex individuals whose biological characteristics do not necessarily accord with a male or female identification.

On 25 June 2013, the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act passed with cross-party support.^[17] It became law on 1 August 2013, with ground-breaking inclusion of "intersex status" as a protected attribute, as well as protection of people with non-binary gender identities.^[18][19] "Intersex status" is recognised as a biological attribute, so no religious exemptions exist.^[20]

Bodily autonomy

OII Australia campaigns in favour of personal autonomy in all medical intervention affecting intersex people, and an end to cosmetic or "normalising" surgeries on intersex infants.^{[21][22][23][24][25][26]} In late 2012, the Senate's Community Affairs References Committee established an inquiry into the involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities. In February 2013, intersex was added as an additional term of reference.^[27] The Committee published a joint, cross-party report on 25 October 2013, making 15 recommendations. The conclusions of the inquiry supported much of the case and recommendations made by OII Australia:^[28]

3.109 ... As OII commented, normalisation surgery is more than physical reconstruction. The surgery is intended to deconstruct an intersex physiology and, in turn, construct an identity that conforms with stereotypical male and female gender categories

3.129 ... The proposals put forward by Organisation Intersex International have merit, and are consistent with the committee’s conclusions. The committee believes that a protocol covering ‘normalising’ surgery should be developed, and then adhered to in all cases of intersex children. Such a guideline should be consistent with Organisational Intersex International’s recommendations

Writing at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's The Drum website, Morgan Carpenter, the president of OII Australia wrote, "The Senate Committee has changed the debate on the correct treatment of intersex differences. If adopted, its recommendations will effectively protect the rights of intersex children and future adults."^[5]

OII Australia campaigns against the inclusion of intersex as a "Disorder of Sex Development" in descriptions of "gender dysphoria".^[29][30][31]

The organisation also engages directly with clinicians and biologists. While opposing use of "pathologising terminology" such as "Disorders of Sex Development" or "DSD",^[32] the president of OII Australia is nevertheless named as a reviewer for a "DSD Genetics" website funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia.^[33]

Access to healthcare

In July 2013, the Commonwealth announced that it was removing sex or gender terms from item codes for Medicare procedures,^[34] following input from OII Australia.^[35] OII Australia noted that the changes do not ensure full access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).^[36]

Sex and gender recognition

The organisation states that "while sex or gender markers are still required", it supports binary, non-binary and multiple gender classifications for adults, but only binary classifications for infants and children, fearing stigmatisation and the potential impact on sex assignment processes for infants.^{[37][38][39][40][41]} This strategy is aligned with a statement by the third international intersex forum, which occurred in Malta in November–December 2013.^[42] In June 2013, OII Australia welcomed the publication of federal guidelines recognising sex and gender, stating, "The guidelines do not oblige intersex people to identify with a specific gender... the guidelines recognise that an intersex person might choose to identify as male, female, or intersex, unspecified or indeterminate."^[43] In contrast, the organisation cautiously acknowledged an Australian Capital Territory Bill to modify the Territory's birth registrations process, stating, "neither of the two national intersex organisations had been engaged in talks before the bill was presented in the Assembly."^[44][45]

Marriage

Long active on marriage issues, OII Australia has argued that both "same-sex marriage" and opposite sex marriage exclude intersex people.^[46][47][48] The Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Marriage Equality have expressed concern about the drafting of same-sex marriage legislation in the Australian Capital Territory.^[49][50]

Peer support, education and information

The organisation prioritises peer support for individuals via its website, email, social media and telephone. It also provides educational and information services for institutions and organisations.^[1][2][51]

Relationship with LGBT and queer communities

The relationship of OII Australia to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, and queer communities, is a little complex. In an Intersex for allies explanatory leaflet, the organisation states that some intersex individuals are same sex attracted, and some are heterosexual, but "LGBTI activism has fought for the rights of people who fall outside of expected binary sex and gender norms. Intersex is part of LGBTI because of intersex status and a shared experience of homophobia, not because of sexual orientation or gender identity." An associated guide for service providers comments that not all intersex people identify with the LGBTI "human rights movement".^[52]

A submission on genetic selection via Preimplantation genetic diagnosis to the National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that deselection of embryos and foetuses on grounds of intersex status should not be permitted, quoting research by Georgiann Davis, Morgan Holmes, and Jason Behrmann and Vardit Ravitsky.^[53] It quotes research showing pregnancy termination rates of up to 88% in 47,XXY even while the World Health Organization describes the intersex trait as "compatible with normal life expectancy", and "often undiagnosed"^[54][55] Behrmann and Ravitsky find social concepts of sex, gender and sexual orientation to be "intertwined on many levels. Parental choice against intersex may thus conceal biases against same-sex attractedness and gender nonconformity."^[56]

Awards and recognition

Founding former president Gina Wilson was a finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Community Individual Award, 2013. The Commission describes the award as one of "the two most vigourously contested categories for the 2013 Australian Human Rights Awards"^[57][58] commenting that, "Gina Wilson is the founder of Organisation Intersex International (OII) Australia, and was its president until September 2013. Her intersex advocacy work has been ground-breaking, helping to achieve authentic and appropriate inclusion in anti-discrimination legislation."^[59]

The organisation was nominated for a 2013 Community Organisation "Honour" Award^[60][61] for its work on anti-discrimination legislation. Then president, Gina Wilson, was nominated for a Community Hero Award in 2011.^[62]

Affiliations

OII Australia is a national affiliate of Organisation Intersex International, a member of the National LGBTI Health Alliance and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

External links

• Organisation Intersex International Australia on Facebook
• Organisation Intersex International Australia on Twitter
• Official website

References