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Our Bodily Autonomy is Non-Negotiable: Intersex Voices at the UN
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Commentary
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Publish Date
March 24, 2025
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It was a historic moment. An intersex woman speaking truth to power in the United Nations General Assembly hall during the 69th session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York, bravely issuing “a call to action for all the wonderful organizations here,” in her words, on behalf of intersex people around the world. Called upon spontaneously to take the floor at the UN, intersex activist Magda Rakita of Interaction Foundation in Poland issued a passionate plea: “Please engage with the intersex subject. We are everywhere. The UN estimates that 1.7% of people are born with intersex traits, so you probably actually know us. We are just too ashamed and too afraid to say who we are.”
Equally notable was the response from the Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres. “Deep solidarity to our friend Magda,” Guterres began. “I fully absorbed your call to action, and you can count from our side total support for whatever initiatives you might consider that the UN or UN Women can take in this regard.” The UN leader’s unequivocal affirmation of intersex people’s existence and human rights was a welcomed sharp contrast to the recent attempted erasure of intersex and trans people through an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump. The brief exchange between the brave Polish intersex activist and the UN Secretary-General illuminates a pathway toward a world in which our voices are not silenced, our existence cannot be erased, and influential people in power are willing to hear us and protect our human rights.
Intersex refers to people with innate physical variations of sex anatomy, such as genitals, internal reproductive organs, chromosomes, and/or hormones that don’t align with typical notions of either a female or male body. There are approximately 135 million intersex people worldwide, the same as the population of Mexico and more common than identical twins. However, due to stigma, shame, and harmful practices attempting to erase them, many intersex people remain largely invisible. Intersex people across the globe face discrimination, violence, and harmful medical practices simply due to their physical intersex traits.
Human rights violations against intersex people often begin from birth, when medical professionals pressure families to consent to their infants and young children undergoing so-called normalizing surgeries and hormonal interventions, many of which amount to intersex genital mutilation. These efforts to make intersex bodies look more "typical" are not medically necessary and can often be safely postponed so that the person can make their own informed decision. They can lead to lifelong physical and emotional harm.
Further, in more rural areas of some countries, intersex people are culturally considered a bad omen, and newborns with visible variations of sex characteristics are tragically murdered. Intersex persons also commonly face shaming and stigmatization of their bodies in school, in sports, at work, and in health care settings.
Intersex people have been speaking out about these injustices for decades, with a growing movement at both the local and global levels. This year, intersex people were able to take this message to the UN. Outright International, along with ILGA World, was able to bring seven diverse intersex activists representing movements in Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and the United States for the annual convening of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
These intersex advocates had come to advocate for the rights of intersex women, girls, and nonbinary people – in bilateral and multilateral meetings with UN member states, in coalition meetings with other members of the LBTI and Women’s Rights caucuses, and on the floor of the UN. A highlight of their week of UN advocacy was a panel discussion on the lived experiences of intersex women hosted by Outright.
They recounted stories of grave human rights violations – and resilience.
Nadda Chaiyajit from Thailand recalled, “My parents kept me mostly hidden, but whenever my mother showered me outside, the neighbor kids watched and made fun of me. As I grew up, every day, I would ask myself, ‘What kind of a woman am I?’” Reflecting on her journey into activism and her co-founding of Intersex Thailand, she declared, “Medicalization doesn’t rule my self-determination!”
Magda Rakita shared a statement with permission from a Polish parent named Kasia, telling the horrific story of being coerced into agreeing to surgery on her three-year-old intersex child:
Quote from Kasia
“Surgery took 5 hours, then she was sent to the ICU where they tied up her wrists and ankles. The first night, she woke up crying, ‘Mom, it hurts’. The pain meds weren’t helping, so the doctor said she needed morphine for 3-4 days and that this was normal - but nobody had ever warned me of this. They told me she should only wear dresses and not play with cars.”
Soon after that surgery, which reduced the size of Kasia’s toddler’s clitoris for cosmetic reasons, the urologist started talking about the next steps required during puberty: that Kasia’s child should undergo dilation of her surgically constructed vagina. “At that moment,” Kasia wote, she summoned up the courage to seize back control of her child’s body and future: “I knew we wouldn't return to these doctors ever again.”
Obioma Chukwuike, an activist leader from Nigeria, shared, “One day, during my teenage years, I was sent on an errand, and while walking on the street in my neighborhood, a young adult male called my name and said, ‘You are not a female,’ then he touched my breasts. I kept this to myself and didn't tell my parents.” Like many intersex activists, Obioma has overcome heartbreaking challenges. Today, they are not only the director of Intersex Nigeria but also chairperson of the African Intersex Movement (AIM), a rapidly growing regional intersex organization.
Towards the end of the panel, Brazilian activist Vidda Guzzo Faustino of Intersex Brazil made an empowering declaration: "Intersex people are active drivers of change to make the future better for children. The operating table doesn't need to be our final stop, and we can take control of our stories like we are doing right here, right now.”
Intersex voices were undoubtedly heard inside and outside the United Nations throughout the Commission on the Status of Women session. And while it was lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) human rights organizations organized this powerful cohort of intersex people at the UN, the discrimination and violence suffered by intersex people must be recognized as not only an LGBTIQ issue but also an issue of human rights, children's rights, health care, reproductive justice, and, indeed, women’s rights.
It was encouraging to witness the demonstrably moved Secretary-General Guterres's promise of unwavering UN support for intersex people’s human rights. Outright’s call to action to the UN: Please continue to acknowledge the lived realities of intersex people, and ensure that these pressing human rights issues are taken up by all relevant UN bodies. Specifically, affirm the rights of intersex women and girls in public platforms. Call on member states, medical associations, and other stakeholders to stop all forms of violence and discrimination against intersex persons, including infanticide and unnecessary medical interventions on minors. As activist Magda Rakita poignantly vocalized to all gathered in the hall of the UN General Assembly, “Please engage with the intersex subject – we are everywhere.”
For more information about global intersex rights, read Outright International’s 2024 report “I Am” Intersex: Global Voices for Intersex Justice.
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