Sex- Selective Surgeries in Inter-Sex Infants and Young Children : A Human Right Issue

Abstract

Intersex persons and bodies have always been seen as being incapable of assimilating into society. The practise of performing medical operations on often-healthy bodies to meet perceived family and cultural obligations continues despite questions about the need, consequences, conduct, and consent of such procedures. International human rights organisations and a handful of national governments have responded by issuing a slew of new policy declarations on the rights of intersex individuals, which have been endorsed by the international human rights system. However, there are significant obstacles to overcome in order to put such assertions into action. Human rights crimes against intersex persons continue to be committed, and are deeply ingrained in a long history of purposeful suppression. The rhetoric of changing healthcare procedures has not been backed up by evidence. A policy disjunction occurs when intersex problems are framed as questions of “sexual orientation and gender identity rather than as matters of intrinsic sex characteristics; this has resulted in rhetoric of inclusion that does not match the reality.