Great comment by GATE on Malta’s GIGESC Act

“The Maltese GIGESC Act not only defends children’s rights in Malta, including those of bodily integrity, self-determination and health. It also makes a fundamental contribution to intersex people’s human rights by recognizing in law the pervasive role that “social factors” play in justifying medically unnecessary procedures aimed to “normalize” intersex bodies. The Maltese Act explicitly…

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OII-USA’s Viloria in Oxford U Press college textbook!

We are thrilled to report that OII-USA/ICE Executive Director Hida Viloria’s May 2014 essay, “What’s in a Name: Intersex and Identity,” will be published by Oxford University Press this December in the college textbook, QUEER: A Reader for Writers, by Jason Schneiderman. The essay elaborates on the importance of de-pathologization and using “intersex” rhetoric for attaining…

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OII-USA’s Viloria interviewed in VICE

OII-USA’s Viloria called on the U.S. Gov’t to ban IGM in an interview in VICE on last week’s victory in Malta! Big tx to VICE for giving press attention to this issue in their piece, in which we thank allies Silvan Agius and Ruth Baldacchino​ for their hard work in passing the groundbreaking, long awaited…

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PRESS RELEASE: Huge Intersex Rights Victory in Europe: Malta bans Intersex Genital Mutilation/IGM!

OII-USA joins OII Europe in applauding this victory for Intersex people’s rights, and gives big thanks to members of the Maltese government, OII Europe, ILGA/ILGA Europe, and all who played a role in achieving it, particularly long term intersex allies Silvan Agius and Ruth Baldacchino! PRESS RELEASE******PRESS RELEASE*****PRESS RELEASE****** OII-Europe applauds Malta’s Gender Identity, Gender…

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How Common is Intersex? An Explanation of the Stats.

The most thorough existing research finds intersex people to constitute an estimated 1.7% of the population*, which makes being intersex about as common as having red hair (1%-2%). However, popularly misinterpretted, much referenced statistics would have you believe are numbers are much lower. Here’s why. Some groups use an old prevalence statistic that says we…

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All for One and One for All: Ending Interphobia

by Hida Viloria. Intersexphobia, or “Interphobia” — as coined in a fantastic 2010 blog post by openly intersex and trans* Professor Cary Gabriel Costello, PhD — encompasses negative attitudes and feelings towards people who are born with, or develop in puberty, sex traits that are not typically male or female, known as Intersex Traits. Interphobia…

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What is Intersexphobia, or Interphobia?

“Interphobia” — as coined in a fantastic 2010 blog post by openly intersex and trans* Professor Cary Gabriel Costello, PhD — is another term for what we have been calling “intersexphobia” for several years. Intersexphobia and Interphobia are defined as negative attitudes and feelings towards people who are believed to possess biological sex traits that…

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