Moving Forward With Report

[Peter]

I believe that the San Francisco Human Rights Commission Report represents a milestone in governmental recognition of the human rights of intersex people. We have a right to live free of infant genital surgeries performed on us to "normalize" the visual appearance of our bodies. The report also recognizes the right of all intersex people to be treated with dignity and respect by medical professionals in a way that does not lie to us, or otherwise conceals the nature of our bodies.

Now that the report has been released, I believe that Bodies Like Ours can play a key role in implementing the findings and recommendations of the report as public policy. Already, in the San Francisco Bay Area, UCSF has announced that it is forming its own Intersex Task Force to study the findings and recommendations of the SF HRC. My initial understanding of the situation is that UCSF is genuinely interested in exploring the issues raised by the report. I know that ISNA (Intersex Society Of North America) is working closely with the UCSF Intersex Task Force to make available educational materials that can be provided to both medical service providers and patients. ISNA is working very hard on improving medical education through its Medical Advisory Board.

Bodies Like Ours has consistently championed the human rights of intersex people as evidenced in past threads on this forum, and the Intersex Law Symposium held earlier this year in New York City under the sponsorship of the Cardozo Women's Law Journal and Bodies Like Ours. Because BLO is the largest online intersex community in the world. I believe that we are in a unique position to discuss emerging issues in intersex human rights and the medical treatment of intersex people. If you read the report, and there is something that you don't like about it, or some issue that you feel should be addressed, there is a great chance that hundreds of people will read about your concerns, and perhaps reply to you. I would encourage everyone who visits this forum regularly to take a look at the report, and post what you think about it here. There are millions of intersex people in the world, using even the most conservative estimates of our numbers. We have a human right to challenge institutional practices that strive to limit us as unique individuals.

As the report comes out of San Francisco, it seems that initial political moves to implement the findings and recommendations of the report will be in the city. Although a coalition of different intersex groups and individuals is only now in the process of emerging, Bodies Like Ours will strive to ensure that the coalition is under the leadership of as many intersex people as possible. I will be meeting with David Cameron, an ISNA Board Member and SF HRC LGBTAC member in the near future. I expect that we will discuss moving forward with the report. Bodies Like Ours will also follow up with the City of San Francisco on its efforts to implement the findings and recommendations of the report, and ensure public compliance.

The report can also serve as a template for adopting similar human rights protections for intersex people in other cities. I believe that other cities are interested in the work of the SF HRC. As Bodies Like Ours members live throughout the United States, and in at least 40 other countries according to recent web site usage statistics for the month of May, there is a valuable opportunity for you to spread the message of the SF HRC Intersex Task Force report throughout the world.

Peter