Sex characteristics (legal term)

In law, sex characteristics refers to an attribute defined for the purposes of protecting individuals from discrimination due to their sexual features. The attribute of sex characteristics was first defined in national law in Malta, in 2015. The legal term has since been adopted by United Nations,[1] European,[2] and Asia-Pacific institutions,[3] and in a 2017 update to the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.[4]

Intersex topics
Human rights and legal issues

Physical attributes

Physical sex characteristics include primary sex characteristics and secondary sex characteristics. A primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any anatomical part of the body involved in sexual reproduction and constituting the reproductive system in a complex organism, especially the external sex organs; the external sex organs are also commonly referred to as the genitalia or genitals.[5][6] Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear at sexual maturity in animals and during puberty in humans, especially the sexually dimorphic phenotypic traits that distinguish the sexes of a species, but that, unlike the sex organs, are not directly part of the reproductive system.

  Explicit protection on grounds of sex characteristics
  Explicit protection on grounds of intersex status
  Explicit protection on grounds of intersex within attribute of sex

Sex characteristics is a term used in law and in human rights frameworks. The term was first used in Malta in 2015, when the country enacted legal protections from discrimination and forced medical procedures on grounds of sex characteristics. The Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act defined sex characteristics as:

"sex characteristics" refers to the chromosomal, gondal and anatomical features of a person, which include primary characteristics such as reproductive organs and genitalia and/or in chromosomal structures and hormones; and secondary characteristics such as muscle mass, hair distribution, breasts and/or structure.

In November 2017, the Yogyakarta Principles were expanded to include new principles and new attributes of sex characteristics and gender identity. The supplement noted that the new "explicit ground for protection from violations of human rights has evolved in international jurisprudence".[4] Sex characteristics is defined as:

UNDERSTANDING ‘sex characteristics’ as each person’s physical features relating to sex, including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty.[4]

In 2015, the Fundamental Rights Agency published a comparative legal analysis on protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in the EU.[2]

In 2016, the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (AFP) manual on Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics.[3] The document provides an analysis of human rights issues, including the rights to physical integrity, non-discrimination, effective remedies and redress, and recognition before the law.

Intersex people

The Maltese Act that introduced the term was widely welcomed internationally by civil society organizations as it offered protections to intersex people for the first time.[7][8][9][10][11] The Act was later followed by a report by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe that recognized that sex characteristics are distinct from a person's sexual orientation and gender identity.[12]

In a wide-ranging analysis on intersex human rights and health issues, the Council of Europe published an Issue Paper entitled Human rights and intersex people in May 2015.[12] In the Issue Paper, the Council's Commissioner for Human Rights recommended that Member States of the Council of Europe protect intersex citizens on grounds of "sex characteristics", or otherwise protect intersex persons on grounds of sex or gender:[12]

National equal treatment and hate crime legislation should be reviewed to ensure that it protects intersex people. Sex characteristics should be included as a specific ground in equal treatment and hate crime legislation or, at least, the ground of sex/gender should be authoritatively interpreted to include sex characteristics as prohibited grounds of discrimination. (page 9)[12]

In 2015, the United Nations published a fact sheet using the term sex characteristics to define intersex:

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.[1]

This was followed by a public statement by UN and regional human rights experts in 2016 utilizing a similar definition.[13] In September 2015, Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, opened an Expert meeting on ending human rights violations against intersex persons stating:[14]

All human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. Those foundational, bedrock principles of universality and equality mean that all of us, without exception, and regardless of our sex characteristics, are equally entitled to the protections of international human rights law.[14]

In 2017, Amnesty International published a report condemning "non-emergency, invasive and irreversible medical treatment with harmful effects" on children born with variations of sex characteristics in Germany and Denmark. It found that surgeries take place with limited psychosocial support, based on gender stereotypes, but without firm evidence. Amnesty International reported that "there are no binding guidelines for the treatment of intersex children".[15][16][17][18]

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See also

References
  1. "Free & Equal Campaign Fact Sheet: Intersex" (PDF). United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (December 2015). Protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in the EU – Comparative legal analysis – Update 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-09-03.
  3. Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (June 2016). Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics. Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions. ISBN 978-0-9942513-7-4. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15.
  4. Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 Archived 2017-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Sex organ (sɛks ˈɔːɡən)". Collins English Dictionary. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  6. P. R. Ashalatha, G. Deepa (2012). Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses. JP Medical Ltd. pp. 252–274. ISBN 9350254239. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  7. Cabral, Mauro (April 8, 2015). "Making depathologization a matter of law. A comment from GATE on the Maltese Act on Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics". Global Action for Trans Equality. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  8. Star Observer (2 April 2015). "Malta passes law outlawing forced surgical intervention on intersex minors". Star Observer. Archived from the original on 14 August 2015.
  9. OII Europe (April 1, 2015). "OII-Europe applauds Malta's Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act. This is a landmark case for intersex rights within European law reform". Archived from the original on May 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  10. Carpenter, Morgan (April 2, 2015). "We celebrate Maltese protections for intersex people". Organisation Intersex International Australia. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  11. Transgender Europe (April 1, 2015). Malta Adopts Ground-breaking Trans and Intersex Law – TGEU Press Release. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016.
  12. Council of Europe; Commissioner for Human Rights (April 2015), Human rights and intersex people, Issue Paper, archived from the original on 2016-01-06
  13. UN Committee against Torture; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; UN Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities; UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Juan Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; Dainius Pῡras, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Dubravka Šimonoviæ, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children; African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights; Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (October 24, 2016), "Intersex Awareness Day – Wednesday 26 October. End violence and harmful medical practices on intersex children and adults, UN and regional experts urge", Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, archived from the original on November 21, 2016CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (September 16, 2015), Opening remarks by Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Expert meeting on ending human rights violations against intersex persons, archived from the original on June 30, 2016
  15. Amnesty International (2017). First, Do No Harm. Archived from the original on 2017-05-17.
  16. Amnesty International (2017). "First, Do No Harm: ensuring the rights of children born intersex". Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  17. Semple, Ross (May 10, 2017). "Intersex children subject to 'invasive' surgery to 'normalise' their sex, reports Amnesty International". Attitude Magazine. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  18. Cherubini, Elena (May 11, 2017). "Amnesty denounces 'human rights violations' on intersex children". Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
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