There is still no law against gender-altering operations on children

2023-12-11 06:10:29

Despite the unanimously approved initiative proposal in 2021, there is still no concrete draft law to date

Vienna (OTS) – “Gender-changing operations on intersex babies, children and young people are massive human rights violations. The National Council unanimously decided in an initiative proposal in 2021 that children should be protected from interventions that are not medically necessary,” says Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz: “It is high time for the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health to submit a corresponding law for review.”

The medical decision-making processes for small children with both sexual characteristics must be permanently changed; hasty operations often lead to severe trauma later on. Achitz: “The autonomy and self-determination of the people affected must finally be secured!”

According to estimates, around 30 children are born in Austria every year who cannot be clearly assigned to male or female gender. Those affected report that medicine is still geared towards surgically removing “disturbing” sexual characteristics at an early stage. They often perceive these gender-assigning operations as mutilation. In 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child called on Austria to ban unnecessary and non-consensual interventions on children’s sexual characteristics.

SERVICE: The Ombudsman’s office is at [e-mail] and the free service number 0800 223 223.

Questions & Contact:

Florian Kräftner
Media spokesman in the office of Ombudsman Mag. Bernhard Achitz
[phone]
[e-mail]
volksanwaltschaft.at

1702275571
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