Mapping Implementation Experiences of Law and Policy in Intersex Healthcare

Abstract

This panel brings together 5 academics who have recently received funding to explore the lessons that the UK Government and other States can learn from the European experience of introducing legislation specifically designed to improve the lived healthcare experiences of intersex people. Intersex embodiment occurs where natural bodily variations in sex characteristics fall outside of the sex binary. Currently, medical protocol allows surgical and hormonal interventions on intersex children and infants to ensure their bodies cosmetically fit within the sex binary (e.g. Moriquand et al 2016; NASPAG 2018; PEDSENDO 2020). These invasive interventions have received extensive critique from international and human rights bodies for being unnecessary; lacking longitudinal evidence; producing extensive physical and mental harms; and for failing to obtain the individual’s consent. Since 2015, six European States have introduced legislation designed to prohibit or delay such interventions until intersex individuals can participate in decision-making. These reforms have received wide international praise from activists, academics and international bodies like the Council of Europe and the UN (Garland and Travis 2023). However, little is known about the implementation experiences and impact of these laws. This panel introduces the aims and the scope of the project and then maps out the law reform experiences in 4 different jurisdictions: Malta, Portugal, Spain and Germany. The panel will set out the types of policy and legislative responses that have been introduced by these jurisdictions and how they differ in terms of design and scope. The intersex law reform ‘wave’ is gathering momentum as states continue to look to each other to inform how they respond to intersex issues, typically ‘borrowing’ and ‘adapting’ from each other’s legislative frameworks (Örücü 2002). Increasing pressure from international bodies like the UN and the Council of Europe (2025) for States to act (Garland, Lalor and Travis 2022), whilst appropriate and valuable, also means that Law reform is passing quickly, potentially embedding ineffective or suboptimal solutions into their jurisdictions. The panel will consider the comparative strengths and weaknesses of these different legal and political frameworks; why legislation rather than other mechanisms has been used to instill change; and what lessons can be learned for States and policy makers wanting to reform intersex healthcare.

Title	Details
Law reform and intersex healthcare: a study of Spain	View Paper Details
: Examining the Efficacy of Legislative Prohibitions Designed to Improve Healthcare Experiences for Intersex People - An ESRC Funded Comparative Project	View Paper Details
The Limits of Intersex Protection under Portuguese Law	View Paper Details
How Legislation Affirmed rather than Challenged Healthcare Practices in Malta	View Paper Details
A Question of Gender? The Struggle to Define Intersex Rights in Germany	View Paper Details