Intersex Visibility Rises to New Levels at United Nations in NY during CSW70

As this event was taking place, like-minded diplomats and civil society leaders were busy fighting back against an unprecedented resolution, proposed by the United States, for the CSW to adopt a strictly biological, sex-assigned-at-birth definition of “women.” The language would have excluded transgender and many intersex women and risked undermining established UN terminology that has, in practice, recognized the diversity of women’s lived realities.

The proposal was met with swift, coordinated opposition from a broad coalition of member states, alongside UN agencies and civil society organizations. Critics argued that the move was regressive, inconsistent with prior UN agreements, and would fracture long-standing consensus on gender equality frameworks. In the end, the effort failed to gain sufficient support and was not adopted.  Nada Chaiyajit, co-founder of Intersex Thailand, noted, “We must confront the alarming trend of redefining rights strictly through the sex-based lens, this narrow definition based on binary biological distinction, which seeks to exclude intersex individuals who exist beyond this norm.”

The event follows in the wake of a groundbreaking report that OHCHR published in 2025, Discriminatory laws and policies, acts of violence and harmful practices against intersex persons. The report, which has helped increase the credibility and visibility of the intersex movement, includes non-binding recommendations to states and other stakeholders on legal recognition, health care, and protection from discrimination and harmful practices.

Speaking at the event, Rio Hada of OHCHR described the day’s dialogue as part of “a long-overdue reckoning with practices that have harmed intersex persons for generations.” He added, “The message of the human rights framework is unequivocal. Intersex persons are entitled to full protection, respect, and fulfillment of their rights.”

Each of the panelists shared personal stories from their lived experiences in hopes of raising not only awareness but outrage at the way many intersex people have been harmed.  Obioma Chukwuike of Intersex Nigeria talked about the often difficult political and cultural environments within which intersex activists must operate and cautioned diplomats and governments to take more time to listen to intersex people before making policies. Sharing stories of intersex people’s painful rejection by their communities and even within their own families, they further clarified, “We need people to stand with us, but we need people to stand with us more intentionally, more open-hearted to understand what the issues are and how they can support us while keeping us safe.”

Margie McCumstie of InterAction for Health and Human Rights Australia shared recent legislative progress in protecting intersex children from harmful medical practices in two Australian jurisdictions. She noted that across the world: “Universities and educational institutions have an opportunity to operationalize the OHCHR recommendations by ensuring health care providers are educated on intersex variations and human rights, future lawyers are trained on intersex rights and anti-discrimination laws, social workers, psychologists and allied health teams trained to understand the shame and stigma that many experience, and teachers and early childhood professionals must be well informed, safe and welcoming of difference.”  

The fact that this intersex-themed side event was enthusiastically co-sponsored by UN Women during an annual convening of feminist global activists is not to be overlooked.  The panelists spoke ardently about the urgent issues and challenges facing intersex women and girls. These include threats to their bodily autonomy, restrictions on their self-determination, and violence and discrimination administered against them for not appearing to adhere to rigid gender norms - similar to the threats all kinds of women face, which CSW was designed to address. They urged member states and other stakeholders, including broader feminist movements, to integrate these concerns into their gender equality work. “If we want to move from report to action, we must ensure that intersex rights are not just included – but embedded in all the gender justice work we are doing,” commented Crystal Hendrix of ILGA World.  

Merel Ritsma of Spread The Word Intersex Collective in the Netherlands highlighted the need for increased resource mobilization from a broader array of funders. While LGBTIQ-focused funding has been the greatest source of support to date, less than two percent of all LGBTIQ funding goes to the intersex movement. Ritsma called upon women’s and children's funders to meaningfully and financially back intersex movements: “When funders support our groups, they help protect children and ensure that no harmful gender norms are imposed.”  

Guzzo reflected on her abuse as a child at the hands of medical practitioners determined to “fix” her unbroken body to meet social expectations. “Our bodies are not problems to be solved. The operating table need not be our destiny.” She called on feminist movements to “advocate against medically unnecessary, non-consensual, and irreversible interventions on intersex persons” and asked member states to invest in frameworks that protect intersex people’s human rights.

Intersex persons have been raising their voices and struggling for visibility and meaningful protections for years. This UN side event in New York was another powerful exclamation point by a powerful group of feminist intersex human rights defenders, placed appreciatively after years of tireless activists who have been fighting against intersex erasure for decades.  The message was clear: Intersex women and girls are continuously facing various forms of discrimination and violence, and the global intersex movement needs increased resources, support, and allyship from other movements, member states, and the UN itself.

Hanna Onwen-Huma, Finnish Ministerial Adviser, closed the historic event with a clear directive: "Now, our task is to go back to our offices and hometowns with the report and recommendations to the governments, and try to fulfill them.”