Following a fundamental agreement between all parties in the National Council in 2021, the Ombudsman is now exerting pressure to ban gender reassignment surgery on children as soon as possible.
It is estimated that approximately 30 children are born in Austria each year who cannot be clearly classified as male or female. Medicine is still aimed at surgically removing ‘disturbing’ sexual characteristics at an early stage, said Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz, referring to reports from those affected. Often the operations are not necessary for health reasons.
Those affected speak of mutilation
There is often a lack of knowledge about “how diverse bodies can develop and, above all, that this is okay,” said Tinou Ponzer of the Association of Intersex People Austria (VIMÖ) on Monday in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”. However, Achitz stressed that gender reassignment operations on intersex babies, children and young people are huge human rights violations. Hasty operations often lead to serious trauma later and those affected often experience the gender reassignment operations as mutilation.
“Intersex children and children with variations in gender characteristics should be allowed to grow up as they are. It is about the right to integrity and self-determination over one’s own body,” Ponzer demanded. In 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child had already called on Austria to ban unnecessary and non-consensual interventions in the area of children’s sexual characteristics.
Ministry of Justice: The completed design is available
According to Ö1, there is already a ready draft in the department of Justice Minister Alma Zadić (Greens), while the ÖVP only spoke about negotiations.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
