Pressure for Tasmania to follow ACT's intersex law protections

Intersex is an umbrella term for people born with a combination of male and female biological traits.

This year the ACT introduced a law to improve support for intersex people and their families, including safe-guards to protect from "inappropriate", "cosmetic" surgeries.

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Tasmanian representative for Intersex Peer Support Australia Simon-lisa Anderson said Tasmania needed similar laws as soon as possible to stop these types of procedures before a child can give consent.

"It's really good and it's gonna support a lot of children there," Ms Anderson said.

"Do we need it here? Yeah, we do because from our Medicare code, that specifically for Tasmania in the last three or four financial years we're doing these surgeries. We've sterilised two girls because their gonads were gonads were testes and not ovaries."

She said the legislation ensured a specialist panel shaped a child's pathway so they had the appropriate, extra support.

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Ms Anderson said there were no pathways to support Tasmanian families with a child who is intersex.

"They're not getting any psychological support to help them through the shock of of having a child that has a variation of sex characteristics," she said.

"They get no support whatsoever from the government and there's no policy, procedure or protocol in place to support those families."

The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) report on Legal Recognition of Sex and Gender made four recommendations in 2020.

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Ms Anderson said those recommendations would put in similar protections as the ACT laws.

A state government spokesperson said the issue to protect those with variations to sex characteristics in Tasmania was being considered by the relevant departments.

"Our government is committed to ensuring a confident and inclusive community where all people are treated fairly and with respect," the spokesperson said.

They did not directly answer whether they would act on the TLRI recommendations on the matter.

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Labor Denison MHA Ella Haddad said her party supported the implementation of the TLRI recommendations.

"With the increased understanding of intersex variations in both the medical and general community comes a responsibility to ensure our laws and policies keep pace," Ms Haddad said.

"In rare instances where a life is at risk, medical interventions may be necessary but the majority of surgeries performed on people with variations to sex characteristics at a young age, could have been delayed until the person was older and able to have a say in any medical treatment they have."

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