The Rights of Intersex People in Russia
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The Rights of Intersex People in Russia NGO submission for the 70th session of the Committee Against Torture List of Issues prior to Reporting for the Russian Federation Joint NGO submission by: Intersex Russia/OII Russia NNID Foundation - Netherlands organisation for sex diversity 25 January 2021 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 3 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................................. 3 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 4 INTERSEX PEOPLE IN RUSSIA ....................................................................................................................... 5 NON-CONSENSUAL UNNECESSARY MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS ON INTERSEX CHILDREN [ART. 2, 10, 12, 14, AND 16] ............... 5 CUSTODY AND INTERROGATION [ART. 1, 10 & 11] ....................................................................................................... 7 IDENTITY DOCUMENTS AND HEALTHCARE [ART. 2 & 16] ................................................................................................ 8 APPENDIX 1: INTERSEX AND HARMFUL PRACTICES ................................................................................... 9 Executive Summary Non-consensual unnecessary medical interventions to adjust the sex characteristics of intersex children are prevalent in Russia, while these interventions can be safely deferred until a later age where these children can provide personal, prior, free, and fully informed consent. Doctors indicate that they do not disclose the truth to intersex children and their parents about the children’s bodies or the interventions they received. Neighbouring countries, such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, also regularly refer intersex children to Russia for these procedures. The State has issued statements in support of these practices. Interrogation can result in police brutality intersex people can find themselves in dangerous situations due to their private information being disclosed. As a result, many intersex people try to remain invisible out of fear of social stigma, pathologization and discrimination. Therefore, intersex children in Russia seek protection under Articles [Art. 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 16 of the Convention Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Suggested Questions Intersex Russia/Oii Russia and NNID request the Committee to consider these issues for the compilation of the List of Issues Prior to Reporting and suggest the following questions for the Committee to request the government of the Russian Federation to provide information on: What medical treatments are provided to intersex children and clarify whether their free, prior and fully informed consent is ensured? What measures are taken to ensure private data of intersex people is not revealed by law enforcement? How does the Russian Federation plan to ensure that intersex people have access to correct identity documents and medical care? Introduction This NGO report is a joint submission by Intersex Russia/OII Russia, and NNID Foundation to highlight key issues faced by intersex people in Russia. This submission does not provide information regarding all existing issues. Nonetheless, Intersex Russia and NNID would greatly appreciate the consideration of the presented issues by the Committee Against Torture for the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR). The paragraphs give contextual information on topics that specifically affect intersex children, and suggestions for questions that can be used to prepare the LOIPR. Appendix 1 contains background information on intersex and harmful practices. Intersex Russia was established in March 2017 with the mission to provide an accurate and positive representation of the intersex community in Russia, to raise awareness about the existence of intersex people and the issues that the intersex community faces, advocate for intersex human rights, and provide support to intersex people across the country. NNID Foundation is an intersex-led human rights organization working for the equality, rights, and visibility of intersex people, and is based in the Netherlands. Intersex people in Russia Intersex refers to the experiences of people born with a body that does not meet the normative definition of male and female. In Russia, intersex people are experiencing violations of their fundamental human rights, including the right to full informed consent, physical integrity, bodily autonomy and self-determination. Selective abortions of fetuses with some intersex variations are allowed up to 22 weeks and are routinely performed. This is ten weeks more than the cut-off date for non-intersex fetuses1. Some intersex variations are officially considered a disability2. This supports the pathologization of intersex people, limits their chances of finding a job, chances of being adopted and their access to adopting themselves in the future. On the other hand, it is useful for some intersex people since it allows them to get disability benefits. As a result, many intersex people try to remain invisible out of fear of social stigma, pathologization and discrimination. Non-consensual unnecessary medical interventions on intersex children [Art. 2, 10, 12, 14, and 16] Inhuman treatment for intersex children includes non-necessary medical interventions, and intrusive and irreversible treatments, that can safely be deferred until a later age when these children can provide personal, prior, free, and fully informed consent. For more general background on intersex and harmful practices, see appendix 1. Non-necessary medical interventions, including surgery, hormone treatment, and psychological treatment to ‘strengthen’ the assigned sex are common. Additionally, it is remarkably common for these practices to be covered by the media. A Urologist/andrologist from St. Petersburg indicated in an interview that he performs about 250 surgeries on intersex children’s genitals each year. He considers 8-18 months the optimal age for surgery. Decisions regarding gender are often made based on chromosomal sex. He states: ‘If it turns out that a boy has been born, we not only "make" the penis and urethra, but also shape the scrotum’ and ‘When it becomes clear that this is a girl, we do the so-called feminizing genitoplasty, clitoroplasty, labiaplasty, vaginoplasty’.3 This doctor performed surgery on an 8-month-old in March 2019 in St-Petersburg, which received much positive attention from national media. Most media attention goes to surgery where children’s genitalia are altered to fit the female norm, as genital surgeries to achieve an appearance that fits the male norm are more common.4 It is indicated that they perform more surgeries on boys than on girls. The 1 Приложение к приказу Министерства здравоохранения и социального развития РФ от 3 декабря 2007 г. N 736 Перечень медицинских показаний для искусственного прерывания беременности (Appendix to the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation of December 3, 2007 N 736: List of medical indications for artificial termination of pregnancy). https://base.garant.ru/12158174/53f89421bbdaf741eb2d1ecc4ddb4c33/ 2 Приказ Министерства труда и социальной защиты РФ от 27 августа 2019 г. N 585н "О классификациях и критериях, используемых при осуществлении медико-социальной экспертизы граждан федеральными государственными учреждениями медико-социальной экспертизы" (Order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation of August 27, 2019 N 585n "On the classifications and criteria used in the implementation of medical and social examination of citizens by federal state institutions of medical and social examination") https://base.garant.ru/73021006/. 3 Петербургский андролог рассказал, когда нужно оперировать ребенка, чтобы он не стеснялся своего тела (Petersburg andrologist told when to operate on a child so that he is not ashamed of his body). Doctor Piter. 13 December 2018. https://doctorpiter.ru/articles/21001/. 4 See for instance: Бойцова M. Петербургские врачи провели сложнейшую операцию бесполому ребенку (St. Petersburg doctors performed the most complicated operation on an asexual child). Spbdnevnik. 22 March 2019. https://spbdnevnik.ru/news/2019-03- 22/peterburgskie-vrachi-proveli-slozhneyshuyu-operatsiyu-bespolomu-rebenku. Бобрович A. Уникальная операция в Петербурге: Бесполый малыш стал девочкой (A unique operation in St. Petersburg: a sexless baby became a girl). Metro News. 22 March 2019. https://www.metronews.ru/novosti/peterbourg/reviews/unikalnaya-operaciya-v-peterburge-bespolyy-malysh-stal-devochkoy- 1527076/. Бесполый младенец из Петербурга станет девочкой (A sexless baby from St. Petersburg will become a girl) MKRU St. Petersburg. 22 March 2019. https://spb.mk.ru/social/2019/03/22/bespolyy-mladenec-iz-peterburga-stanet-devochkoy.html. В Санкт-Петербурге провели уникальную операцию по смене пола 8-месячному младенцу (In St. Petersburg, a unique sex change operation was performed on an 8-month-old baby). 78 News. 22 March 2019. https://78news.ru/obsshestvo/medicina/v-sankt- peterburge-proveli-unikalnuyu-operacziyu-po-smene-pola-8-mesyachnomu-mladenczu.html. В больнице Марии Магдалины бесполому ребенку возвращают половые