The silence of the ‘I’: Legal and social implications of intersex genital mutilation of children

Abstract While often lumped under the umbrella of the initialism LGBTQI+, issues pertaining to intersex individuals are often overlooked. Intersex people are the silent minority within a minority. While South African law, on the face of it, appears to offer infinite protections for those who are intersex, a culture of silence has allowed for a number of human rights abuses to be perpetrated against the intersex community. The impacts of these gross violations of human rights unfortunately begin at infancy. Children are subjected to non-essential, cosmetic surgery in order to comply with the cisnormative standard that sexual traits only belong within the binary construct of ‘male’ and ‘female’. These surgeries are performed without the consent of the child and often result in life-long medical complications and mental trauma. This article investigates the extent to which the rights of intersex children are being violated. It investigates whether harmful practices are in the best interests of the child in accordance with, inter alia, the South African Constitution. Furthermore, the article will examine the extent to which the incongruence of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, Children’s Act, National Health Act and Alterations of Sex Description and Sex Status Act further exacerbate the problem.