He refers to operations on those characteristics initiated by parents who experience peer pressure and shame. ‘People should always make their own decisions about such a drastic treatment. Following the proposal of the interest group for intersex people (NNID), I think this should be punishable.’ The NCDR points out that bodily integrity is a human right that ‘must be protected at all times’.
From research by the Nivel Institute, he concludes that non-necessary medical treatments without permission were performed at least 65 times in the period from 2014 to 2020 on people who were born with a body that does not meet the current standards for male or female.
Rainbow ballot agreement
According to Mir Abe Marinus of the NNID, there may be many more and children are sometimes even operated on as babies. Parents decide on this together with doctors, often with the best of intentions, for example to prevent the child from being bullied later on. But according to the NNID, the final damage of the procedure is much greater, because the child will think that it was not good the way it was born. That can cause a lot of trouble. The fact that older children are advised not to mention the operation does not help in this respect either.
In theory, this is already prohibited, according to the letter from the coordinator to the cabinet, referring to the Care Quality, Complaints and Disputes Act (Wkkgz) and the Medical Treatment Contracts Act (WGBO). And then, according to him, the cabinet has also committed itself to the so-called Rainbow Ballot Box Agreement, which contains such a legal prohibition. The NCDR now wants to ‘give guidance’ to actually introduce a ban.
More research
Baldewsingh also advocates, among other things, investigating cases of surgical interventions or other medical procedures performed on intersex people without actual consent, as well as compensation and compensation for victims.