On 26 October, intersex people, IGM survivors, partners, families, friends and allies around the globe celebrate Intersex Awareness Day (IAD), commemorating the very first INTERSEX PROTEST in Boston in 1996 against the annual convention of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and in support of over 25 Years of Organised Struggle to End INTERSEX GENITAL MUTILATIONS (IGM).
On the occasion of this year's Intersex Awareness Day, on October 26 the human rights group StopIGM.org, active in Geneva since 2008, is organising two peaceful vigils to protest the persistence of IGM practices at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG).
from 11am to 2pm in front of the HUG who continue to practice intersex genital mutilation despite condemnations by the National Ethics Commission (NEK-CNE) and the UN Committees CRC, CEDAW, CAT, CCPR, CRPD, and Motions 2491 and 2541 of the Grand Council of the Canton of Geneva
from 3pm to 4pm on the Place des Nations to celebrate soon 50 UN condemnations for IGM.
In public, the HUG insist that IGM practices have been completely abandoned since 2012 "at least in the period of early childhood",[1] but nevertheless refuse to disclose data on relevant procedures.[2] At the same time, the HUG advertise IGM practices on their website: "The ideal age for performing the surgery is between 1 and 2 years. ",[3] and also in a recent Geneva University thesis by a paediatric surgeon from the HUG, illustrated by surgical photos of small genitalia of mutilated children[4]. Read more via Stop Genital Mutilation