Africa Intersex Meeting 2017

Intersex rights activists from across Southern, East and West Africa met in November in Johannesburg to host the first regional intersex meeting. This convening was funded by the Intersex Human Rights Fund and co-ordinated by Iranti, ISSA and SIPD. This much needed platform provided a space for discussions and network building opportunities rarely afforded to intersex human rights activists on the continent. Often, intersex issues are coupled with transgender topics of discussion or even the broader LGBTIQ+ struggle for equality, but intersex persons face many unique challenges often ignored in mainstream LGBT spaces. The regional meeting gave delegates the space to share their lived experiences and open up about their goals and the struggles they face, and get input from a number of experts on matters such as funding and organizing, advocacy strategy planning, handling difficult media and mental health and wellness. The regional meeting crafted a statement which lays out their commitment to effect change and to strengthen the movement. Delegates left with a stronger sense of community and renewed vigour, making clear that overlooking intersex issues, and overlooking the long underfunded and underrepresented African continent, would no longer be tolerated.