Kitty Anderson Co-chair of OII Europe Organisation of Intersex International
In 2016, the Programme for Government gave a commitment to a National Youth LGBTI+ strategy, spearheaded by Minister Katherine Zappone. Out of the 3,710 young people who took part in the survey upon which the strategy will be based, only one identifi ed as intersex. This could be due to both stigma and the fact that many people with intersex variations are unaware of them.
Not much is widely circulated about the unique biologies and needs of people in the ‘I’ part of the LGBTI community, and yet it is estimated that intersex variations occur within 1.78% of the population. That’s over 5,000 people, more than the population of Galway city. Nonetheless, rarely has intersex been taken on as an issue or given any signifi cant discussion in the Irish context.