| Abbreviation | IPSA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1985 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Intersex peer and family support program |
Region served | Australia |
| Website | isupport.org.au |
Intersex Peer Support Australia (IPSA), also known as theAndrogen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia, is possibly the oldest knownintersex organization, established in 1985.[1] It provides peer and family support, information and advocacy. The group is run by volunteers, for people with intersex variations such asandrogen insensitivity syndrome.[2][1] It changed name from the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia (AISSGA) to Intersex Peer Support Australia in 2019.[3] In 2024 it merged intoIntersex Human Rights Australia to form InterAction for Health and Human Rights (InterAction). It is now a program of InterAction.[4]
IPSA may be the oldestintersex organization, established in 1985,[1] prior to the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group (UK), established in 1988,[5] and theIntersex Society of North America (ISNA) in 1993.[6]
IPSA was founded by Dr Garry Warne, then the Director of Paediatric Endocrinology at theRoyal Children's Hospital, Melbourne.[1] It is now run by a board of people with intersex variations, and parents. Notable members includeBonnie Hart,Phoebe Hart andTony Briffa. Many members of the group took part in Phoebe Hart's 2010 autobiographical road movie,Orchids, My Intersex Adventure.
The organisation changed name in 2019,[7]and merged intoIntersex Human Rights Australia to form InterAction for Health and Human Rights (InterAction) in 2024.[4] It is now a program of InterAction.
The core activity of the Group is to provide peer and family support, information and advocacy.[2] It produces regular newsletters, known asdAISy, an annual conference, and regular meetings in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.[2]
The group has advocated onintersex human rights issues since at least the turn of the century, with submissions on discrimination and prenatal terminations dating back to 2003.[1]Tony Briffa was published inNature in April 2004, calling for an end to irreversible sex assignment treatments in infancy.[8] The group has also made a similar submission to a 2013 Australian Senate inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities.[9][10][11]
In March 2017, representatives of IPSA participated in an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organizations and others.[12] The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrableintersex medical interventions on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support.[12][13][14][15][16]
Andie Hider, then president of IPSA, took part in theABC television programFour Corners in July 2005.[17] Current president Bonnie Hart appeared on Australian television withIntersex Human Rights Australia presidentMorgan Carpenter in March 2015,[18] and in a short video for theNational LGBTI Health Alliance QLife project, later that year.[19]
IPSA is a member ofLGBTIQ+ Health Australia.
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