Access to General Healthcare

• Access to general healthcare is often impaired by prejudices of healthcare professionals and the refund policies of health insurance companies.
• Disbelief, prejudices and disgust expressed by health care personnel can lead intersex people to avoid seeking healthcare. They can also lead health professionals to deny intersex people access to health services.
• Intersex individuals have repeatedly reported physical and psychological abuse by medical staff.
• Other common issues faced by intersex people in Europe are lack of access to hormone substitution or hormone substitution which does not fit the real needs of the person’s body

9 Doctors Changing the Face of Healthcare for Intersex People

Too many members of intersex communities are survivors of medical harm. Many endure the effects of infant genital surgeries that changed their lives before they were old enough to speak. Some intersex adults grow up to fear and distrust all healthcare interactions because of these experiences. This pain is real, and a central focus of interACT’s work. We also know that there are doctors dedicated to working beside us for change.