Intersex Awareness Day: VMHPAA calls for dignity, informed consent, and inclusive care for people with intersex variations
- Shane Warren
- Oct 26
- 2 min read
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
26 October 2025
The Vocational Mental Health Practitioners Association of Australia (VMHPAA) marks Intersex Awareness Day by standing in solidarity with intersex people and calling for services, workplaces, and communities to move beyond awareness toward practical, rights-affirming action.
Intersex people are born with natural variations in sex characteristics. Too often, they face stigma, erasure, and unnecessary pressures to conform. In mental health and community settings, this can look like barriers to care, misgendering, a lack of privacy, and policies that don’t recognise intersex realities. VMHPAA affirms that safety, dignity, and informed consent must guide every interaction.
“Intersex people deserve to be seen, heard, and celebrated, without pathologising who they are,” said Shane Warren, Chair of VMHPAA. “Respect starts with language, continues with consent, and is sustained by services that are inclusive by design, not by exception. Our job as practitioners is simple: listen, believe, protect privacy, and create spaces where people can be themselves without fear.”
VMHPAA’s call to action
Use accurate, respectful language: “intersex” and “people with variations in sex characteristics” and avoid assumptions about identity, pronouns, or bodies.
Embed informed consent and privacy: ensure supportive referral pathways and protect people from disclosure without explicit permission.
Make services inclusive by design: update intake forms, data systems, and facilities to reflect intersex realities; offer trauma-informed, identity-affirming care.
End harmful practices: oppose non-urgent, non-consensual medical interventions; advocate for policies that prioritise autonomy and lifelong wellbeing.
Train and supervise the workforce: include intersex-inclusive practice in induction, CPD, and reflective supervision across all roles.
Partner with intersex-led organisations: co-design resources, referral pathways, and education with those who have lived expertise.
VMHPAA recognises the diversity of intersex experiences and reaffirms our commitment to safe, affordable, and culturally and identity affirming care across Australia’s communities, schools, workplaces, and families.
Media Contact:
Shane Warren, Chair
Susan Sandy, Secretary
Philip Armstrong, CEO
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