VIOLATIONS OF THE INTERSEX CHILD’S AUTONOMY: BETWEEN SILENCE PACTS AND SCALELS

Abstract

People who are born with the intersex condition are those who do not fit the heteronormative model and are described by medical knowledge as someone who needs to have their body normalized, urgently, from surgical and therapeutic procedures, under the argument that it is necessary to prevent psychological harm to the child. Intersex activists fight so that they can develop their identity with autonomy, as such surgical procedures constitute true child genital mutilation. The study starts from the following problem question: what is the best interest of the intersex child? To respond to the research problem, the object was delimited to test the hypothesis that the intersex child’s autonomy should be respected, especially regarding their existential rights. The protective purpose cannot suppress the child’s autonomy. The general objective of the study is to demonstrate that it is necessary to recognize the intersex body as an expression of human diversity and not as a diagnosis of disorder or anomaly. This is essentially bibliographical research with a qualitative approach, using the hypothetical-deductive method. The study is justified by the scarcity of scientific works published about it, the Law can help in the re-signification of intersexuality, since the existing research are concentrated in the fields of Medicine, Psychology and Social Work. In the end, the study suggests a review of the Resolution 1664 by the Federal Council of Medicine, as the intervention model that the document advocates does not seem to be the most appropriate.