Oral Presentation ESA-SRB-APEG-NZSE 2022

In March this year I had an accident and sustained serious physical injury, my slow, complications riddled recovery has provided me with two things, lots of time on my back away from the day to day demands of the office, a life rare opportunity to be slow, to reflecting/analyze.  A new, up close and personal and detailed highly varied - interaction with our health system.

It has both changed and sharpened my perspective.

This year when the New Zealand Government published its budget, there was for the first time in our history funding, 2.5 million for ‘intersex work’, by the NZ Ministry of Health.

• $2.516 million over four years to support health practitioners to provide best practice health care to intersex children and young people, and to empower intersex children and young people and their whānau to make informed decisions about medical interventions, which will better protect the rights of intersex children and young people and prevent unnecessary medical interventions from occurring

This budget initiative is the culmination of over two decades of collaborative work. Informed by a decade of consultation with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and associated ‘Round Tables’, a joint presentation to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and the conclusions of the CRG (Clinical Reference Group) - A multi sectoral National Clinical Network established through the Pediatric Society of New Zealand and funded by the Ministry of Health established in 2017.

A unitary Progressive Labour Government that had made a commitment to improving intersex (VSC) variations sex characteristics health outcomes prior to the last election and Associate Health Minister, the Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall, who has a background and experience in medicine as a specialist and was instrumental in informing, developing this policy initiative.

This initiative has created a real and unique opportunity to move beyond historic conflicts and impasse, to focus on a shared common goals.

To work collaboratively and draw on best practice research, reports and emergent standards including (Prism NZ HRC report, 2020, Denise Steers PhD 2020, the peer support program developed by Bonnie Hart in Australia, and recently published 2022 WPATH, guidelines)

Develop a model that knows and values the importance of diversity, is aware of and addresses the issue of culture, violence, stigma, shame and discrimination, values and encourages effective communication, education and holistic integrated health care.

A model that takes the lessons, wisdom, learnings from the past and makes the future better and safer for everyone.