Genital Integrity Activists

Genital integrity activists are those who oppose genital modifications, including genital mutilation, circumcision, and sexual reassignment surgery. Though there are some differences between the organizations and individuals of genital integrity activism with regard to the scope of opposition, in general, they are committed to the recognition of the right of all human beings to an intact body. For this reason, sometimes they are also referred to as intactivists, a label created by combining the words intact and activist. However, it should be noted that their opposition notwithstanding, they respect the voluntary genital modifications of adults.

Intactivists, in general terms, oppose genital modification in any form applied to minors, asserting that it is a salient human rights and health issue that needs to be addressed. This opposition is mainly based on the argument that the rights of the child are violated, as such an outstanding, and most of the time irreversible, alteration in a human's body must require the consent of the adult. However, obviously it is not possible to obtain a satisfactory consent from the minor in order to proceed with the genital modification. The opposition is also backed with the complementary argument that genital modifications are medically harmful. Intactivists do not make any distinction in this regard and argue that circumcision, be it male or female, and even sexual reassignment surgeries that are sometimes seen as necessary by doctors, are not healthy.

Genital integrity activists do not constitute a monolithic and uniform group. Among those who are dedicated to this type of activism are students' groups, some religious groups, medical associations, and human rights non-governmental organizations, particularly children's rights organizations. Religious groups emphasize that God's job is perfect, so there is no need to change it, whereas medical associations are prone to wield scientific findings to support the argument that circumcision is helpful.

In addition to the conventional protest methods, intactivists are also engaged in other activities to draw the public's attention to the issue. In this regard, they especially try to raise awareness by challenging the idea that circumcision is a healthy and beneficial procedure. Gathering and disseminating information supporting this argument is one of the central activities of intactivists. They mostly rely on the outcomes of medical research, as they are regarded as the most convincing and influential. Those individuals and organizations dedicated to the struggle for the recognition of the genital integrity as an inherent right of the individuals carry out their activities under the umbrella of a coalition, called the International Coalition for Genital Integrity. It is an alliance of some 30 civil organizations, the majority of which are based in the United States. Among others, the coalition, in cooperation with National Organization of Circumcision Resource Information Centers and Stop Infant Circumcision Society, organizes and sponsors Genital Integrity Awareness Week.

However, the campaigns of the coalition and other genital integrity activists have not been very influential [Page 612]so far for mainly two reasons. First, while they have managed to base their opposition on the results of some medical research, the view that circumcision is healthy and even required in some special circumstances is still held by many students of medicine. Therefore, their opposition to circumcision based on health reasons is not fully convincing yet. Second, the issue of genital modification, especially circumcision, is a very sensitive and contentious one, given that it is one of the pivotal practices and rituals under two monotheist religions: Islam and Judaism. Therefore, opposition to this practice on the grounds that it is a violation of human rights is not welcome particularly among Muslims and Jews. For this reason, genital integrity activism remains a partially effective movement in the United States.

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