Intersex: New Interdisciplinary Approaches (INIA) Research programme

In 2020 the INIA international consortium began work on a large research programme to address intersex people’s wellbeing and human rights from a variety of new and innovative perspectives. The programme will train a cohort of 10 early-stage researchers working collaboratively to develop knowledge that will inform policy making and practice across a range of key sectors. Drawing on critical intersex studies, the research projects are relevant to stakeholders who are concerned with supporting the wellbeing and rights of intersex people through knowledge sharing and development. The project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 859869. Please see https://www.intersexnew.co.uk/.

Early-stage results show a dearth of intersex visibility in key areas including social policy, education, and elder care. Intersex people and those with variations of sex characteristics (VSC) face major health challenges and discrimination. There is a pressing need for appropriate healthcare.

The interdisciplinary INIA programme surfaces multiple discourses about intersex people and those with VSC. All of the INIA projects are relevant to the EuroPSI agenda, include those concerning bioethics, multi-disciplinary healthcare, human rights, social policy, education, aging, service user participation and research ethics.

Surya Monro, PhD, is a Professor in Sociology and Social Policy based at the University of Hudderfield, UK, email s.monro@hud.ac.uk. Surya has published substantially in the fields of gender and sexuality, notably on LGBT and Intersex issues. She is the author of Gender Politics: Citizenship, Activism, and Sexual Diversity (Pluto Press 2005) co-author of Sexuality, Equality and Diversity (Palgrave MacMillan, 2012), author of Bisexuality (Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), co-author of Intersex, Variations if Sex Characteristics and DSD: The Need for Change (University of Huddersfield 2017) and co-editor of Queer in Africa (Routledge 2018). She leads the Intersex: New Interdisciplinary Approaches project (INIA) in collaboration with intersex activists and academics.