Reflecting on the presentations made at the workshop, Hon Princess Kasune, the Member of Parliament for the Keembe Constituency and member of the Advisory Council for the Parliamentary Caucus on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights shared:

“Listening to the lived experiences of intersex people was very powerful, there is nothing that can compare to lived experiences.” 

Some of the recommendations made during the dissemination workshop and in the policy review included:

• The need for the Government of Zambia to develop a comprehensive and coordinated legislative and policy framework that recognises intersex persons in the countries laws and policies, thus extending legislative protections to intersex persons
• A call to integrate the rights of intersex persons into relevant laws such as the Gender Equity and Equality Act, the Employment Act, and the Persons with Disabilities Act
• The need to update of the Birth and Deaths Registrations Act to offer administrative procedures to intersex persons and parents of intersex children to support their right to a legal identity, autonomy and to self-determination
• The need to recognise intersex people in the Ministry of Education, through a review of the Education Act that ensures that intersex learners are protected from discrimination, and that intersex issues are included in sex education to increase awareness for and to demystify the experiences of intersex people in the country
• The need to develop and review health legislation to include specific protections of the right that intersex people have to safely access credible and accountable healthcare services and providers
• The need to sensitise the public on intersex issues and to address the stereotypes that surround the intersex population to combat reigning harmful social and cultural norms that put the livelihoods and well-being of intersex people at risk
• The need to strengthen access to justice, through building the capacity of paralegal and legal support service providers, the national human rights commission staff, judicial staff, and law enforcement agents
• The need to increase the Government of Zambia’s collaboration with the intersex population through cooperating partner agencies and bodies, NGOs, and CBOs, to encourage active participation on the design, development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the laws, policies, and administrative reforms recommended in the report

“This is a matter of human rights. Intersex people are fellow citizens who have the same rights as us and we want to see the best for them which includes a good legal framework that protects their rights as citizens from birth” – shares Hon Joseph Munsanje, the Member of Parliament for Mbabla Constituency and the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.

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