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Ban on non-consensual surgeries on intersex children

What this indicator measures

Indicates whether national law bans sex-assignment operations performed without consent on intersex children, that is, children born with sex characteristics that do not fit the usual categories.

How to read this?

"Banned" means that a national law prohibits these operations without consent.

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194countries with data
2025data year(s)

In brief

Ban on non-consensual surgeries on intersex children: 194 countries and territories covered. Breakdown: Banned by national law : 11 ; Not banned : 182 ; Varies by region : 1.

Why this indicator matters

Some children are born with sex characteristics that do not fit the usual categories. This indicator compares the laws that govern operations performed on them without their consent.

What makes this indicator vary

The positions taken by laws change with medical opinion, recommendations from international bodies and ethical debates. Many countries have no specific text and rely on the general rules on medical consent.

Reading precautions

The indicator only covers national laws. The absence of a ban does not mean these operations are performed, and a ban says nothing about how it is enforced. Medical exceptions may exist.

Ban on non-consensual surgeries on intersex children

Banned by national law (11)

Not banned (182)

Varies by region (1)

Frequently asked questions

Where does the "Ban on non-consensual surgeries on intersex children" data come from?

It comes from Velasco, LGBTI National Policy Dataset (via Our World in Data). Site last updated: November 8, 2026. Each country is shown with the year of its most recent value.

What does intersex mean?

An intersex person is born with sex characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, organs) that do not fit the usual categories of male or female.

What does "banned by national law" mean?

A law of the country prohibits performing these operations on children without their consent. The indicator does not measure how the rule is applied in practice.

Source and update

Source : Velasco, LGBTI National Policy Dataset (via Our World in Data). Site last updated: November 8, 2026.

Indicators in the same category : LGBTQ+ rights