Intersex and Androcur
For some intersex, the suppression of testosterone is an important issue.
There are several drugs available that can do this. One of these is Androcur (Cyproterone acetate).
The pharmaceuticals benefits list restricts the use of Androcur, only allowing it to be dispensed for three specific diagnoses.
In women: for moderate to severe signs of androgenisation. This generally refers to polycystic ovary syndrome and in some cases congenital adrenal hypoplasia.
In men: for the treatment of prostate cancers and reduction in drive in sexual deviations.
The PBS folk determine the sex of the patient from their Medicare data. If a person is male according to their Medicare data, they cannot be prescribed Androcur as a woman. There are then only two options available for a person with a male designation: prostate cancer and sexual deviance.
Intersex people who have been assigned male must agree to being classified as having sexual deviations and be placed on a register held by PBS indicating this ss the reason for the use of the drug (the so-called sex offenders register).
This information is connected to their Medicare data and their long-term medical history held by the Department of Health.
Organisation Intersex International Australia has asked all Australian police forces if this information is used by them. They have indicated it is not. It is, however, part of a person鈥檚 medical history and available to all who have access to that person鈥檚 Medicare records.
The real security of that medical information is unknowable.
The Department of Health and Ageing is currently implementing a system of linkages that will make a patient鈥檚 entire medical history available to any medical practitioner they visit. For those who have been prescribed hormones and anti-androgens 鈥榦ff label鈥�, this is a very concerning development.
So long as prescriptions rely on sex binary normalisation and ignore intersex differences, we will continue to have to agree to be thought of as sex deviants or to forgo treatment.
The cross-sex/ anti-androgen experiment has been conducted over the last 40 years with thousands of participants. It is time to stop the fiction that places both medical practitioners and their clients in legal jeopardy.
It is high time the Department of Health and Ageing did the clinical trials that would legalise the long-term use of sex hormones and anti-androgens for both intersex and trans individuals.
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By GINA WILSON
This is an excellent article about a very serious issue. I hope it will appear in the print as well as online editions of the paper. I was disappointed to see that columns including the GLRL one were not printed in full in the hard copy. I know several people including GLBTI seniors who only read the print paper.