CRC concluding observations 2023, paragraph 35

Recalling joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices (2014) and its previous recommendations, the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Develop national strategies aimed at eliminating and preventing harmful practices affecting children, including child marriage, female genital mutilation and violence committed in the name of so-called honour, and ensure that it includes effective measures for raising public awareness, training relevant professional groups, identifying victims and addressing data gaps and low rates of reporting and prosecution; (b) Prohibit the promotion, facilitation and delivery of so-called “conversion therapies” aimed at changing the sexual orientation and gender identity of children, in line with its commitment made in 2018, with particular attention paid to the vulnerabilities of children who may be subject to such harm; (c) Publish the results of the 2019 call for evidence issued by the Government Equalities Office on the experiences and needs of people who have variations in sex characteristics; d) Legally prohibit non-urgent and non-essential (including feminizing or masculinizing) medical or surgical treatment of intersex children before they are of sufficient age or maturity to make their own decisions; ensure that such incidents are investigated and provide redress and psychosocial support to victims; and establish a mechanism to independently monitor implementation of the legal prohibition.