OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022

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Two years after the original 2020 OII Europe COVID-19 Survey, to assess the impact of the pandemic on the intersex community in Europe throughout the 2,5 years of the pandemic, the OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 was launched on August 12th, 2022. The survey was open for 35 days.

The survey was launched in 6 languages: English, French, German, Greek, Russian and Turkish

47 Intersex people and 2 family members participated in the survey.

Survey participants came from 12 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden) & 6 non EU countries (Iceland, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine).

GENERAL IMPACT AND SAFETY

For intersex participants the main areas of their life being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were:

  • mental health (68%)
  • health (55%)
  • intersex activism (53%)
  • travel (47%)
  • employment (30%)
  • finances (30%)
  • human rights 26%

In comparison, the 2020 survey results were:

  • mental health (67%)
  • travel (64%)
  • finances (41%)
  • intersex activism (38%)
  • employment (32%)
  • health (29%)
  • education (18%)
  • personal safety (11%)
  • housing (5%)

Percent of intersex participants answered positively that hate speech and/or hate crimes has increased towards them or intersex community in their country throughout the pandemic: 30%

Percent of intersex participants shared that they did not feel safe in their place of living and with people they live with: 6%

Percent of intersex participants answered that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their housing situation: 13%

HEALTH

Survey participants rated their mental health throughout the past 2,5 years as: 4,6 out of 10

Survey participants rated their mental health right now as: 5,6 out of 10

Intersex participants that did experience COVID-19 symptoms: 53%

Intersex participants that reported having long COVID symptoms: 30%

Survey participants rated their physical health throughout the past two years as: 5,5 out of 10

Intersex participants whose health issues that had already existed before the pandemic had
aggravated during the pandemic: 34%

Intersex participants that developed health issues during the pandemic: 28%

Intersex survey participants that are fully vaccinated and boosted: 62%

(Vaccine) “was quite accessible. However, research on the vaccine has not been for intersex people. So I didn’t know if I should vaccinate or no my intersex child. I finally vaccinated him but without having important information that I need.” (translated from Greek)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“During the pandemic specific advice was given out to xx trans people and xy trans people about which vaccines were preferable for each group. No such advice was given to intersex people and no one within the system seemed to be able to provide answers if xy intersex women should follow the same advice as xy trans women, often being on the same hrt, or if they should follow the advice given for trans men if they were fully on testosterone.

More care could have been provided to provide clearer aspects of which part of a person biology and HRT regimine was likely to react and expand the information given to include a broader scope of people.”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“In some cases, it was difficult for people with a non-male or non-female marital status to register because the corresponding additional options were missing from the forms.” (translated from German)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“But often in public transport and supermarkets (the only places I could not avoid) there were always people not wearing masks – making me anxious and increasing my phobia to be around people.”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“the doctors I asked did not know if my XXY child should be vaccinated, nor with which vaccine” (translated from Greek)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
(COVID restrictions were) “relatively weak and not closely followed – which was terrifying as an immunocompromised person“
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022

FINANCE

Intersex participants that said their income has decreased during the pandemic: 43%
compared to 41% in 2020

Intersex participants that hold the pandemic directly responsible for worsened financial situation: 23%

Intersex participants that reported losing their job because of the pandemics impact: 4%
compared to 18% in 2020, & 32% in 2020 reporting the the pandemic affecting their employment situation compared to 22% in 2020

Intersex respondents that reported having to leave their place of education because of the pandemics impact: 6%
compared to 22% in 2020

Intersex participants that experienced bullying in their place of education during the pandemic: 9%

Intersex participants that have traveled during the pandemic: 38%
out of them none encountered problems – compared to 64% of intersex participants reporting in 2020 the pandemic affecting their traveling plans

LIFE, COMMUNITY AND INTERSEX ACTIVISM

Most commonly used word when talking about their life during the pandemic in their quotes was the word “isolated”

Participants also reported:

  • a lot of events happening in their lives,
  • traveling
  • participating in in-person meetings less and the challenge this caused to their mental health

Number of participants who said the pandemic changed the frequency/way participants were meeting up with other intersex people or hosting intersex community meetings/event: 43%

“Several projects and activities were cancelled, others became very difficult to proceed with, especially when they require in-person presence. Processes slowed down or delayed significantly. Other activities we were able to successfully integrate into our online-work“
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
(my activism) “has significantly slowed down but it has begun to pick up again since June of this year”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“I had to stop my activism”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022

NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGE

“We started meeting online with our peer group”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“Online activism gave us momentum and strengthened our solidarity. We realised that we can work together without physically coming together” (translated from Turkish)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“Almost all our activities are postponed or stopped. There is not enough support (financially and emotionally) for intersex people and their parents”
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“Online community meetings are empowering. Meeting in real life is still much nicer“
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“I think there is now more material in the media about intersex people. I read and watch something on the topic quite often”(translated from Russian)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“Didn’t do any activism, hiding in my house from everything” (translated from Russian)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“Yes; we had to go online and cancel a lot of events, sometimes at the last minute. The cancellations on our part have also created tensions with other less cautious associations” (translated from French)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022
“I believe that intersex activism has made great progress in the last 2.5 years, more people have learned about us, our community has become more visible, there have been many interviews and programs and movies on YouTube about and with intersex people.
We have missed meeting and interacting with people from the community, but throughout the pandemic we have been supporting each other in general online chat, and travel restrictions have disrupted plans to meet people from the community. Traditional community meetings were postponed” (translated from Russian)
OII Europe Follow Up COVID-19 Intersex Survey 2022 Participant2022

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