Mauro Cabral Grinspan,[1] also known as Mauro Cabral, is an Argentinian intersex and trans activist, who serves as the Senior Officer for Gender Justice and Equity at the Global Philanthropy Project. Before that, he was the Executive Director of GATE. His work - as a signatory of the Yogyakarta Principles[2] - focuses on the reform of medical protocols and law reform. In July 2015, Cabral received the inaugural Bob Hepple Equality Award.[3]

Mauro Cabral Grinspan
Grinspan (right) in 2013
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Known forTrans and intersex activist and educator
Websitetransactivists.org

Early life and perspectives

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Mauro Cabral Grinspan was assigned female at birth, but now lives as male. He has described how his intersex body was discovered to be different or "incomplete" in his teens; after two surgeries he had to undergo several years of invasive procedures.[4] He has said in an interview that the surgery makes him feel that he needed surgery before he could be loved.[5]

Cabral Grinspan argues homophobia is a driving force behind the common urge to "normalize" intersex children into traditional male or female categories, and proposes surgeries for intersex persons send a message to children that their bodies have to be changed to be acceptable. Additionally, Cabral Grinspan suggests a need for broader cultural acceptance of intersex without treating these people as though they suffer from a medical disorder.[6]

Activism

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Mauro Cabral Grinspan has been involved in activism on trans and intersex issues since at least 2005. From 2005 to 2007 he was in charge of coordinating the Trans and Intersex Area at the IGLHRC Latin American Office.[7] He then worked for three years at MULABI, Latin American Space for Sexualities and Rights, becoming Executive Director in 2009. Cabral became a co-director of GATE in January 2010[7][8] and also co-chairs the International Trans* Reference Group at the Global Forum on MSM and HIV/AIDS. Cabral is a member of the Latin American Consortium on Intersex Issues, and of the International Advisory Board at the Human Rights Watch LGBT Program.[citation needed]

Cabral Grinspan participated in actions that led to the approval of a ground-breaking law on gender identity by the Argentinian Senate in April 2012. The law makes it possible to change sex designation without undergoing surgical or clinical treatment, or judicial approval.[9][10]

Cabral Grinspan has co-ordinated work on reform of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, in particular a critique and alternative proposals in relation to "Gender Incongruence of Childhood".[11] He is a contributor to the World Health Organization report "Sexual health, human rights and the law".[12]

Cabral Grinspan helped organise the third International Intersex Forum in Malta, 2013.[13] In 2015, Cabral became the senior advisor for a first philanthropic Intersex Human Rights Fund established by the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.[14]

In 2006 Cabral participated in the production of the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of Human Rights Legislation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,[15] and was one of the initial 29 signatories.[2] He is also a drafting committee member and signatory of the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10, on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.[16]

In January 2024 Intersex Human Rights Australia announced that Cabral had been appointed as the Principal Consultant and Project Coordinator on their newest international project.[17]

Academic career

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Cabral Grinspan has a Degree in History from the National University of Córdoba.[18]

Selected bibliography

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Books

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  • Cabral, Mauro, ed. (February 2009). Interdicciones: Escrituras de la intersexualidad en castellano. Córdoba, Argentina: Mulabi. ISBN 978-987-05-5898-9.

Journals

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Editorials

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Speeches

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Cabral has contributed to numerous documents including the Yogyakarta Principles, the World Health Organization report "Sexual health, human rights and the law",[12] and the Open Society Foundations report "Licence to Be Yourself".[24]

Awards and recognition

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In July 2015, Cabral was a co-recipient of the inaugural Bob Hepple Equality Award, alongside Pragna Patel of Southall Black Sisters.[25] The award is named for Bob Hepple, the former lawyer of Nelson Mandela.[3] The Oxford Human Rights Hub comments, "Cabral was crucial in the process leading to the enactment of Argentina's Gender Identity Law in 2012, a law which has been extensively cited in court decisions on gender identity cases, including the Indian Supreme Court, and which has inspired legislation reform in countries including Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden."[25]

References

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  1. ^ "APPOINTMENTS TO BE MADE AT THE 33RD SESSION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (13 – 30 September 2016)". Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity". Yogyakarta Principles. Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  3. ^ a b Law Society Gazette (July 2015). "Mandela lawyer award winner announced". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
  4. ^ Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (2015). "Situación de Derechos Humanos de Personas Intersex: clips de audiencias". YouTube. Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  5. ^ ""Si me hubieran operado al nacer habría tenido más calidad de vida" -". Pikara Magazine (in European Spanish). 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  6. ^ Cabral, Mauro, ed. (February 2009). Interdicciones: Escrituras de la intersexualidad en castellano. Córdoba, Argentina: Mulabi. ISBN 978-987-05-5898-9.
  7. ^ a b "About GATE". GATE. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Latin America: IGLHRC´s Latin America and the Caribbean 2005 work". IGLHRC. January 4, 2006.
  9. ^ "Primer paso en el Senado de la Nación hacia la Ley de Identidad de Género". 100% Diversidad y Derechos. April 17, 2012.
  10. ^ "Un día para recordar". Página/12. 26 August 2011.
  11. ^ Cabral, Mauro. "Critique and Alternative Proposal to the "Gender Incongruence of Childhood" Category in ICD-11" (PDF). GATE. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
  12. ^ a b World Health Organization (June 2015). Sexual health, human rights and the law (PDF). Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 9789241564984.
  13. ^ "3rd International Intersex Forum in Malta". ILGA-Europe. 22 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Introducing the Intersex Fund team at Astraea!". Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. June 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  15. ^ Infojus Noticias (August 26, 2014). "Yogyakarta: la identidad de género desde la perspectiva de los derechos humanos". Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos, Argentina. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  16. ^ "Yogyakarta Principles plus 10". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01.
  17. ^ "Welcoming Mauro Cabral Grinspan – Intersex Human Rights Australia". Intersex Human Rights Australia – For the health and human rights of people with innate variations of sex characteristics. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  18. ^ AKAHATÁ (2015). "Integrantes". AKAHATÁ. Archived from the original on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  19. ^ "2016 Trans*studies". Institute for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies, University of Arizona. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  20. ^ Cabral, Mauro (28 May 2014). "Intersex side event at the UN Human Rights Council". Organisation Intersex International Australia. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  21. ^ "Situation of Human Rights of Intersex Persons in the Americas". Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. March 21, 2013.
  22. ^ "Schedule of Hearings 147o Session Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)" (PDF). Organization of American States. 2013.
  23. ^ "Mauro Cabral: Trans and intersex rights". European Parliament LGBT Intergroup at Vimeo.com. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  24. ^ Byrne, Jack; Open Society Institute, Open Society Foundation, Open Society Foundations; Public Health Program (Open Society Institute), Open Society Public Health Program (2014). License to Be Yourself Laws and Advocacy for Legal Gender Recognition of Trans People. New York: Open Society Foundations. ISBN 9781940983103. Retrieved 2014-10-23.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ a b "The Inaugural Bob Hepple Equality Award Celebrates Equal Rights Activists and Advances Support to their Cause". Oxford Human Rights Hub. July 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
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  NODES
INTERN 11
Note 2
Project 3