<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tony Briffa said she has gone through "hell" after an unnecessary </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health" rel="" target="_blank" title="medical procedure"><span>medical procedure</span></a><span> led to decades of consequences. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Born with lumps in a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="_blank" title="Victorian "><span>Victorian</span></a><span> hospital, doctors confirmed she had an intersex variation called Androgen Insensitivity - a rare condition that prevents the body from responding to the male hormones.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had a female body, but had internal testes rather than ovaries.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ovarian-cancer-screening-test-research-study-university-of-queensland-health-news/f233e0f9-7cd4-4eac-8ec6-b57c69044641" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Groundbreaking Aussie test 'picked up 100 per cent of early ovarian cancers'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Misinformation and pressure from doctors meant Briffa spent her early years undergoing surgeries and examinations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had her healthy testes removed at just seven and was put on hormone therapy at 11 - which she still has to take to this day or risk bone density issues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Every three months, I'd basically be lying on the examination table, naked legs wide open, and having all these medical students or whatever, looking at me," she told 9news.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/intersex-australians-tony-briffa-went-through-hell-due-to-unnecessary-surgery/8506f309-373a-48b6-9327-310fefbdbd92" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"None of this was because it was medically required.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Had they not removed my testes, I would have gone through a normal feminising puberty anyway, because with Androgen Insensitivity, my body would automatically convert testosterone into estrogen."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That one surgery led to years of gender confusion, low self-esteem, body image issues and relationship problems that persisted until she was in her mid-40s.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I wanted to be normal. I didn't want to have to be so different and have to hide who I am and what I am. I just felt like I was such a freak," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I spent some years living as a male, not very successfully, but I did.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It affected relationships. One of the things about relationships is people - straight or gay or lesbian or whatever - all that's predicated on someone's sex, so when your sex is up in the air, that does make relationships challenging."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When Briffa was engaged to be married in 2013, she discovered her birth certificate listed her gender as "indeterminate".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under Australia's marriage laws at the time, she could not marry her partner in Australia unless she identified as a man so the pair were forced to visit </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/new-zealand" rel="" target="_blank" title="New Zealand"><span>New Zealand</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite decades of hurdles, Briffa was resilient.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now 55, she has found self-acceptance, is happily married, and has adopted her son.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She served two terms as mayor of Hobsons Bay City Council, one as a woman and one as a man, as well as three terms as deputy mayor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also served in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national" rel="" target="_blank" title="Australian "><span>Australian</span></a><span> Defence Force, the Australian Federal Police and as chair or member of several LGBTQI+ and intersex organisations. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Briffa said she never believed she would have the remarkable life she has today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was not sick, I wasn't deformed, I didn't have an abnormality, and I would have had a much better life had doctors in society just treated it that way," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/us-israel-attack-iran-economic-inflation-impact-australia/f2fad1f9-e0d3-40b1-9693-d01673efca43" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>'Tax on households' coming for Aussies due to Iran war</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Most states and territories behind on major reforms</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Briffa's story is not a unique one. Many intersex Australians have been subjected to unnecessary and defereable surgeries at birth - before they could consent. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 63,300 Australians, or 0.3 per cent of those aged over 16, have reported being intersex, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' latest LGBTQI+ estimates and characteristics report in 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Intersex is an umbrella term for anyone who has natural variations in their reproductive or sexual anatomy that do not exclusively fit the male or female definition. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are at least 40 known variations that occur in an estimated two per cent of all births.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victoria last month became the first major state to pass landmark reforms for intersex people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The rules restrict any permanent or hard-to-reverse medical treatments that alter sex characteristics in children, only approve treatment if the person faces significant physical or psychological harm, provide clearer options and information to families and create an independent expert panel that oversees medical treatment plans.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/blood-moon-2026-total-lunar-eclipse-when-how-to-watch-best-visibility-australia-everything-to-know/56e27a09-21b0-436e-b4dc-bd7b12fad938" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>A rare blood moon will rise tonight - here's how to see it</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They do not apply to any urgent and medically necessary care.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Briffa was in the gallery of Victorian parliament when it passed the laws and became emotional just speaking about it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I've been working on these changes for 26 years," she said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I never allowed myself to think about it passing. I think about all the people, the families that I've supported over the years, including people that are not still with us, and this is for them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is going to be remarkable for kids, and I hope that other jurisdictions around Australia will follow suit."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It follows similar legislation in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australian-capital-territory" rel="" target="_blank" title="ACT"><span>ACT</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The territory was the first in the country to protect intersex people from deferrable surgeries until they can consent.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>