with variations in sex characteristics in the context of medical interventions to modify these characteristics.243 The recommendations are designed around human rights principles, including protecting bodily integrity and children’s agency. The report also focuses on the need for new legislative protections, guidance and oversight processes when there is consideration of medical interventions for people under the age of 18 years born with variations in sex characteristics. 153. The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence referred to research suggesting intimate partner violence is as prevalent in LGBTIQ+ communities as it is in the general population. 244 Transgender and intersex people are at particular risk of violence, including from parents.245 The Australian Institute of Family Studies has also ‘significant levels’ of sexual harassment and sexual violence experienced by LGBTIQ+ people. 246 LGBTIQ+ people also experience high rates of verbal abuse, physical assault and harassment, including bullying in schools. 247 The Commission notes the need for governments to invest in specialised and inclusive services designed to address the needs of LGBTIQ+ people in relation to family and domestic violence. 154. LGBTIQ+ people, particularly transgender and intersex people, are generally not adequately accommodated by the prison system. The Association for the Prevention of Torture has stated that LGBTIQ+ people in detention ‘are in a situation of particular vulnerability, at risk of human rights violations and abuses – including by fellow detainees – throughout the entire criminal justice system’.248 The Commission found in 2015 that while transgender guidelines do exist, they are ‘inconsistent and often left to the discretion of managers’.249 The Commission recommended ‘all states and territories to develop and implement policies on the placement of trans and gender diverse prisoners in correctional services and for access to hormone therapy to be based on medically-identified need, not discretion’.250 The Commission acknowledges the complexity of the issues surrounding the placement of trans and gender diverse people in custodial contexts. Placement policies and procedures must be developed consistently with human rights principles, and to ensure that the safety and welfare of all people in detention is protected. 155. The Commission is concerned that, in NSW and Queensland, people must undergo surgical or medical treatment to change the legal record of their sex.251 All other Australian jurisdictions have now removed that requirement. Recommendation 42: Governments implement the recommendations of the Commission’s report, A human rights-based approach for people born with variations in sex characteristics. 38