Nussbaum, Marie-Lou (June 2025). Challenging Stigma and Promoting Inclusion: Insights into Swiss Teachers’ Knowledge of and Attitudes Towards Intersex People. In: Intersex Insights Conference. Dublin City University. 9.6.2025. 10.5281/zenodo.16097163

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Intersex individuals often experience stigma, hate speech, and violence, leading to psychological distress. Schools can be particularly hostile environments for intersex young people, highlighting the need for an inclusive school climate and positive education on intersex-related topics. This study investigated 316 Swiss trainee teachers’ knowledge, affective, behavioural, and cognitive attitudes, and predictors of these attitudes towards either intersex or trans people. Participants’ teaching and training practices, and views on institutional policies were also assessed. Results showed that knowledge of trans issues was significantly higher than knowledge of intersex issues, with 61% of participants reporting no or only moderate knowledge of intersex issues. Attitudes towards intersex people were generally positive, with cognitive attitudes towards intersex people being significantly more positive than towards trans people. Low gender binary beliefs best predicted positive attitudes towards intersex people, meaning that trainee teachers who reported less of a belief in two innate and immutable sexes and genders tended to have more positive attitudes. Trainee teachers also reported limited experience and training on intersex issues, highlighting a systemic oversight in teacher education programmes. These findings therefore underscore the importance of integrating intersex visibility and inclusion into Swiss teacher training curricula. Addressing gender binary beliefs in teacher training can help foster positive attitudes and thereby inclusive and supportive teaching practices. Although teachers may not work in an institutional setting where intersex issues are recognised, their individual attitudes are much more conducive to addressing the challenges of supporting sex and gender diverse pupils than their institutional context suggests.

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