CEDAW/C/CHE/CO/4-5 barriers, and the lack of a national comprehensive strategy, in particular to eliminate female genital mutilation, along with limited training for relevant professionals; (c) Insufficient support for intersex persons who have undergone involuntary and medically unnecessary disfiguring surgical procedures when they were babies and children, often with irreversible consequences, resulting in significant physical and psychological suffering; (d) The pressure placed on parents of intersex children by medical professionals, the media and society at large, which often forces them to give their consent for so-called “medical procedures”, justified by psychosocial indications; and the fact that intersex children and adults are often unaware of the procedures to which they have been subjected, while access to legal remedies for intersex persons affected by unnecessary medical procedures is extremely limited, with the statute of limitations often expiring by the time that intersex children reach adulthood; (e) The lack of integration of intersex persons and their families into interdisciplinary working groups and the failure to consult those directly affected by these procedures in decisions that affect their lives. 25. In the light of joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices (2014), the Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Systematically collect disaggregated data on harmful practices in the State party and continue to strengthen preventive and protective measures to eliminate female genital mutilation, child marriage and forced marriage; (b) Develop awareness-raising campaigns, ensure that information is readily available to victims of female genital mutilation and ensure that relevant professionals are sufficiently trained to identify potential victims and that perpetrators are brought to justice; (c) Ensure that, in line with recommendations by the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics, no child is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment during infancy or childhood, adopt legislation to protect the bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination of intersex persons and provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support; (d) Adopt legal provisions, under the guidance of the courts, in order to provide redress to intersex persons affected by cases of surgical or other medical treatment without their free, prior and informed consent by or that of their parents; (e) Educate and train medical professionals on the harmful impact of unnecessary surgical or other medical interventions for intersex children and ensure that the views of intersex persons are fully considered by the interdisciplinary working groups established to review these procedures. 8/19 16-20858