Why the approval of the Gender Identity Law in Chile is important

In the world, the recognition of equal rights among diverse people has been a challenge. Black and white, men and women, LGBTIQ+ community; many people have had to experience their own struggles; and yet, there are still advances to be achieved. The importance of the approval of the Gender Identity Law in Chile could be encompassed in one word: JUSTICE.

The first thing is to understand that the advance in the right to the recognition of gender identity, it not only benefits transgender people, but the whole world. Yes, just as you have just read it. A more just and inclusive society is and always will be, a better place to live in. And do not be confused, freedom is not equal to debauchery; and human rights should not be the subject of debate, but look, they are.

What does it mean to live being trans?

The American poet Lee Mokobe said in a TED talk:

“I asked Jesus to fix me,

and when he did not answer

I befriended silence in the hopes that my sin would burn”.

(…)

“my mother told me of the miracle I was,

said I could grow up to be anything I want.

I decided to be a boy

It was cute”.

(…)

“because we are more ghost than flesh,

because people fear that my gender expression is a trick,

that it exists to be perverse,

that it ensnares them without their consent”.

Can you feel it? His pain… The poem talks about the penetrating and sometimes suffocating reality, of a trans person. The journey of acceptance, the struggle and subsequent vindication; It is usually hard, arduous, exhausting. Almost an Odyssey without heroes, full of silences and tears. Of rejection.

Be different, be human

“My gender impacted my life from childhood until I accepted myself,” Brynn Kellett, a veteran of the US military told Forbes. There are experts who say that children can show early signs of not wanting to identify with the gender that society assigned him. The question we must ask ourselves is: are we able to listen to this child? Probably not.

So when the person finally assumes what is happening and initiates the gender transition towards the gender that really identifies, other problems arise. Discrimination, violence, abandonment by the State, fear, among many other negative connotations.

The life expectancy of the female transgender population is 35 years, according to a study conducted by Violence Registry. They die by violence, suicide, among other non-natural forms.

This is the importance of having a Gender Identity Law

In 2017, a survey conducted by our organization and with the support of the United States Embassy through the Global Equality Fund program, it is estimated that in Chile there are between 5,000 and 8,500, trans people.

In this sense, continuing to stigmatize and invisibilize the transsexual population in Chile is a mistake. Guaranteeing basic rights to identity, and protecting them from discrimination, is not only important, it is vital. For this reason, the Gender Identity Law is essential.

Read more about the Gender Identity Law in Chile.