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The National Front for the Diana Sacayán Law presented a bill in the Chamber of Deputies seeking to establish a 1% job quota for transgender, transsexual, and gender-diverse individuals in the national public administration. The initiative entered Congress with the support of more than 40 deputies from six legislative blocs, according to a statement released today by the Front.

“We understand that it’s time to present this law at the national level, since its approval in the province has paved the way for the clear needs of the trans community. And the exemplary sentence for the transphobic murder of Diana Sacayán also compels us to demand reparations for a long history of abandonment of our sisters. Diana set an agenda for us in the fight for the rights of trans people, a fight we are now carrying forward,” said Say Sacayán , Diana’s brother and an activist with MAL (Anti-Discrimination Liberation Movement), one of the more than twenty organizations that make up this front of the trans and LGBTI movement. The collective made its official presentation at an event in front of Congress on the eve of May 1st, International Workers’ Day.

[READ ALSO: MAP: This is the trans job quota in Argentina]

The Diana Sacayán National Law initiative was introduced by National Deputy Mónica Macha (Unidad Ciudadana), but it already has broad support from a number of legislators from the Frente para la Victoria (FPV), Cambiemos, Evolución Radical, Peronismo para la Victoria, Protectora, and Unión Cívica Radical parties, according to the Frente Nacional por la Ley Diana Sacayán de Quota Laboral Travesti Trans (National Front for the Diana Sacayán Trans Law for Transgender Employment Quotas). The group carries on the struggle of transgender activist Diana Sacayán .

“The State must have an active policy so that trans and gender-diverse people can have other life and work options, and so that prostitution is not their only option. We know that this is the group with the lowest life expectancy, and these are issues we have to address from different perspectives. The trans quota law is an alternative so that people can access work under different conditions,” said Mónica Macha. She also mentioned that the bill has to be discussed in committee before going to the floor. “These timelines can vary, but we will be following it closely to ensure its approval as soon as possible.”

“The initiative is based on the law promoted by the trans leader Amancay Diana Sacayán in 2010 and approved 5 years later in the province of Buenos Aires, and responds to the context of high vulnerability of the trans population, where more than 86% practice prostitution as the only means of survival, have a life expectancy that does not exceed 35 years and face structural obstacles to accessing formal work, such as the lack of real opportunities, stigmatization and violence,” says the text of the statement.

#DianaSacayán Law in Congress, establishing a 1% quota for transgender and transvestite employment. We propose instituting a 1% quota in the national public administration for transgender, transsexual, and transmasculine people. pic.twitter.com/RaOnGef893

— Mónica Macha (@MoniMacha) July 13, 2018

[READ ALSO: Diana Sacayán calls for a national trans job quota law]

Workplace inclusion is one of the most urgent demands of transvestite, trans, and LGBTIQ+ communities. Following the passage of the law in the province of Buenos Aires (where it has remained unregulated for over two years), various municipalities and provinces have enacted regulations to allocate public administration positions to transvestite, trans, and transgender people, and to encourage the private sector to follow suit.

Transgender employment quotas are already in place at a few national institutions, such as the National University of Mar del Plata and the Ombudsman's Office for Audiovisual Communication Services. And in some cases, the quota exceeds 1%.

“This job quota project for trans and gender-diverse people cannot be separated from the name of its creator, since Diana not only drafted, promoted, campaigned for, and achieved this law in the Province of Buenos Aires, but this was made possible by her historic struggle in the areas of health, education, training, and genuine job inclusion. We must also mention that this project and the current law were pioneering worldwide, with Diana being a recognized leader and defender of human rights at the national, regional, and international levels, which propelled and promoted this agenda and initiative in various parts and regions of the world,” the Frente stated.