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Photos: Ariel Gutraich

The National Front for the Diana Sacayán Law will present a bill in the National Congress on Thursday, August 16, seeking to establish a 1 percent job quota for transvestite, transsexual, transgender, and trans masculinity people in the national public administration.

“We are seeking to have this bill addressed in a plenary session of committees, due to the urgent nature of the fact that the average life expectancy of transvestite and trans people is 35 years, and because of the historic ruling for the transvesticide of Diana Sacayán, which demonstrates a state of vulnerability,” said Say Sacayán, Diana’s brother and activist with MAL (Anti-Discrimination Liberation Movement).

The project entered the Chamber of Deputies on July 13, endorsed by the signature of more than 40 deputies belonging to six legislative blocs and with the consensus of the transvestite and trans collective of Argentina.

The Diana Sacayán National Law initiative was presented at the request of National Deputy Mónica Macha (Unidad Ciudadana), but already has the cross-party support of legislators from the Frente para la Victoria (FPV), Cambiemos, Evolución Radical, Peronismo para la Victoria, Protectora and Unión Cívica Radical, reported the Frente Nacional por la Ley Diana Sacayán de Quota Trabajo Travesti Trans.

Its antecedent is the law promoted in the province of Buenos Aires by the trans leader Amancay Diana Sacayán in 2010, which was approved in 2015 and remains unregulated to this day. That law was designed to address the context of high vulnerability of the trans population: more than 86% engage in prostitution as their only means of survival, and their average life expectancy does not exceed 35 years. Furthermore, most face structural obstacles to accessing formal employment, such as a lack of real opportunities, stigmatization, and violence.

"This law is the future of our children."

“For the families of Infancias Libres, this law is the future of our children and those to come. Supporting this fight for the legal recognition of Diana Sacayán is crucial. Its application and regulation at the national level is very important. Hopefully, it can be addressed; it would be another step forward, another legacy left by Diana. It is fundamental that the terms 'travesti' and 'trans' be used, that the absence of the State be acknowledged, and that the community be guaranteed employment for a better quality of life,” Gabriela Mansila, from the organization Infancias Libres, told Presentes.

From 100% Diversity and Rights, Martín Canevaro explained that “faced with structural violence and the historical exclusion of the transvestite and trans population, the bill is based on the national Constitution and international treaties that maintain that the right to real equality must be guaranteed and it is the Argentine State that must take measures to eliminate the barriers that prevent it.”

"A further step in the recognition of gender identity"

“The State is responsible for creating affirmative action policies to safeguard and expand the scope of our citizenship. The sentence for Diana's transphobic murder demonstrates that we live with structural violence, and it is this violence that the State must commit to changing by providing access to employment. This does not mean a form of welfare; on the contrary, it means considering possibilities for inclusion and reparation. From this perspective, we believe that the living conditions of trans and gender-diverse people in Argentina can indeed be substantially improved,” said Alba Rueda of Mujeres Trans (Trans Women).

The activist said that the Gender Identity Law “was a great step in the recognition of identity, but it cannot be taken out of context from our demands for a better life. Identity is not a right separate from structural living conditions. What we are asking for is a further step in the recognition of gender identity and the reparations that the State must provide through affirmative action that plans for diverse societies based on the human rights of all people.”

Right to a different destiny

Canevaro added that “Congress has the power to enact affirmative action laws, that is, differentiated measures to benefit a vulnerable sector, in this case to guarantee the right to work for transvestites and transgender people. The Diana Sacayán National Transvestite and Transgender Employment Quota Bill vindicates their right to a life destiny different from exclusion and death.”

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 will soon mark three years without being implemented), 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.