Being trans and living in Chile: 10 things you need to know
1- Parliament approved the gender identity bill: no children under 14. The bill was approved in the Senate in the first week of September 2018, and today in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming law. This bill does not include children under 14, which has caused unrest…

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1- Parliament approved the gender identity bill: no children under 14 years of age
The bill was approved in the Senate in the first week of September 2018, and today in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming law . This law does not include children under 14, which sparked unrest among activists and complaints to the UN . The bill has been under discussion since 2013. Over the years, there have been many modifications to the original version.
2- Transvestites and trans women: pioneers of the Chilean LGBT struggle
Chile has a long-standing transvestite-trans activism, which held its first march almost 45 years ago, on April 22, 1973. The protagonists of the historic event : La Raquel, La Eva, La Larguero, La Romané, La José Caballo, La Vanesa, La Fresia Soto, La Confort, La Natacha, La Peggy Cordero, and La Gitana , gathered to talk in Santiago's Plaza de Armas, imagining a desired yet uncertain future. "The changes have only come at the cost of putting our bodies on the line, making ourselves visible, and exposing ourselves with our heads held high. Legal and institutional changes are minimal in Chile today," says transvestite activist Niki Raveau.
[READ ALSO: “I am Claudia Rodríguez, activist, transvestite, poor and resentful”]
3- Santiago has the first trans mausoleum in Latin America
It's an unprecedented project promoted by the TravesChile association that seeks to provide a dignified ending for trans people, most of whom are without family and live in poverty. "The bodies of trans women are sometimes held in morgues for months because immediate family members don't claim them. Our community has had to rebuild its emotional relationships with its own peers, with trans people being its family," Katty Fontey, president of TravesChile, told Presentes.
4- Torture in prisons by the Gendarmerie
In less than two years, the courts have issued nine rulings revealing beatings, insults, and lack of access to healthcare for trans, bisexual, and lesbian women in Chilean prisons. This was reported to the UN this year .
5- 97% of Chilean trans people were discriminated against by their family
This is reported by the first trans survey conducted by the OTD organization.
6- Trans children are the most visible in the region
It's a decision made by activists working with trans children and adolescents. Selenna was the youngest trans child in Chilean history. At 8 years old, and with the support of her family, she is an emblematic figure in the fight for the rights of trans people, particularly children.
[ALSO READ: Selenna, the Chilean trans girl who became a symbol of pride]
7- 55.2% of trans people attempted suicide, the majority between the ages of 11 and 18.
This is reported by the first trans survey conducted by the OTD organization.
8- The daughter of the leader of the “Hate Bus” is a trans girl.
Carla González Aranda is trans and is the daughter of Marcela Aranda, a parliamentary advisor for the UDI (Independent Democratic Union), known for promoting the “Freedom Bus” in Chile, a bus that traveled the country carrying a transphobic message and against what they call “gender ideology.” Carla announced that she will begin the judicial process to officially change her gender.
[ALSO READ: Alejandra González, the trans councilwoman who won a historic court battle against discrimination]
9- Some municipalities and study centers recognize the social names of trans people.
This is the case of the Municipality of the Province of Santiago de Chile and the University of Chile, the University of Santiago, the Diego Portales University and the Academic University of Christian Humanism.
10- In Santiago there is the first “Poli-trans”, a polyclinic that provides free care to trans people.
It was an initiative by the staff at Sótero del Río Hospital, located in Puente Alto, one of Santiago's most populous neighborhoods. The first sex reassignment surgery will be performed in March.
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