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Photo: Mariana Greif

The Chamber of Deputies approved the Comprehensive Transgender Rights Law after an extraordinary and marathon session that began at 3 p.m. on Thursday, October 18, and lasted more than ten hours. It passed with 62 votes in favor out of a total of 88.

The bill passed with the unanimous support of the Broad Front (FA), Independent Party (PI), and Popular Unity (UP) blocs. Alejo Umpiérrez, Elisabeth Arrieta, and Gloria Rodríguez of the National Party (PN) voted in favor; and Dianne Martínez supported the bill from the Colorado Party (PC).

Both parties had rejected the bill in the Senate, where it passed its first reading on October 16. In the Chamber of Deputies, only the Broad Front supported all the articles. The law had to be approved before the 27th of this month, as only one year will remain before the next elections.

What changes with this law?

Uruguay has had a gender identity law since 2009, but it was limited exclusively to changing the name on identity documents. Until now, there was no law that addressed the rights to health, housing, and employment for transgender people. Therefore, this comprehensive transgender bill , which includes these rights as well as historical reparations for survivors. After being shelved, it finally entered the Senate on August 13 amidst controversy surrounding Article 17, which addressed children and adolescents and their access to hormone therapy and surgeries.

The approved law includes:

-Incorporate the concept of gender identity as a category into national statistical systems. This means recognizing the identity and uniqueness of the gender community by including it in censuses, surveys, and reports.

-The change of name and sex assigned at birth ceases to be a judicial procedure and becomes an administrative procedure , before the General Directorate of the Civil Registry.

-Guarantee access to the education system . This includes providing support in all areas and implementing quotas (2 percent must be for trans people) and scholarships (8 percent of postgraduate funds from the Ministry of Education for trans people).

-Allocate 1 percent of job positions to transgender people in public employment opportunities. These positions must be filled by lottery among those who meet the requirements.

-Allocate 1 percent of the vacancies in training programs of the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training for trans people.

-Design inclusive cultural policies , adding a gender identity perspective to scholarships, funds, and incentives, at both the public and private levels.

-Include trans people in housing access .

-Guarantee the right to health services without discrimination or pathologization based on gender identity . The right of admission cannot be applied to transgender people. People over 18 years of age will have access to health services to support their transition with adjustments to their gender identity, such as surgeries and hormone therapy, with their consent, without having to go through legal proceedings. People under 18 years of age can request access to these services and hormone therapy, and for surgeries, they must have parental approval.

– Transgender people born before December 31, 1975, who have been victims of institutional violence or deprived of their liberty due to their gender identity, will have the right to reparations in cases of psychological, moral, or physical harm. This also applies if there were discriminatory practices by the State that limited their rights.

The trans map of Uruguay

[READ ALSO: Montevideo marched for diversity with the slogan “Trans Law Now”]

According to the National Census of Transgender People, conducted by the Ministry of Social Development and the University of the Republic, there are approximately 853 transgender people in Uruguay. 90% are transgender women and 10% are transgender men.

The vast majority of trans people are adults: 34.7% are between 18 and 29 years old, 26.6% are between 30 and 40 years old, 19.9% ​​are between 40 and 50 years old, and only 17.6% live past 50. Only 10% are under 18 years old.