An international award for the verdict in the Diana Sacayán transvesticide case

The landmark court ruling in the transphobic murder of Argentine trans human rights activist Amancay Diana Sacayán was recognized with the Gender and Justice Uncovered Award.

December 6, 2018

The landmark court ruling in the transphobic murder of Argentine trans activist Amancay Diana Sacayán was recognized with the Gender and Justice Uncovered Award from the international organization Women's Link Worldwide. With over 3,000 votes, it also received the Audience Choice Award.

On June 18, the Oral Criminal and Correctional Court No. 4 of the City of Buenos Aires sentenced Gabriel David Marino to life imprisonment by majority vote for the murder of Diana. In its verdict, the court determined that it was a hate crime and that gender-based violence was a factor, according to sections 4 and 11 of article 80 of the Penal Code. This trial marked the first time the term "transvesticide" was used in court records. "This is a paradigm shift. It's the best possible ruling we could have had. It's the first time justice has been served for a trans woman," Sasha Sacayán, Diana's brother and a member of MAL and the Justice for Diana Sacayán Commission, told Presentes at the time.

"This ruling marks a milestone in the region for the advancement of the human rights of this group and brings visibility to these atrocious crimes, whose gravity has long not been recognized as it should be," the organization says about the ruling on its website .

[READ ALSO: Diana Sacayán: a day of justice and transvestite fury in court]

“I think it’s important that it’s the People’s Choice Award because this ruling, even though it’s 400 pages long, is a very popular one. Because in addition to the sentence, it was a trial that had many public hearings, and this is unprecedented in the world. Trials aren’t generally like this. We were all able to participate, and we recognize ourselves in this award. It’s a recognition of Diana’s work and the ruling itself. It’s not an elitist ruling; it’s not just for lawyers. It tells the Judiciary what we as lesbians, transvestites, and trans people have been saying for a long time. It has this cultural translation function,” Luciana Sánchez, the family’s lawyer and a member of the Justice for Diana Sacayán Commission, told Presentes.

The Commission celebrated this award and placed it within the current judicial context of Argentina: “At a time when patriarchal justice seeks to backtrack with shameful and sexist rulings like that of the murderers of Lucía Pérez, and at a time when conservative sectors seek to overwhelm us with measures such as the legalization of police brutality, these recognitions help to highlight legal practices as they should always be.
Finally, we want to express our satisfaction with this achievement, which brings this sentence to the world's attention, and we thank you again for your support on this difficult and painful journey. Diana Sacayán, present now and forever!”

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