Illustration: Florencia Capella. This Thursday, August 29, the regulations regarding support for minors under the Gender Identity Law (LIG) were published in the Official Gazette. The regulations will come into effect in 120 days, that is, at the beginning of 2020, after being enacted in December 2018 , following more than five years of processing in Congress.

Today, the regulations for the implementation of the Gender Identity Law were published in the official gazette. After months of delays, the 120-day period for the law to take effect has begun. Now we wait for its implementation. pic.twitter.com/MGv5Zi0IwH

— Constanza Valdés C. (@conivaldesc) August 29, 2019

Constanza Valdés, a lawyer, transgender activist, and parliamentary advisor, actively participated throughout the legislative process of the initiative. She also criticized the way the regulations were drafted at the time. “There was no work with civil society, and the few meetings that (the government) held did not invite all the activists and organizations that work for this law,” he told Presentes.

No rights for children

In Valdés's opinion, the implementation instruments are deficient. The accompaniment mechanism stipulates that children and adolescents can only access these programs with the authorization of a family member. If they do not have one, they can only "access information about the content of these programs," which Valdés considers detrimental. She also sees as a double-edged sword the possibility that these programs can be offered by the State or by non-profit legal entities, with accreditation granted by the Ministry of Social Development and Family, through the Undersecretariat for Children.