Trans activists in Paraguay met with legislators and were harassed by anti-rights groups.
Activists are calling for October 17th to be established as the National Day for the Recognition, Protection and Promotion of Trans Rights.
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Trans activists and human rights defenders from various sectors, members of the National Trans Roundtable, presented a draft bill to the Senate. They want to establish October 17th as the National Day for the Recognition, Protection, and Promotion of Trans Rights. They also seek to raise awareness and highlight demands for specific rights, such as the recognition of the names with which they identify.
On October 15, 2017, Blas Amarilla murdered Romina Vargas, and in her honor, that date had been designated as Trans Visibility Day. However, after reflection and analysis with other trans organizations, they decided to move it to October 17, the anniversary of Romina Vargas's murder.
The activists were accompanied by Amnesty International Paraguay and the Human Rights Coordinating Committee (Codehupy). They met with Senator Esperanza Martínez, Senator Hugo Richer, and Senator Blas Lanzoni, who is also the president of the Human Rights Commission. They reaffirmed their commitment to the cause.
Harassment by anti-rights groups
In the morning, they were removed from La Victoria Park by the police. The police claimed they could not demonstrate in that space and forced them to move to the Plaza de Armas. Later, on two occasions, anti-rights groups approached to harass the demonstrators. The first time, in the Plaza de Armas, two cisgender men, one of them on a motorcycle, began making transphobic comments and filming them with their cell phones.
Minutes later, as the activists were about to enter Congress, one of the attackers was waiting at the main entrance with the evangelical pastor Miguel Ortigoza. Ortigoza is a member of the National Pro-Life Front and a representative of the Somos Muchos, Muchos Más (We Are Many, Many More) Movement. In addition to giving talks and spreading false information about “gender ideology” on his social media, Ortigoza tirelessly campaigns against the Educational Reform.
Meeting with legislators
Despite the altercations, representatives of the trans rights group spoke with several legislators and held a press conference at the Congress building, where they were able to highlight the violence they face daily. “It is urgent that the State recognize that trans people have the same rights as all other people living in Paraguay and, furthermore, that they have specific rights recognized by international conventions, which the country must progressively implement,” reads the statement they presented to Congress.
To promote justice in this and other cases, the organizations Casa Diversa, Escalando, Transitar, and Panambi met to discuss and agreed on joint actions. The national trans roundtable also includes organizations from other cities outside the Central Department: Trans Actuando, from Pedro Juan Caballero; Trans Guaira and Despertar Trans from Ciudad del Este; Trascender, from Coronel Oviedo; Hombres Trans Py; and independent trans activists.
“We know that other cases exist and are currently awaiting sentencing, but we remember and consider Romina’s case emblematic,” the statement reads. It was the first time a transfemicide received media attention, after Amarilla confessed to killing out of hatred. Furthermore, it was the first and only case in which the Paraguayan justice system convicted the perpetrator of a transfemicide. To date, 63 trans people have been registered as victims of hate crimes since the fall of the dictatorship.
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