Why is a space needed to talk about trans children?
A new Congress of Trans Children and Youth was held in Córdoba. The discussion covered its origins, the harassment they have faced, and the importance of maintaining a space for debate and information.
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The union of diverse actors around a common goal demonstrated, once again, its strength in the face of the advance of anti-rights movements in the region. Despite intense attempts to sabotage it, the 2nd National Congress of Trans Children and Youth took place in Córdoba. Moreover, this year it achieved record participation with 600 registered attendees.
However, its organizers reported experiencing an unprecedented climate of harassment, violence, and misinformation. Anti-gender groups had previously boycotted another event. The Global Congress of Trans Children , scheduled for October 18 in the province of Tucumán, had to be canceled due to "harassment and aggression." This was announced in an official statement by the Transforming Families Foundation , which was organizing the event.
The conservative backlash is fueled by the dissemination of hate speech and disinformation against the LGBTIQ+ population by the national government. It is also fueled by a context of escalating violence against sexual diversity: in the first half of the year, the National Observatory of LGBT Hate Crimes recorded a 70% increase in hate crimes against LGBT people.
A meeting that is a right
“What a moment, what a moment, despite everything we made the Congress happen,” was sung at the beginning of the event, which took place on November 17 in the main hall of the City of Arts Theater of the Provincial University of Córdoba.
To find out how the Congress finally unfolded, despite the boycott they faced, Presentes spoke with Santiago Merlo, a trans activist, communicator, father, and founder of La Casita Trans , the space that organizes the National Congress of Trans Children and Youth in Córdoba.
–How did the idea for a congress on trans children and adolescents come about?
It started as a space for trans men of trans masculinities, and in the context of the pandemic, young children began to arrive. We understand that this happened because families were also spending time with their children. Families didn't fully understand the situation, or perhaps they were simply present but wanted more information on how to effectively support them. So we developed a proposal that could address this, and that's how we became La Casita Trans , a space for children, youth, and families with educational, health, and cultural activities, as well as community support, which has now been running for nine years.
We conceived the congress with the idea of democratizing information. We wanted it to be accessible to everyone, whether you're a professional, activist, student, or family member. Our goal is to provide a general understanding of the most common topics on the agenda, particularly those related to children, adolescents, and minors. We also aim to bring together the work that has been done over the past nine years.
–How do you see the situation of trans youth and adolescents today?
-This year we are once again noticing how the problem has taken hold since the DNU (62/25) of February , which is a clear attack on adolescents and spreads misinformation.
Furthermore, here in Córdoba, we're observing something we haven't seen before. Today, there are individuals, organizations, legislators, pastors, and churches that are openly pressuring and harassing others, filing petitions or attempting to do so in the legislature, and collecting signatures in public spaces. This change of government, as we know, fuels hatred, and hatred has real effects, real consequences.
Confronting hate
–Had they already experienced a similar form of harassment?
"When we organized this Congress, we knew we might encounter some violence or harassment because it already happened to us last year, when we held the first one in November 2024. Three days after the announcement was posted on social media, (Javier) Milei reposted the event. Then (Ramiro) Marra did the same, and I don't know how many other officials. We haven't had peace since that day. All year long, in different ways, we've been harassed, persecuted, and they've tried to hack our accounts. Personally, as president of La Casita and also as a trans father, I had to change my route to work, taking different routes."
–How did the production of the Congress go this year? What differences did you see compared to the previous one?
We saw that throughout the year, this far-right advance, or these fundamentalist movements, became much more clearly and blatantly organized across the region. And here in Argentina, they made their way into the different provinces through agreements with governments or religious figures. In Córdoba, the agreement is primarily with Cita con la Vida, the church. We see the advance of the evangelicals, who, in fact, already won seats in the last election. Those who came out to try to boycott the congress were pastors, members of Cita con la Vida, Manada, Cristianos en Política, and later, Padres Unidos and the Coalición de Mujeres.
–How do they react to this harassment?
What we've always done, and we maintain this despite the cost and effort involved, is to institutionalize our reporting. So, last year we reported the accounts that were attacking us and also Javier Milei. We haven't achieved much, to be honest, because it was all due to X.
This year, we filed complaints against individuals and their organizations, represented by lawyer Laura Britos and with the support of Mayca Balaguer from the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) . We filed a complaint for gender-based violence in the Córdoba Court for Children, Adolescents, Family and Gender Violence against the main instigators and perpetrators: Gerardo Grosso, lawyer, evangelical pastor of Cita con la Vida (Appointment with Life), and legislator-elect for Encuentro Vecinal (Neighborhood Encounter); Claudio Moris, pastor of Cita con la Vida, from the Encuentro Vecinal Party; Florencia Stuck, pastor of Cita con la Vida; and the organization Christians in Politics.
We then filed complaints with the Women's Center regarding the use, dissemination, and spread on social media of images of real transgender children participating in La Casita Trans. These complaints were filed by the families and addressed to Raquel González, Marisol Santini, the Women's Coalition, and Cita con la Vida.
Legislator Gregorio Hernández Maqueda could face criminal charges, which we are still preparing. It's a criminal complaint because it involves real harm to me—psychological and mental health-related.
Institutionalizing the process of filing complaints is important. In 2023, we filed a complaint against the Medical Council of the province of Córdoba because they had conducted a training course for general practitioners in which they pathologized transgender adolescents, linking them to gender dysphoria and sexually transmitted diseases. And this year, finally, at the beginning of September, a ruling came out in our favor . It's a very positive development and a precedent at the regional level.
A space with a future
–How was it possible to hold the Congress?
-The networks. From everywhere, from all over the country, from all over the province, organizations that have nothing to do with sexual diversity, memorial sites, Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, human rights groups with whom we have been forging different paths. Families also came out in support. People began to come out from different places. We have managed to get various universities across the country to issue institutional resolutions. And we obtained the approval of the City Council.
–What impressions did the Congress leave on you?
It was a party, a celebration, and a triumph. At first, when the attacks first started, people were asking us whether or not to hold it. We never doubted whether to go ahead with it. And finally, on the day of the Congress, the auditorium had a capacity of 500 people, and 600 registered. People traveled from all over the country, from all over the province, people from law schools, from healthcare settings, many educators, many families. In fact, the congress began with (trans activist) Alba Rueda rallying the crowd: “What a moment, what a moment, despite everything, we held the congress.” It was moving.
–And now, what lies ahead?
"We're going for the third Congress next year! And not only that. Now we can announce that the first Latin American meeting is coming! We're going to hold it simultaneously, over two days. We're very excited."
La Casita Trans has set up an alias for those who want to contribute to the project: LACASITA.TRANS, account at Banco Credicoop.
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