Two years after her murder, the crime of Nicole Saavedra Bahamondes, the young lesbian woman killed in June 2016, remains unsolved. Last week, the National Prosecutor's Office informed the family that the investigation will now be led by a woman. This gives them more confidence, her family told Presentes during a ceremony held at the exact spot where her body was found two years ago.
By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile. Photos: Josean Rivera. The gathering was political, emotional, colorful as usual, and massive. Around 80,000 people marched in Santiago, Chile, to demand three specific things from the new government: the inclusion of minors under 14 years of age in the gender identity law, equality for…
After a legal action brought by the organization TravesChile was rejected, a new criminal complaint was filed against Pablo Andrés Plaza Barra, suspected of killing Paloma on February 14. At 74 years old, Paloma was the oldest transgender person in Chile, and her colleagues allege she was murdered with a blow to the head. The plaintiff will be her son, represented by lawyer Marcela Herrera Luque of the NGO Defensoría Popular (Popular Defense).
Daniela Gutiérrez, 49, died on Monday. Her family alleges that the hospital refused to admit her. Trans and gender-diverse activists say this is not an isolated case. They also denounce media violence, citing the publication of false information by local media outlets and their failure to comply with the gender identity law.
This week of struggle, Bicho and I are joining the streets. "We are many causes, flags, colors, and shouts. Howls. The patriarchy is going to fall, it is falling, and we are going to tear it down every single time it takes."
After months of discussion, the Joint Committee of Congress approved the inclusion of children under 14 years of age. Article 7 was also approved, allowing those over 18 to complete the process at the Civil Registry. It still needs to be debated in both houses of Congress.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published on Monday, June 18, the new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which will be debated at the General Assembly in May 2019 for adoption by member states. It will come into effect on January 1, 2022. Transsexualism (code HA4Z) is no longer listed under the heading "mental, behavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders."
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 [Listen to the audio] [audio mp3="https://agenciapresentes.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Columna-21-Presentes-en-No-se-puede-vivir-del-amor-2018.mp3"][/audio] You can also listen to us live every Monday (almost Tuesday) at 12:30 am on La Once Diez, the public radio station of the City of Buenos Aires. The 2017 columns can be heard at this Radio Cut link.
Following the landmark ruling that for the first time condemned hate crimes based on gender identity—transvesticide—a vigil was held at the Buenos Aires City Courts. The vigil honored Diana and other trans women and trans victims of violence who were denied justice.
The verdict in the transphobic murder of human rights activist Diana Sacayán was historic: for the first time in Latin America, the crime against a trans woman was convicted as a hate crime based on gender identity. The president of the Oral Criminal Court No. 4, Adolfo Calvete, read the verdict shortly after noon in the same courtroom where the trial took place.
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