With 55 votes in favor and one abstention, the Senate of the Argentine Nation approved on May 9, 2012 the Gender Identity Law. Since its sanction, 12,655 people obtained their DNI according to their self-perceived gender.
The Law No. 26,743 from Gender identity in Argentina it was a pioneering measure worldwide. It recognizes the right of people to be registered on their DNI according to their gender identity. This May 23, marks ten years from the day the law was enacted.
After a long collective struggle in search of a more egalitarian society in terms of rights and inclusion, the Gender Identity Law. The writingnot only had an impact on people’s DNI, but its scope included spaces such as music, literature and sports.
The law allows that the different identities can make the pertinent change in the registry through a simple administrative process. In addition to this, it excludes the need to provide some type of medical or other accreditation.
The scope of the law
In addition to guaranteeing the corresponding registration in the DNI, the law would guarantee access to health treatment for all those who want to modify their body according to their self-perceived gender.
In this regard, the trans activist Paula Arraigada commented: “I think that the sanction of the Law was a great advance in terms of rights, but not only for the people who at that time could not exercise their right to identity, but for the entire Argentine people, because when a right is added for part of a population, what it does is mark that a society is much better”.
The Law understands gender identity as “the internal and individual experience of gender as each person feels it, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth, including the personal experience of the body.”
Likewise, it maintains: “This may involve the modification of the appearance or bodily function through pharmacological, surgical or other means, as long as it is freely chosen. It also includes other expressions of gender, such as dress, speech, and mannerisms.”
