President Piñera promulgates a law on gender identity in Chile – La República CE

The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, promulgated today the law on gender identity, which will allow the change of name and legal bad from 14 years, and said that it was about 39, a step forward in building a more "just, integrated and respectful" society.

"We are taking a step in the direction of not only repaying the debt of a society that has too many prejudices, but we are also facing our commitment to human dignity and our moral obligation to those who have been unnecessarily discriminated for a long time, "he said. Piñera.

The law, which has had a long five-year process in Congress, stipulates that adults can change the bad of the registry with a simple procedure in the civil registry.

Teens aged 14 to 18 must apply to a family court and have the permission of at least one of their parents or legal representatives.

Children under 14 were excluded from the law, although Piñera He pointed out that his transbadual status will be recognized and that the state will "accompany" them in areas such as health or education.

The law on gender identity said Piñera, will leave painful and discriminatory experiences, but this is not the definitive solution.

"This requires a cultural change that must be in the heart and soul of all Chileans and learn to respect us more, to recognize our diversity and especially to recognize and respect the equal dignity of all human beings, "he pointed.

Piñera He stressed that the recognition and protection of human rights is not a political issue but a "human reality" that requires the "good faith" application of the principles of equality, of dignity and rights enshrined in the Constitution.

"If we can not respect each other with our coincidence and our differences, it will be very difficult to move towards a truly just and integrated society, and above all more humane and respectful," he said.

The Movement for Homobadual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) described the adoption of the law as "historic" and dedicated it to the 17 deadly victims of transphobia who, according to their calculations, have been registered since 2002.

"It recognizes a right as fundamental as that of identity, a right that most of us have at birth, but which is removed from the trans population at birth," said Rolando Jiménez, Movilh leader.

Despite this, he regretted that children under 14 are excluded from the law for "prejudice, ignorance or transphobia".

"This is a clear violation of human rights which we hope will be corrected as soon as possible with a new bill," he concluded . EFE