With the adoption of respect to the trans identity in schools
Antidiscriminatory Movement of Liberation
Brenda is 15 years old and when she was 11 she left school tired of being harassed by her classmates for her transvestite behavior and tired of the ignorance and prejudice of teachers. She hated making rows with men, or being pushed to play soccer as physical activity instead of volleyball which she preferred, without mentioning that when they called the roll, she was called by the name on her birth certificate and not the one she had assumed. She hated situations like when she was sent to the cabinet for using the female bathrooms. They called her dad, told him that her behavior was not "normal" and was sent to a psychologist appointment.
The educational programs don’t have contents that allow reflection of the straight heteronormativity and discrimination in educational institutions. Our organization aims to encourage discussions based on the anti-authoritarian and anti-oppressive education, sexual and gender identity. We are also interested in the joint, not hegemonic, trans studies on educational field to overcome prejudicial attitudes: The development of issues such as body, sexuality and gender in the experience of teaching. This will be the hardest task that we must pursue in the education system we are now, which pulls in a white, sexist, patriarchal and heterosexist culture.
In this direction, it will be essential the training workshops that we will give to teachers this year, with special emphasis on gender and human rights. Our task in formal education is to break the parameters of the heteronormativity. We want to work with this system that has been unfair to one part of the society. We believe in educating the non-discrimination and we want, as segregated in the same sector, to help on the design of educational policies. Knowing that this project is unprecedented in Latin America and the seriousness with which this entails, it must be based on the obligation to protect the right of non discrimination and identity, which not only means abstaining the state from injuring acts, but also the realization of positive actions aimed at their full inclusion and personal development.
In this respect, as part of this experience one of the measures proposed is that we exhaust all the instances to require the Department of Culture and Education of the Province of Buenos Aires, through the Directorate of Adult Education, the development and adoption of a resolution proposing the respect of gender identity in transvestites and transsexuals. For the previews experience in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, it will have a positive result in the progressive inclusion of this population into the educational system.
Therefore the resolution 2359, which was an achievement of our organization and an unprecedented fact so far in 2007 to turn the Health Minister to sign a resolution to respect the name of the identity of transvestites. This action had a strong impact on various legislative institutions of the country, cities and provinces of Argentina that made progress on similar legislations.
Today, in this direction, we have a new conquest, we prepared strategies and built partnerships: working with Dr. Silviano Perugino, the layout of the congresswoman Berardo, the lobby in the House of Representatives, the pronouncements of the Ombudsmen of international agencies such as ILGA-LAC; all this allowed us to take this important step, the legislature is catching the attention of the Minister to modulate all the necessary mechanisms for transvestites and transgender people can be named by the identity name in all the schools in the province of Buenos Aires. We are happy with this development. But as the Antidiscriminatory Movement of Liberation, we know that there is so much work ahead.
Diana Sacayan
Antidiscriminatory Movement of Liberation
Trans Representative for the Southern Cone ILGA-LAC
