Pedro Garcia
Paula Ettelbrick Fellow, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
Chilean Paradoxes: LGBT Rights in Latin America
Posted: 08/21/2012 3:49 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pedro-garcia/chilean-paradoxes-lgbt-rights-in-latin-america_b_1819455.htmlOver the past few years there have been important milestones advancing LGBT human rights in Latin America. Recognition of civil unions in Brazil and Uruguay, same-sex marriage in Mexico City and Argentina, laws protecting gender identity in Chile and Bolivia, and historic, progressive legislation in regard to gender identity in Argentina. These advances question old stereotypes of the region as a conservative macho culture dominated by the Roman Catholic Church.
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Sex-Reassignment Surgeries and Gender Identity
In May 2012 the Health Minister of Chile, Jaime Mañalich, announced that starting in 2013, public hospitals would offer sex-reassignment surgeries covered under the country's public health plan, the Fonasa (National Health Fund).
The cost of the operations will depend on the patient's income bracket, with the poorest citizens able to get sex-reassignment surgeries for free. Benefits will include psychiatric therapy, endocrinology, and surgery for people wanting to "recover their true sexual identity," according to Mañalich. The procedures will be performed in public hospitals in Santiago, Concepción, and Valparaíso.
The announcement has sparked controversy. Members of the trans organization OTD complain that the announcement could have negative impact on the country's image of transgender people.
