Diana Sacayán

Diana Sacayán (31 December 1975 – 11 October 2015) was an Argentinian LGBT activist who fought for the legal rights of transgender people in Argentina.

Diana Sacayán
Illustration of Diana Sacayán, a smiling brown woman with a flower in her black hair and a rainbow flag background behind her.
Born(1975-12-31)31 December 1975
Tucumán, Argentina
Died11 October 2015(2015-10-11) (aged 39)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
NationalityArgentine
OccupationActivist
Political partyCommunist (before 2011)
Independent (2011–2015)

Biography

Amancay Diana Sacayán was born in Tucumán on 31 December 1975. Her ancestors were Diaguita. At a young age, her family moved to Gregorio de Laferrère, Buenos Aires. She led a life of poverty with her 15 siblings.

Activism

Diana Sacayán came out as transgender at the age of seventeen. Her human rights were violated several times since then. She was arrested at different times and in jail she leaned towards the Communist Party. However, in 2011, she left the Communist Party and created the Anti-Discrimination Movement of Liberation (MAL), a non-governmental organization. This organization was working against all forms of discrimination. They also emphasized empowering LGBTI people in different sectors including creating awareness for their human rights.

As the president of MAL, she was responsible for the project of non-discriminatory policies in the health institutions of La Matanza Partido. This project was aimed to include transgender and transsexual people in the health system. She also worked for raising awareness among transgender and transsexual people for their rights. Her active contribution led to the recognition of regulation for self-perceived gender identities by the State. It turned the main precedents of the National Gender Identity Law.[1] Sacayán served on the board of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and led the Antidiscrimination Liberation Movement in Argentina.[2]

In 2012, she ran for the position of Ombudsman of La Matanza Partido, becoming the first transgender candidate for such a position. She was able to be one of the three most-voted candidates in that election. In the same year, she received her national identity card as a woman personally from the Former president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.[3]

Death

Diana was murdered in October 2015.[2] Her murder incident generated a commotion and a high social impact, especially in the human rights movements and the LGBTQ+ community. The person who killed her, Gabriel David Marino, was subsequently sentenced to life in prison in 2018.[4] For the first time in history, the Argentine Justice acknowledged that the murder was "a hate crime against the travesti identity", known as "travesticide"[5] or "transvesticide"[4] (Spanish: travesticidio; a portmanteau of "travesti" and "homicide").[6] The ruling was widely celebrated by LGBT activists and has been considered "one more example of the [social] changes underway in Argentina."[6]

Writings
  • La gesta del nombre propio (2006), ISBN 9789871231119
  • Cumbia, copeteo y lágrimas (2008), ISBN 9789871231799
  • Blog de Movimiento Antidiscriminatorio de Liberación (M. A. L.)[7]

References
  1. "Ley Nacional de Identidad de Género". servicios.infoleg.gob.ar. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  2. "Who Is Diana Sacayán? Transgender Activist In Argentina Found Dead After Possible Hate Crime". International Business Times. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  3. "Argentina's third violent transgender death in a month sparks call for justice". TheGuardian.com. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  4. "Killer handed life sentence for brutal murder in historic transvesticide trial". Buenos Aires Herald. June 18, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  5. Radi, Blas; Sardá-Chandiramani, Alejandra (2016). "Travesticide / transfemicide: Coordinates to think crimes against travestis and trans women in Argentina" (PDF). Bulletin of the Gender Observatory of the Justice of the City of Buenos Aires. Acta Académica. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  6. Centenera, Mar (June 19, 2018). "Condena inédita en Argentina por el travesticidio de la activista Diana Sacayán". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. "M.A.L. Movimiento antidiscriminatorio de liberacion | Grupo MAL". grupomal.blogspot.com.ar. Retrieved 26 November 2017.


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