Abstract
In 2012, after decades of trans and travesti activism in Argentina, the law on gender identity was finally adopted. Travesti activists Diana Sacayán and Lohana Berkins were at the forefront of these efforts. The same year, after the long struggle of the feminist movement, ‘femicide,’ understood as the murder of women by men in the context of gender-based violence, was incorporated into the Criminal Code as aggravated murder. This legal amendment also criminalized hate crime based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim. Mobilized by Sacayán’s murder in 2015, the trans and travesti collective sought to make the experiences of exclusion and marginalization of the travesti collective visible by coining the notion of ‘travesticide,’ and demanded it to be used in the ensuing criminal trial that followed her death. Constrained by the legal notions of femicide, gender-based violence, and hate crimes, the Tribunal introduced ‘travesticide’ in their decision, yet questions on how to properly operationalize this notion in criminal law remain. Each notion offers opportunities and poses difficulties in making the murder of travestis politically visible and accounted for. By a detailed analysis of the final judgment, this article reflects on the implications of the notions used in the trial and the possible lessons for future interactions with the criminal justice system.
Highlights
Trans persons and travestis in the Americas have articulated numerous social collectives to fight against the persistent subordination and injustices they face
Assuming the travesti identity became an act of resistance, followed by mobilization and alliance making as a main political strategy (Berkins, 2003)
Such understanding of ‘genderbased violence’ does not meet the demands of Radi and Sardá (2016), who argue that a definition of transfemicide/travesticide must reflect that murder is the most visible and final expression in a long chain of structural violence encouraged by a cultural, social, political, and economic system, structured around the gender binary
Summary
Trans persons and travestis in the Americas have articulated numerous social collectives to fight against the persistent subordination and injustices they face. There has been a tendency towards increased criminalization, in relation to severe forms of violence against women and feminine subjectivities (Acosta Vargas, 1999; Costa, 2014) Aware of these tensions regarding punitivism, making trans/travestis’ experiences visible in the criminal fora and translating them into demands could challenge their persistent profiling as suspects of crime and reconfigure them as subjects of protection, transforming both criminal and criminological discourse. This article explores how the main (historical) demands of the trans and travesti community in Argentina, explored, were reconfigured and introduced in the criminal proceedings. There have been three main historical claims of the travesti and trans community in Argentina: the legal recognition of their preferred gender; the possibility to decide on their bodies; and the accountability for their murder
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
