Below is an article by I Love Chile:

On Nov. 8 [2011], after a three-hour debate in the Chilean Senate, the anti-discrimination bill was finally approved by a wide majority, establishing measures against discrimination, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill was voted 23-13 and it will be now sent to the lower chamber where deputies will have their say regarding any modifications made by the Senate.

The initiative aims to ban arbitrary discrimination, defined as, “any distinction, exclusion or restriction that lacks reasonable justification, made ??by state officials or private individuals, and cause hardship, disturbance or threat to the legitimate exercise fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic or in international human rights treaties ratified by Chile.”

As a result, the bill will amend the current legislation of the criminal code providing legal sanctions of up to three years in cases of discrimination. If passed as approved by Senate, it would prohibit any discrimination based on: race, age, sex, gender, religion, belief, political opinion, birth, national origin, cultural or socioeconomic standing, language, marital status, sexual orientation, illness, disability, genetic structure or any other status.

Approval and discussion of the law hung upon and was particularly focused in the second article of the law, the actual core of the law which establishes the several categories of non-discrimination. Among them are two of the controversial references of discrimination – one regarding sexual orientation and the other concerning gender identity. Uncertainty about any modification regarding those issues worried minority groups and several Senators that had openly supported the bill all together. Concerns about the outcome and final draft of the bill where present throughout the negotiations.

In fact, a day before the law was voted, leaders of important community organizations met with General Secretary of the Government, Minister Andrés Chadwick, to hand him a letter signed by more than fifty groups. They appealed to the government for an inclusive policy regarding non-discrimination and expressing their concern for the possibility of leaving certain discriminatory categories out of the bill –such as sexual orientation and gender identity.  Some of the participants that attended the Presidential Palace to deliver the joint statement included representatives of Fundación =Iguales, the Jewish community of Chile, Corporación Humanas for women’s rights, the Mapuche Federation of Students, Movilh and representatives of institutions for the disabled.

Finally, as hoped for by many vulnerable communities, the anti-discrimination law was approved, and the gender identity category was also passed by the Senate with no modifications.

The controversial category had an unexpectedly wide approval in Congress, voting 22-9, reaffirming the need to protect the transsexual community against discriminatory actions – this despite pressures from conservative groups and religious leaders who spoke openly against including sexual orientation and gender identity categories into the bill.

Evangelical groups attended Congress at the time of the voting, arguing that recognizing those categories would damage family and moral values, and that it could possibly be a door for the approval of other diversity matters such as gay marriage or same-sex couple adoption.

Vis-á-vis their position, transsexual organization representatives also were present at the voting of the law, stating that the category regarding transgender people  - that of gender identity refers to being male or female, regardless of biological sex at birth – is enshrined in various international instruments signed by Chile, and to leave this category out would be a clear act of discrimination to one of the most vulnerable communities in Chile.

Senators responded in favor to the sexual diversity organizations demands, recognizing the need to include gender identity, expanding the idea of equality and human right principles stated in the Constitution.  It is interesting to note the broad support that the law received in Congress, not only from center-left parties but also from several center and right-wing senators, which have been traditionally divided on the acceptance of sexual minority rights.

In this regard, Senators of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) such as Jovino Novoa and Carlos Larrain, acknowledge the work of the Senate Commission on the issue and the importance of this law. Sen. Lily Perez of the center right party National Renovation (RN) also celebrated the inclusion of categories that protect sexual minorities, stating that progress has been made today towards the end of hateful discrimination in Chile.

The wide approval of the law from different political sides reflects just how necessary legislation on the matter had become in Chile, echoing the needs of a new and changing Chilean society. Indeed, the approval of the anti-discrimination law would state a before and after in Chile’s legislation. It would place us among developed countries and among the rest of Latin American countries, all which already have a non-discrimination law.

Congress, thanks to this law, will tackle a great democratic imperative, one that has to do with respect and defense of human rights, particularly with the protection of minority rights. An anti-discrimination law protects the fundamental right for people to be treated equally and guarantee their personal liberty.

Although the Chilean Constitution acknowledges equality under articles 1 and 19, the principle of non-discrimination had not been specified nor included in any general type of prohibited conducts, making it difficult to pursue recourse for discrimination per se. The new anti-discrimination law would fill in that loop and will have to be inducted into the nation’s belief system, recognizing the principles of diversity, human rights and pluralism.