10:30 PM, my tour begins through the streets of the historic center of Guatemala, on the third avenue of zone 1, in one corner of many, some giant, transparent and silver platforms reflect the lights of my car while holding a pair of legs long with fluorescent stockings that show the buttocks. 12:30 PM, Eighth Avenue; the sequined corset almost strangles the pair of generous breasts, exposing her perfect nipples. Eleventh avenue and third street, whimsical makeup, excessive and flashy hair, long nails and a cigar accompanies her wait. Thirteenth avenue, corner of the first street, a couple of women waddle while the other discusses prices with the window of a black car. The gloomy clientele prowls the sector, they pass slowly up to two times to see the “product”; the business opened,
Who are they and why are they there?
The most visceral business that any woman can be part of, because it puts her life at high risk, is sex work. But it is almost the only source of income for transgender women. This is how various human rights defenders have explained it to us.
We consulted with Maritza Velásquez, the current general coordinator of the Association of Domestic Workers at Home and Maquila (ATRAHDOM), she says that her organization has been a pioneer in being interested in and studying the employment situation of lesbian and transgender women. They have very few statistical data, but they are sure that the situation of the latter is much more difficult.
When they go to look for a job and have a masculine name, they must be hired with that name, therefore they must wear the company’s masculine uniform, they must access the men’s restrooms. In other words, there is no accessibility or regulations”, says Velásquez.
It would be crucial to have regulations that recognize not only the socially imposed identity, but also the identity with which each person identifies. In the background we have a whole society that is just beginning to open up and accept trans women. Even at the international level, recognition is needed, adds Maritza:
The LGTBIQ+ population is not a labor sector determined by the International Labor Organization that generates an agreement that protects them, they are not, for example, the domestic work sector or the industry sector”.
Although it is known that some transnational companies have inclusion policies for the population of sexual diversity, what they have seen in Guatemala is that hiring is done at the discretion of management, some companies yes and others no, explained Maritza.
Mirna Ramírez, defender of women’s labor rights, in the Movement of Women with Constituent Power, shares her knowledge on the issue of labor rights for trans women. Mirna explains how the legalization of gender identity would benefit them:
In the last legislature, with the deputy Sandra Morán, we promoted the bill for gender identity, there were obstacles and although RENAP*, at some point gave its approval, the pressures of the churches and this fundamentalist society, they forced them to go back, to say no, that it was not possible to give the trans compañeras an identity. The argument they used was biological sex. So from there the compañeras find the obstacle, because officially they have a masculine name and with the identity that they have assumed, it is complex”.
Visibility, an important start…
A corner is any corner during the day, but at night it is the workplace of many trans women, because it is the space that society has left for them, a product of discrimination. Trans women are forced to hide their true identity and express themselves freely, in order not to be violated or to access the few formal employment opportunities.
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Advocate Stacy Velásquez and current director of the Organization of Queens of the Night Transgender Women (OTRANS), shares other difficulties trans women face:
More than half of the compañeras have not finished secondary education and very few have finished primary school, so most did not have a full development and preparation for the workplace that includes not only technical preparation, but also includes teaching ” .
Stacy indicates that exclusion from education is part of the framework of discrimination and rejection that they have experienced since childhood in their homes. A family tends to invest more in the male members of the household, not so in the women and much less in those who assume a different gender identity.
Being minors we have to take responsibility for our housing, our education, our subsistence. They hold you responsible for many situations. You live to survive, not to prepare for adulthood.”
Being relegated to jobs in the informal and sexual sector, they are more vulnerable to being exploited and violated, including by organized crime networks. On this, Maritza compares two situations:
Any worker, including domestic workers, can sue the employer if they do not agree to talk. The complaint goes to a labor court. This is not possible for women who work in bars, hotels, canteens and closed houses. Although they have a dependency relationship, have a boss and deliver a product under a schedule, they are unprotected, which is why we target the trans sex workers union, as a measure for them.”
REDMMUTRANS and OtransRN, make great efforts to make visible the reality of trans women and influence politically before the State so that it guarantees their rights. They have published several investigations that are a key tool for advocacy. According to the 2021 OtransRN report, the employment situation of the 163 trans women interviewed is as follows:
For trans women, being visible becomes a persistent risk factor in Guatemalan society due to transphobia. 33% of the interviewees expressed receiving attacks in the street and 13% mentioned that the attacks occurred in the workplace, without indicating whether they were referring to a formal or informal job.
In labor terms, trans women access mainly informal work and, to a lesser extent, formal work. Within informal work, 33% perform sex work and 28% are engaged in other types of informal work such as street vendors. Regarding formal work, 16% work in the maquila sector, on banana or coffee farms and are not unionized. It is unknown if to work in these sectors they have had to renounce their gender identity.
Regarding access to education, 33% did not finish high school, only 23% managed to complete it, and only 14% finished university. When analyzing these data, it is important to include the systemic and structural violence that they experience, as one of the factors that influence their not being able to finish their studies. The data corroborate it: 54% of the trans women most affected by violence are between 18 and 31 years old.
The improvement of their conditions, according to Stacy, is closely linked to advances in laws and rights, which are not yet recognized or guaranteed. The beginning would be the approval of gender identity, which supports institutional changes, but also long-term social ones. term.
The story of Mónica Estefanía Chub Caal is a clear example. She is a 30-year-old indigenous woman from Alta Verapaz, an activist for the rights of trans women.
At home she was accepted by her mother and in her community she is recognized as a woman fighter, activist and defender of human rights, although in the workplace in her territory trans women face the same violations of their rights:
One wants to go and apply for a decent job and they are going to deny it because of her identity. We are submerged because society has not yet changed, it still has a long way to go to raise awareness. Social networks are a tool to disseminate all these issues in the community, but we see little progress, so this violation of our rights continues.”
Successful actions in favor of the labor rights of trans women
Galilea Bracho, executive director of the Multicultural Network of Trans Women of Guatemala (REDMMUTRANS), indicated that her organization together with the union of domestic workers SITRADOMSA, are making efforts to bring this issue to the Ministry of Labor.
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They started training in labor issues because they plan to raise their demands to develop public policies; This is what your advocacy is about, working hard to access your rights, to have a full life, without violence, with visibility on the streets. In addition, labor inclusion is not only thought for trans people, but for the diverse population in Guatemala.
While these policies arrive, I go back to zone 1, on sixth avenue, I carefully observed that in a cafeteria two trans women chat, have taken a picture and smile. I’m also glad because I think they have given themselves the right to go out in broad daylight.
*National Registry of People of Guatemala.
This article was written by Andina Ayala, journalist for the digital media RUE from Guatemala for FCAM.