Mexico’s capital will now jail people for up to 70 years for murdering a transgender woman.
Transgender community, take part during the celebration of the approval of the Gender Identity Law, outside the Chamber of Deputies of the State of Mexico (Photo credit should read Amaresh V. Narro / Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
On July 18, the congress of Mexico City almost unanimously passed a law that would make transfemicide — killing a transgender woman because of her gender— a crime.
via Facebook
This makes Mexico City the second state in Mexico to criminalize transfemicides, with sentences of 35 to 70 years in prison.
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The law will also allow people other than the victim’s family, such as friends, colleagues or significant others, to claim their bodies after their death, so they can have a dignified death.
via Translifematter.com
The law was named after Paola Buenrostro, a transgender woman and sex worker who was shot and murdered by a male client after he realized she was transgender, in 2016.
A group of transsexual women demonstrated outside the legislative branch of the State of Mexico, on September 5, 2022. (Photo by Arturo Hernández/NurPhoto)
Her murder was the first recognized case of transfemicide.
People take part in a rally for the International Transgender Day Of Visibility in Mexico City, Mexico, on March 31, 2023. (Photo by David Patricio/NurPhoto)
Mexico is the 2nd deadliest Latin American country for transgender people, and transgender people in the region are only expected to live to 35.
Kenia Vuevas, takes part during a protest violence against the transgender and sex worker Paola Buenrostro occurred on September 30, 2016. (Via Getty Images)