Friday, May 15, 2015

Male and female transsexuals now free to join the Colombian Armed Forces

In an historic judgment of the Colombia Constitutional Court today (May 15, 2015), reviewing the request of Gina Hoyos Gallego, for constitutional protection of rights ("tutela"), the Constitutional Court ordered the Colombian Defense Ministry to create and apply a protocol which would permit both female and male transsexuals in Colombia voluntarily to enter the Armed Forces and serve in the military without being subjected to discriminatory acts.

The judgment also exhorts the Congress and Ministry of the Interior to elaborate a Protocol which would allow LGBTI persons to modify the information about their identity and sex in official documents, since the change of sex from today henceforward must be ordered by a judge.

The judgment also exhorted the Superior Council of the Judiciary to make this judgment known as soon as possible so that men who have changed their sexual orientation will be exempt, if they so wish, from military service.

In the case of Gina Hoyos, the Court determined that she was not required to carry out her military service nor to pay the cost of a military ID since she was completely identified as a woman.

1 comment:

  1. Here is a link to the Constitutional Court's decision in Sentencia No. T-099/15:

    http://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2015/T-099-15.htm

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