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More than 50,000 people joined the annual March for Equality in the capital of Chile on Saturday.
The march, organised by by the Movement of Integration and Sexual Liberation (Movilh) and the Movement for Sexual Diversity (Mums), ended at the presidential palace of La Moneda, with speeches from various activists and political leaders.
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The demonstrators urged the government to implement the Gender Identity Bill, currently being debated in the Senate. They also recalled the murders of five people in 2014 because of their sexual orientation with a short ceremony during the march.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a bill into law recognising civil unions between same-sex couples on 13 April, while another piece of legislation on gay marriage is currently debated between Movilh representatives and various ministers.
Various lawmakers also joined the event, as well as the Minister of Social Development Marcos Barraza and the former government spokesperson, Ivaro Elizalde.
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The LGBT movement in Chile has made great advances in recent years, they now are protected by anti-discrimination laws covering employment, gay people also can serve openly in the Army, gay men are allowed to donate blood and lesbian couples can have access to in-vitro fertilisation treatments.
However speakers raised ongoing discrimination. “The main problems that affect transsexuals are ignorance and prejudice”, said Paula Dinamarca to EFE press agency, an activist with Movilh. Whilst others raised what they believe is indifference of the Ministry of Education regarding discrimination of gay and lesbian children at school.
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