Parents of trans students ask the President of the Republic to publish a diploma of self-determination

The Association of Fathers and Mothers for Freedom of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (AMPLOS) has asked the President of the Republic to hold hearings to demonstrate the importance of promulgating a new diploma on the rules that will be adopted in schools.

This is a bill approved by Parliament on the 15th that sets out the measures that schools must take to guarantee the right of children and young people to self-determinate their gender identity and the protection of their sexual characteristics.

In a conversation with Lusa, AMPLOS President Antonio Vale said that this week the association was received at the Presidency of the Republic, where it had the opportunity to speak on this topic.

“Not all school directors comply with the law, in force since 2018, and refuse, for example, to recognize the change of students’ names,” warned António Vale.

The new diploma stipulates that schools must identify “channels of communication and detection” by identifying the person or persons responsible “to whom the situation of children and young people exhibiting a gender identity or expression that does not correspond to the sex assigned at birth may be communicated.” communicated.”

The school should also work with parents, guardians or legal representatives to facilitate assessment of the situation, provide support and supervision, and identify organizational needs and possible courses of action.

The diploma, which Chega called a “toilet diploma”, also aims to ensure that all students have access to toilets, an issue that has sparked controversy and criticism from the Large Families Association and associations representing parents and school principals. among the others.

In response to criticism, AMPLOS president and psychologist of the association, which monitors and supports several families, Ana Silva recalls stories of trans and intersex children and young people who are verbally or physically attacked when they try to use the toilet or toilet. fitting rooms.

Lusa spoke to families who said their children spend the entire day without going to the toilet, and that the solution some of these children have found is to “stay hydrated.”

“Schools should be a safe place for citizens to learn. Acts of intolerance are aggression that only serve to keep children and young people away from schools,” warned the AMPLOS president.

The association’s psychologist adds that these children have a higher rate of truancy and school dropout: “Life in schools is so difficult that they leave as soon as they can,” warned Ana Silva, explaining that leaving school early ends up jeopardizing the whole their life. school career and future professional life.

Families and associations are therefore demanding that the diploma be made public, emphasizing that it will only guarantee “human rights” and that in schools this minority continues to be targeted.