Argentina’s President Javier Milei has enacted a decree prohibiting gender transition procedures for individuals under 18 and restricting the housing of female-identifying males in women’s correctional facilities.
“Gender ideology taken to the extreme and applied to children by force or psychological coercion simply constitutes child abuse,” Milei’s office stated in Spanish. “Children do not have the cognitive maturity to make decisions about irreversible processes.”
Adorni also said that Milei will issue a decree mandating that prisoners be housed according to the gender recorded at the time of their offense. However, biological males who identify as female will be barred from women’s prisons if they have been convicted of sexual crimes, human trafficking, or violent offenses against women.
“This decision will permit a much more reasonable system that guarantees the security of all women inmates,” Adorni said.
The decision aligns with Milei’s broader ideological stance against what he calls “gender ideology,” which he has vocally criticized in international forums.
Last week, Milei made a speech in Davos, Switzerland, in which he denounced “sick wokeism” and called progressive policies a “cancer” that must be eradicated.
Milei’s remarks in Davos ignited controversy among LGBT activists in Argentina, who took to the streets in protest on Feb. 1 in Buenos Aires, the capital. The protest drew thousands of demonstrators, with some rights groups and politicians joining.
Milei’s office said that the decision to withdraw from the WHO is in response to the “catastrophic” economic impact of COVID-19 lockdowns, which could be classified as a “crime against humanity.”
