A father has legally changed his gender identification in a bid to gain custody of his two young daughters following a bitter rift with his wife.
Rene Salinas Ramos, 47, is now listed as female on official documents from his native Ecuador – despite still identifying as a cisgender man in his daily life.
The desperate father claimed he made the drastic decision because of his country’s legal system which he says generally benefits mothers in custody cases.
“Being a father in this country, Ecuador, is punished and I’m only seen as a provider,” Ramos told the local outlet. The voice of Tomebamba. “What I was looking for was to give the love and protection that a mother can give to her children.”
Ramos alleged his daughters were currently living in an abusive environment with their mother – and claimed he had not seen his children for over five months.
The laws say that the one who has the right is the woman. From this moment, I am a woman. Now I’m also a mum, that’s how I consider myself”, Ramos told the assembled media outside the civil registry office in the city of Cuenca on December 11. 30. “I am very sure of my sexuality. What I have sought is that I want to be a mother, so that I can also give the love and protection of a mother.
However, his actions have angered activists across the country who have been fighting for the law to be changed for genuine trans citizens. The Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations issued a statement denouncing the “strange” actions of Ramos earlier this week.
“This man’s private matter, to get custody of his daughters, is not the spirit of the law,” said prominent trans activist Diane Rodríguez, Ecuador’s first trans member of the Assembly and National Director of the Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations. told VICE World News.
Rodríguez also told the outlet that she first thought it was ‘fake news’ – but now ‘we are afraid that in the Assembly things will go backwards and they will start legislating against we”.
Meanwhile, the custody battle between the father and his ex-wife continues.
“Until this matter is resolved, [the children] have to stay with their mother,” Ramos said, as reported by Jam Press. “The law takes away our right to be parents. [Changing my official documents] is a proof of love.
Ramos is the first reported case in Ecuador of a man taking advantage of sex reassignment laws to try to give himself a hand in a custody case.
In the United States, laws regarding trans citizens who change their gender identity differ by state.
According to The bank rateTransgender people can legally change gender on their driver’s license in all 50 states, but the process can be difficult. Some states require a birth certificate amendment and proof of gender-affirming surgery.
last september, Montana became the latest state to allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates following a contentious legal battle.
Meanwhile, in California, a father claims he lost custody of his son after questioning her transgender identity.
In a separate caseA Texas jury has ruled against a father seeking custody of his 7-year-old twin sons in his bid to stop one of the boys from changing genders in 2019. dad expressed his concerns on Thursday that his ex-wife, pediatrician Dr. Anne Georgulas – will allow their now 9-year-old son to be “chemically molded”.
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