South America

This law extended the powers of authorities in investigations of alleged crimes of violence against women as well as amended the domestic violence and food assistance provisions, as contained in articles 229 and 233 of the Criminal Code.  With the issuance of this law, the prosecutor is allowed to engage in investigations of the aforementioned crimes at the moment it learns from the conduct in any manner, thus, the prosecutor no longer has to wait until someone presses charges to start the correspondent investigations.

This law modified some articles of Law 599 from 2000 and 906 from 2004, and adopted measures that expanded access to justice for victims of sexual violence, especially for those who experienced it during the armed conflict. As such, it stated the conduct and behaviors that amount to sexual violence crimes and the way they must be judicialized.

Law 20744, the Employment Contract Law, defines the fundamental rules of the employer–employee relationship, including its validity and the rights and obligations of the parties, for any employment contract executed within Argentine territory. The law includes sex as a covered basis for discrimination in the treatment of employees (Article 18) and in the type of employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements available and attached salaries (Article 187).

Law 23592, Exercise of Constitutional Rights and Guarantees: Measures Against Discriminatory Acts, criminalizes certain types of discrimination in Argentina. Article 1 ensures that Argentines can exercise all their fundamental rights and guarantees recognized in the Constitution and lists race, religion, nationality, ideology, political opinion, opinion on unions, sex, economic position, social condition, and physical characteristics as its bases for discrimination.

Law 25673 regulates the National Program on Sexual Health and Responsible Reproduction and guarantees universal, free access to contraceptive methods for the entire population, without discrimination (Article 6). The law also provides for sexual health education and information, promotes women’s participation in decisions regarding their reproductive health, and includes contraceptive coverage in the Mandatory Medical Program (PMO).

Law 25674 seeks to increase the participation and leadership of women within labor unions. The law partially amends Law 23551, which codifies the regulatory regime for labor unions. Article 1 requires collective bargaining units to have a proportional number of women as delegates as there are women workers in the branch or activity.

Law 26485, the Comprehensive Protection Law for Women, was enacted on July 20, 2010 to eliminate discrimination between men and women, protect women’s right to live a life without violence, and to affirm the access to justice for women who suffer from violence (Article 1, letters (a), (b), and (f), respectively).

Law 26743 codifies the definition of gender identity and ensures its protections. Article 2 defines gender identity as an internal and individual experience which may or may not correspond to an individual's sex assigned at birth. Article 1 recognizes the right for a person to be recognized and freely develop in accordance with their gender identity, including government identification.

Law 26844 expands the protections of Law 20744 (which defines the fundamental rules of the employer–employee relationship in Argentine law) to domestic workers. By explicitly applying the regime of Law 20744 where the law is silent, domestic workers are protected from the forms of discrimination to which Law 20744 applies.

Law 26862 guarantees full access to medically assisted reproduction (“MAR”) for all adults. Article 2 defines MAR as all medical procedures aimed at achieving pregnancy, including low and high complexity techniques, with or without the donation of gametes and/or embryos. Under Article 7, any adult can access MAR provided the adult has given their informed consent prior to embryo implantation. Article 3 designates the Ministry of Health as the regulatory authority and Article 4 provides for the establishment of a national registry of facilities authorized to perform MARs.