Hundreds of protesters in Peru’s capital on Friday marched to demand that the government scrap a new law that describes transgender people, among others, as having a mental illness so they can access health benefits.
About 500 demonstrators peacefully walked the streets of downtown Lima, hoisting banners with slogans that read: “No more stigmas” and “My identity is not a disease.”
“It is a decree that takes us back three decades,” said Jorge Apolaya, spokesman of the Collective Pride March, a Lima-based rights group.
Photo: Reuters
“We cannot live in a country where we are considered sick,” he said.
The law, which was approved administratively last week by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte’s administration, specifies that those who identify as transgender, along with “cross-dressers” and “others with gender identity disorders,” are considered to be diagnosed with “illnesses” that are eligible for mental health services through both public and private providers.
The protesters reached the health ministry offices, but no clashes were reported.
“Gender identities are no longer considered pathologies,” said activist Gahela Cari Contreras, who accused Boluarte’s administration of trying to trample on the LGBTQ+ community’s rights. “We’re not going to let them.”
Critics of the law have said that its update of the country’s health regulations was unnecessary, as existing rules already allowed for universal access to mental health services.
Government officials have sought to chalk up the controversy as a misunderstanding.
In a statement released shortly after the law was promulgated, the Peruvian Ministry of Health said that it rejects the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and that the legal language simply seeks to ensure more complete health coverage.
The ministry “categorically reaffirms respect for the dignity of the person and their free actions within the framework of human rights, providing health services for their benefit,” it said.
Protesters were not persuaded and some medical experts advocated for the law to be corrected through an amendment.
“We don’t see any need to incorporate diagnoses or pathologies that no longer exist into health insurance plans,” Medical College of Peru dean Pedro Riega Lopez said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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