LIMA, PERU — (05-20-24) — PERU has outraged thousands of its citizens after passing a new insurance law that deems transgender people mentally ill. In fact hundreds of protesters in Peru’s capital marched last Friday, to demand the repeal of the new anti-transgender law, that describes transgender people, among others, as having a mental illness so they can access health benefits.
According to capital police, roughly 500 demonstrators peacefully walked the streets of downtown LIMA last Friday, holding banners with slogans that displayed “No more stigmas” and “My identity is not a disease.”
The anti-transgender insurance law was approved administratively last week by the government of President Dina Boluarte, and specifies that those who identify as transgender, along with “cross dressers” and “others with gender identity disorders,” are considered to be diagnosed with “illnesses”. This makes them eligible for mental health services via 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 government of trying to trample on the LGBTQ+ community’s rights. “We’re not going to let them.” said Contreras.
Critics of the law have argued that its update of the country’s PEAS health Regulations was a waste of time, since the country already has existing laws in place for universal access to mental health services.
With the amount of backlash that this new law has garnered, Government officials have sought to chalk up the controversy as nothing more than a misunderstanding.
In a statement released shortly after the law was promulgated, the health ministry rejected 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,” according to the statement.
Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer
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