Sexual diversity activists protested in front of the Health Ministry in the Peruvian capital on Friday, demanding that the government rescind a decree that characterizes seven gender identities, including transgenderism, as “mental illnesses.”
the protesters Also gathered outside the Peruvian Embassy EcuadorCapital of, Quito.
These demonstrations coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, which since 2005 has been celebrated on 17 May 1990, when homosexuality – then considered a mental illness – was removed from the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases. .
In Lima, hundreds of people protested last week’s order from the administration of President Dina Bolwart. The Health Ministry said the action would guarantee “comprehensive mental health care coverage” to people covered by public, private or mixed health plans, adding that it is dependent on WHO disease categories ending in 2022.
Peru does not recognize gay marriage.
Protesters held signs with a variety of messages, including “My life is freedom, no disorder”, “Health has not been legislated in the past”, “The disease is you, transphobia kills” and “No one with Dina. No diversity.”
Many people were beating drums and others chanting, “Trans people are love.”
“We have had conservative governments for many years. We had military governments, then right-wing governments associated with the Catholic and evangelical churches, so their position about us has revived again,” said Gia Cruzado, a transgender woman and writer.
“This order is a step backwards and a way to close the doors to progress for our community,” Cruzado said.
Gahela Carey, a transgender woman who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2021, said that “being gay, lesbian, non-binary or bisexual is not a disease, it is a human condition”.
In Ecuador, dozens of members of a group defending the rights of the LGTBQ+ community marched to the Peruvian embassy. They staged a protest outside waving flags and holding signs declaring that “being trans is not a disease”.