LIMA: Hundreds of protesters marched in Peru’s capital on Friday to demand the end of a new law that bars transgender people, among others, from having a mental illness so they can receive health benefits.
About 500 protesters walked peacefully through the streets of downtown Lima carrying banners with slogans that read, “No more stigma” and “My identity is not a disease.”
The law, which was administratively approved last week by the government of President Dina Bolwart, specifies that people who identify as transgender, as well as “cross dressers” and “others with gender identity disorders” are not subject to “diseases”. Is considered to be suffering from. They are eligible for mental health services through both public and private providers.
Protesters reached the Health Ministry offices, but no clashes were reported.
“Gender identity is no longer considered a pathology,” the activist said. Gahela Carrie Contreras, who accused Bollorout’s government of trying to crush the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. “We won’t let them do that.”
Critics of the law have argued that it is an update of the country’s pea health rules was unnecessary, as existing rules already allowed universal access to mental health services.
Government officials have tried to portray the dispute as a misunderstanding.
In a statement released shortly after the law came into force, the Health Ministry stressed that it rejects the stigmatization of LGBTQ+ people and that the legal language only seeks to ensure more complete health coverage.
According to the statement, the ministry “unequivocally reaffirms respect for the dignity of the individual and their free actions within the framework of human rights, providing health services for their benefit.”
Despite the ministry’s argument, protesters did not agree and some medical experts advocated correcting the law through amendments.
“We see no need to include diagnoses or pathologies that no longer exist in health insurance plans,” said pedro riga lopezDean of the CMP Medical College of Peru and a doctor himself.
(Reporting by Reuters TV; Additional reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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