The Peruvian government recently decided to include “gender identity disorder” in its national health insurance plan. This means they are treating transgender people as if they were mentally ill. The Peruvian government’s decision has sparked widespread outrage and controversy among transgender people. A lot of people think it’s wrong to categorize being transgender as a mental illness. I think this stems from their fear of experiencing even more discrimination and misunderstanding from the non-queer population.
Some criticized the US government for accepting abnormalities as the new normal and applauded the Peruvian government for taking a stand and attempting to figure out the medical cause of gender identity transition. “That’s great. Now it’s up to the rest of the world to do the same, and life will be a little better,” Nation Europa says.
The Declaration
On May 10, 2024, Peru added “gender identity disorders” to its Essential Health Insurance Plan (EHIP), sparking controversy. President Dina Boluarte signed a decree classifying ‘transsexualism, dual-role transvestism, gender identity disorder in childhood, other gender identity disorders, and fetishistic transvestism’ as mental illnesses. According to the Peruvian Ministry of Health, this classification is necessary to ensure sufficient mental health care coverage.
The Backlash
However, Peru is not the first to officially acknowledge transsexualism as a mental health disorder. In recent years, the World Health Organization’s reference for health issues around the world, known as the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) (currently ICD-11), has been updated. It now represents current views toward sexual health and gender identity. One significant difference is that “transsexualism” is no longer classified as a mental disorder. Instead, it is described as “gender incongruence,” and it is considered a sexual health problem rather than a mental disorder.
The LGBT community and human rights advocates have clearly expressed strong opposition to this edict. With this proclamation in place, citizens from other nations are thanking the Peruvian government and encouraging their own governments to do the same. Countries could buy into the idea of enacting similar legislation at the expense of the LGBT community. This would propagate wrong attitudes toward transgender persons, making it much more difficult to gain equal rights and protections in Peru.
“As of this moment, I will no longer be purchasing my Marching Powder from the Peruvians,” Jayroo says, as a way of showing little support to the LGBT community. One Cujo Wilson commented saying, “I’ll have to buy twice as much! :)”
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that Peru’s new decree on May 10, 2024, included “gender identity disorders” in its Essential Health Insurance Plan (EHIP), sparking discussion. President Dina Boluarte signed a proclamation that defined ‘transsexualism, dual-role transvestism, gender identity disorder in childhood, other gender identity disorders, and fetishistic transvestism’ as mental illnesses.” This has sparked widespread outrage in Peru since it classifies transsexual people as having mental illnesses. People are concerned about being further discriminated against and misunderstood by the non-queer population. However, the Peruvian Ministry of Health believes this new regulation is vital because it provides full mental healthcare coverage.
This is so sad to read!