Peru stops considering transgender people as mentally ill

STORY: Peru will stop listing people who identify as transgender, among others, as suffering from mental disorders.

:: Deposit

Tuesday’s announcement by the country’s health ministry follows backlash to the move that critics called unnecessary discrimination.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the capital Lima last month to demand the repeal of the new law.

It describes those who identify as transgender, as well as “transvestites” and those with “gender identity disorders” as mentally ill and eligible for health services through public and private providers.

Opponents of the law argued that the change was unnecessary, since existing rules already allowed for universal access to mental health services.

Alex Hernandez, psychologist at the feminist organization More Equality, explains why Tuesday’s turnaround is an important victory for the broader trans and LGBT community:

“To give visibility, there has been a modification in this diagnostic manual, which removes LGBT people from the chapters on mental illness. It also sends a message to citizens, politicians, authorities and people who believe that this does not deserve special attention: there is scientific and international progress which confirms that LGBT people, and in particular trans people, do not suffer from any disease.”

Peru’s Health Ministry said Tuesday it will no longer refer to these individuals as suffering from any disorder, but instead will use the term “gender mismatch” for purposes of classifying eligible mental and behavioral health taking care.