The Peruvian government this weekend signed a decree defining transsexuality as a mental disorder as part of an update to the country’s Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS), sparking outrage from the LGBTQIAP2S+ community.
According to the Peruvian government, the definition is intended to provide health insurance coverage to transgender and other gender-identifying people, but the decree has been met with intense backlash from local LGBTQIAP2S+ activists and politicians. There is.
of beans The minimum health benefit plan that Peruvian citizens receive when enrolling with a public, private, or mixed health insurance provider in the country. PEAS provides the basic medical procedures needed by the population and includes a detailed list of outpatient visits, tests, specialized consultations, and other treatments that patients can receive depending on their specific health conditions. .
controversial proclamation A review of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 10th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnoses included in the country’s PEAS health program stated that “seven ICD-10 diagnoses have been omitted.” Ta. ” Symptoms related to mental health problems were found, which, according to the decree, “should be incorporated” into the national health plan, taking into account Peru’s mental health law.
Therefore, this statute defines transsexualism as:double crossdressing“childhood gender identity disorder,” “other gender identity disorder,” and “unspecified gender identity disorder” as mental health problems. definition Established by WHO’s ICD-10 manual.
The Decree states that the inclusion of the above-mentioned diagnoses allows them to be covered according to the list of health benefits of Peru’s PEAS medical program.
This legislation uses the WHO’s ICD-10 as a basis, but the World Health Organization has since replaced The new 11th edition no longer defines transsexualism as a mental illness. ICD-11 was submitted to the World Health Assembly in 2019 and entered into force in January 2022.
Shortly after the decree was announced, Peru’s Ministry of Health issued the following statement: statement On Saturday, the government endorsed the position that “gender and sexual diversity is not a disease” and also said it “respects gender identity and rejects stigmatization of sexual diversity in the country.”
“A person’s sexual orientation or gender identity does not, in and of itself, constitute a physical or mental health disorder and should not be subject to treatment or medical care, so-called reconversion therapy,” the statement said. ing.
In order to ensure “full mental health care coverage,” the Ministry “takes into account the need to ensure the benefit of comprehensive mental health interventions as a condition for the full exercise of the right to health and wellness.” The PEAS plan has been updated.” Being an individual, a family, and a member of a community. ”
“ICD-10 will remain in force in our country as long as the gradual implementation of ICD-11 begins, as in other countries in the region,” the statement said.
Local activist Sherry Cabrera Said Argentine media outlet Infobae reported on Tuesday that while the decree amends the PEAS plan to define “which diseases will be covered in some way,” the decree also poses “a threat to members of the LGBTQIA+ community throughout Peru.” It will happen.”
she said:
There was a previous Decree from 2021 making this update for health insurance plans, and this Decree 009-2024 has been amended to add these new categories based on ICD-10. ICD is an international classification of diseases and a global diagnostic system approved by the World Health Assembly (WHA). However, ICD-11 is currently in force from 2019 and will take effect in 2022. This is not pathological and does not take into account all kinds of disorders and diseases to sexual and gender diversity.
Cabrera argued that the statute “further facilitates the spread of speech that violates the dignity of discriminated groups by allowing them to rely on the law to say they are sick.”
“In the case of transgender people, they are not respected, they are subjected to being called by their social names, their pronouns are not considered, and their identity, which is one of their most basic rights, is not recognized,” Cabrera said. he claimed.
Similarly, local LGBT activists condemned It argued that the law was “discriminatory” and that classifying transgender identity as a mental illness “reinforces prejudice and exacerbates the impact on minorities who are already discriminated against.”
Mr. Herbers Cuba, Advisor to the Peruvian Ministry of Health, said: Said CNN Spanish reported Tuesday that the ministry does not consider sexual orientation and gender identity mental health disorders, but uses the World Health Organization’s ICD-10 and definition of transsexualism as a mental illness as the basis for the PEAS plan. He said it was necessary to adopt it. It will be updated as ICD-10 is the medical classification currently in force in Peru.
Cuba argued that although this update may seem contradictory, it is the only way to ensure comprehensive mental health benefits for all of Peru’s citizens, including its LGBT population.
Peruvian lawmaker Flor Pablo Medina on Tuesday denounced the decree as “shameful” and formally asked Peruvian President Dina Bolarte and Peru’s Ministry of Health to repeal it.
he begged @president y @Minsa_Peru ❌DEROGAR el vergonzoso makes superlative decisions that take into account sexual diversity. No retroseda permission. There is no danger of denigre or promiscuity, and there is no discrimination. There is no discrimination on health grounds… pic.twitter.com/Ux6kxWVSKO
— Flor Pablo Medina 🇵 (@FlorPabloMedina) May 13, 2024
“We cannot allow the rollback, denigration and violation of the rights to equality and non-discrimination, the right to health and other rights of LGBTI people in Peru,” Medina’s message said.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
