Peru’s New Law Classifies Transgender as Mental Illness

The Peruvian government has declared that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals are to be classified as having mental illnesses. 

This decision, announced by the country’s Ministry of Health, is part of an update to the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS), which ostensibly aims to ensure comprehensive mental health care coverage for these groups. 

The classification includes conditions such as “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders.”

This policy has been met with vehement opposition from transgender groups within Peru, who argue that it represents a regressive step in the nation’s already complicated relationship with LGBTQ+ rights. 

“This decision strips us of our dignity and disregards the global consensus on the nature of our identities, which are not mental health disorders,” stated a spokesperson from a prominent Peruvian LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

Global Perspectives on Transgender

Gender identity is an individual’s deeply felt internal experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. 

Discussions around gender identity have grown in both depth and breadth over the years, fostering greater recognition of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex rights.

Countries around the world show varied levels of acceptance and recognition of gender diversity. Nations like Canada, New Zealand, and several European countries have progressive laws that recognize and protect the rights of gender-diverse individuals without pathologising their identities. 

On the other hand, nations such as Russia, Hungary, and several in the Middle East and Africa have imposed strict regulations that deny recognition and rights to these groups, often categorising their identities as illegal or disordered.

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International Implications

The classification by Peru has drawn sharp criticism from international human rights organisations, which call for the immediate reevaluation of such policies. 

This stance from Peru stands in direct opposition to the World Health Organisation, which removed transgender identity from its list of mental health disorders in 2019, citing it instead as a matter of sexual health.

Experts argue that policies like Peru’s not only detrimentally impact the individuals directly affected but also potentially set a harmful precedent for other countries’ handling of transgender issues.