Why did this take so long?
'LGBTQIAP2S+ Outrage over Peru Declaring Transgenderism a Mental
Illness'
<
https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2024/05/15/lgbtqiap2s-outrage-over-peru-declaring-transgenderism-mental-illness/>
'The government of Peru signed a Supreme Decree this weekend defining transexuality as a mental disorder as part of an update to the nation’s Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS), prompting outrage from the
LGBTQIAP2S+ community.
While the definition, according to the Peruvian government, seeks to
give access to those identifying as transgender or other gender
identities to health insurance coverage, the decree has been met with
fierce backlash by local LGBTQIAP2S+ activists and politicians.
The PEAS is a minimum healthcare benefit plan that Peruvian citizens
receive when enrolling in the nation’s public, private, or mixed health insurance providers. PEAS provides for the basic medical procedures a
citizen needs and contains a detailed list of outpatient medical care,
tests, specialized consultations, and other treatments that patients may
be entitled to according to their particular health condition.
The controversial decree stated that, following a review of the
diagnoses included in the World Health Organization’s (W.H.O.) 10th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) that are included in
the country’s PEAS health program, the omission of “seven (07) ICD-10 diagnoses” related to mental health problems were found, which,
according to the decree, “should be incorporated” into the nation’s
healthcare plans taking into account Peru’s mental health laws.
As such, the decree defines transexualism, “dual role transvestism,”
child gender identity disorder, “other gender identity disorders,” and
“gender identity disorder, unspecified” as mental health problems in
accordance with the definitions established by the W.H.O.’s ICD-10
manual.
The decree stated that the inclusion of said diagnoses allows them to be covered according to the list of health benefits of Peru’s PEAS
healthcare program.
While the decree utilizes W.H.O.’s ICD-10 as its basis, the World Health Organization has since replaced it with a newer 11th edition that no
longer defines transexualism as a mental illness. The ICD-11 was
presented to the World Health Assembly in 2019 and went into effect in
January 2022.
Shortly after the decree was published, the Peruvian Health Ministry
issued a statement on Saturday in which it ratified its position that
”gender and sexual diversity are not diseases” while also expressing
“respect for gender identities, as well as our rejection of the
stigmatization of sexual diversity in the country.”
“The sexual orientation and gender identity of a person does not
constitute in itself a physical or mental health disorder and,
therefore, should not be subjected to treatment or medical care or
so-called reconversion therapies,” the statement read.
The Ministry explained that, to ensure “complete mental health care
coverage,” the PEAS plan was updated “in view of the need to ensure the
benefit of comprehensive mental health interventions, as conditions for
the full exercise of the right to health and well-being of the
individual, the family and the community.”
“ICD-10 remains in effect in our country, as long as the progressive implementation of ICD-11 is initiated, as it happens in other countries
of the region,” the statement read.
Local activist Shely Cabrera told the Argentine outlet Infobae on
Tuesday that, while the decree does modify the PEAS plan to establish
“which diseases are, in some way, covered by insurance,” the decree
“posed a threat to members of the LGBTQIA+ community throughout Peru.”
She said:
There is a previous decree, which is from 2021, that makes this update
of the Health Insurance Plan and this one, which is 009-2024, modifies
it to add these new categories, based on the ICD-10, which is a document
that dates back to 1992. The ICD is the international classification of diseases, it is a global diagnostic system that is approved by the World
Health Assembly (WHA); however, the ICD-11 is currently in force, from
2019 and came into force in 2022. This does not pathologize, it does not consider disorders or diseases of any kind to sexual and gender
diversities.
Cabrera claimed that the decree will “further promote the dissemination
of speech that violates the dignity of these people, since
discriminatory groups will be able to rely on the law by saying that it
is a disease.”
“In the case of trans persons, they will not be respected and will be
exposed to be called by their social name, their pronouns will not be considered and one of the most basic rights, which is identity, will not
be recognized,” Cabrera asserted.
Similarly, local LGBT activists have denounced the decree as
“discriminatory,” claiming that the categorization of transgender
identity as a mental illness “contributes to stigma and aggravates the consequences for a minority already subject to discrimination.”
Herberth Cuba, advisor to the Peruvian Health Ministry, told CNN en
Espańol on Tuesday that although the ministry does not consider sexual orientation and gender identity mental health disorders, it is necessary
to take the World Health Organization’s ICD-10 — and its definition of transexualism as a mental illness — as basis for the PEAS plan update as
ICD-10 is the current medical classification in effect in Peru.
Cuba asserted that, although the update may seem contradictory, it is
the only way to ensure the benefit of comprehensive mental health care
to the entire population, including Peru’s LGBT population.
Peruvian lawmaker Flor Pablo Medina denounced the decree on Tuesday as “shameful” and issued a formal request to Peruvian President Dina
Boluarte and the Peruvian Health Ministry to repeal the decree.
“We cannot allow it to go backwards, denigrate and violate the rights to equality and non-discrimination, as well as the right to health and
other rights of LGBTI people in Peru,” Medina’s message read.'
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