Protesters rally in Peru against decree classifying seven gender identities as “mental illness”

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Sexual diversity activists protested in Peru’s capital in front of the health ministry Friday to demand that the government repeal a decree that characterizes seven gender identities, including transgenderism, as “mental illnesses.”

Protesters also gathered outside the Peruvian Embassy in Ecuador’s capital, Quito.

The demonstrations coincided with the International Day Against Homophobia, celebrated since 2005 to mark May 17, 1990, when homosexuality — then considered a mental illness — was removed from the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases.

In Lima, hundreds protested last week’s decree by President Dina Boluarte’s administration. The Ministry of Health said the action would guarantee “comprehensive mental health care coverage” to those affiliated with public, private or mixed health plans.