LGBT continue to fight in the face of official inaction in Peru

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Seventeen. That is the number of LGBT people killed in Peru in 2014.

For the sixth consecutive year, the Red Peruana TLGB (Peruvian network of LGBT associations) and Promsex (Centre for the Promotion and Defence of Sexual and Reproductive Rights) have just released a damning report on the situation in Peru.

As Alberto Hidalgo, a political scientist at Promsex, and one of the report coordinators, explained to Equal Times: “Murders, assaults, suicides... Even though the state does not provide us with data, the figures we manage to gather are horrifying. The situation is drastic, and nothing is being done to tackle it.”

For Maximiliana Lloclla, Women and Children’s Secretary at the trade union centre Central Autónoma de Trabajadores (CAT), the country has a long way to go. “Here, LGBT people are the victims of discrimination and violence and are forced to live a hidden life. Politicians have no interest in them, so the situation is not really evolving.”

 

Political rejection

A few months ago, the Peruvian Congress threw out a “civil union” bill, despite several months of mobilisation on the streets. The vote to maintain the status quo is all the more questionable given that Ecuador has just recognised civil unions, as have Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and even Colombia.

For Alberto Hidalgo, “Peru is one of the last wagons on the train. And yet President Ollanta Humala had made our rights one of his campaign promises.”

As young activist Ana Lizbeth Araujo points out, the stand against civil unions is ultimately an illustration of the state’s LGBT policy, or lack of one:

“Peru is one of the only Latin American countries that has not passed legislation recognising LGBT people as equal before the law,” she says.

“Instead, we are made invisible and are systematically discriminated against. Our vulnerability is ignored. The number one homophobe is the state.”

 

“All Rights For All”

“There has been a slight improvement in the LGBT community’s situation in Peru over recent years. They have gained visibility, but this change now needs to be reflected in public policies,” Julio César Bazán, president of the Central Unitaria de los Trabajadores (CUT), tells Equal Times.

It is a change that also needs bringing to the world of work, where they face widespread discrimination. The desire for such change is expressed in the PLADA (Development Platform for the Americas) launched by the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), just over a year ago.

As Carlos Ledesma, technical manager of the human rights department, recalls: “Decent work with equality between all people, regardless of gender, ethnicity and age, without discrimination based on disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, is at the heart of the sustainable development strategy for the Americas.”

For Carlos Bruce, Peru’s first gay parliamentarian, who presented the bill, Peru is, however, faced with a handicap in relation to its neighbours. In an interview with Equal Times, he explains the historical reasons for the state’s inaction.

“We are in a conservative country where the Church plays a major role,” he says. “Peru was a viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire during the colonial era. The religious and administrative powers were concentrated here, and their influence still resonates today.”

“The Church has no qualms about campaigning against projects like these. But we should not lose heart. Three of the future candidates for the presidential election have expressed support for civil unions.”

President Humala’s forgotten promise has driven activists to take on the fight themselves. United around a collective named “Unión Civil Ya” (Civil Union Now), their slogan has become “All Rights For All”, explains Anita Araujo.

“We want all the rights in the Civil Code to be granted to all, including the right to marry or to adopt, without restriction,” she says. “It is going to be a difficult fight but we want to try and influence the next elections in 2016 by encouraging people to vote for the candidates that respect our rights.”

The election in early 2015 of Luisa Revilla, the country’s first transsexual municipal councillor, could be just the first step.

 

This article has been translated from French.