Etiquetas
Civil Union, Discrimination, equality, Hate Crime, LGBT, Peruvian LGBT Human Rights
In the 2013-2014 LGBT Human Rights Annual Report, several incidents of discrimination were collected to reveal the actual vulnerability of the LGBT community in Peru. It is important to remark that the Peruvian government has not made any attempt to keep track of these vulnerabilities, rather several LGBT organizations in Peru funded by international organizations, had the effort to do it to have proof that discrimination towards the LGBT community in Peru exists and in fact, to demonstrate that the LGBT community in Peru is a very vulnerable community.
In these collected cases reported in the 2013-2014 LGBT Human Rights Annual Report between January 2013 and March 2014, 17 cases were for killings of LGBT members, and 40 cases were for attacks to their personal security. However, these cases do not include other cases around the nation which can only be gathered if several instances unite such as the media, social networks and personal interviews. Although there is an observatory of violence and discriminatory cases, this is not run by the government if not by LGBT members in the country. Also, several LGBT members in Peru do not make a formal complaint when they experience attacks against their lives or personal integrity because there is still fear and access to justice could be complicated due that discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity gender is not legally protected. All of this put together, makes it hard for the LGBT community in Peru to gather all the information needed to have better statistics of the real vulnerability of the community.
The LGBT community in Peru tries and tries to be visible and their voices to be heard, but the government resist because they cannot let go of their ties with religion. Constant marchs, constant interviews and constant activities are done by the community and yet, not a single word from the President of Peru towards supporting our community so we can stop being a vulnerable community. The fight seems endless, but the fire is on to keep pursuing human rights for our community as we deserve them just because we are also humans. The year of 2014 seems to be a very promising year for the LGBT community in Peru as long as the Civil Union law project is approved and at least, ordinances are imposed all over Peru to protect the community against discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity gender.
Every May 31st, the LGBT community in Peru remembers the National Day against Hate Crimes. The homophobic violence which represents part of the history of the LGBT community in Peru is remembered this day. It is remembered the past killings of LGBT members by terrorists in their operative plan called ¨social cleaning¨ as follows: 10 killed in Aucayacu in 1986, 8 killed in Pucallpa in 1988 and another 8 killed in Tarapoto in 1989. Between 2008 and 2009, there were 126 killings registered of LGBT members approximately. Between 2011 and 2012, 21 LGBT members were killed and tens were brutally attacked. Between 2013 and 2014, so far we have 17 LGBT members killed. How many more killings does the government of Peru needs to react and protect us against discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity gender? In 2009, congresist Carlos Bruce proposed a hate crime law that covered sexual orientation and identity gender, but these categories were removed from that law. The main oppositors to remove these categories were congresists Julio Rosas, Humberto Lay and Martha Chávez (sound familiar?). In 2013, congresist Carlos Bruce tried again to include the categories of sexual orientation and identity gender as a cause of discrimination and intolerance and again, these categories were turned down by Congress. How many more law projects that protect the LGBT community against discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity gender are going to be turned down? These congresists that do oppose to these categories of course dont feel the pain we feel for the lives of our lost LGBT members, they just dont care about our human rights.
The LGBT community in Peru will continue fighting for their human rights, and discrimination towards the community will no longer be tolerated because we just had enough. Lets just hope the Peruvian government take the first step now towards equality in recognizing our Civil Union law project which is a basic human right of the Peruvian LGBT community and has been demonstrated by the Peruvian Justice Ministry to be constitutionally viable.
We will not let anyone to step over our human rights anymore. We are unity, and we are unstoppable.
Yvo Rances Minchon, member of INADIS, an LGBT Oganization.