Peruvian Politics: Homosexuality

On New Year's Eve I was talking to a good friend of mine about his travels abroad in Uganda, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Soon, he'll be living in Buenos Aires and come late July he'll fly to Lima, Peru to hike the Inca Trail. That's when we decided that it'd be an awesome idea if I came along. Now I'm finding myself scratching together a diverse itinerary that includes Incan ruins, the famed trek to Machu Picchu, a beautiful monastery, the celebrated Andean Explorer train ride, and Lake Titicaca. Should be good. But after piecing together plane rides and hostel prices in a haze of ecstasy I experienced a mini heart attack over the state of LGBT politics in Peru. A few months ago I planned on going to Jamaica to coach track and field for a few weeks, but the country turns out to be a cauldron of LGBT hatred. So I quickly Wikipediaed Peruvian politics and was satisfied with what I found. Peru is relatiely progressive when it comes to LGBT rights in Latin America. The key word is relatively. Here are some bullet points that summarize my findings:

• same-sex sexual activity among adults is legal
• in 2009 the Supreme Court of Peru ruled that homosexuality was no impediment to joining the armed forces (way ahead of America) 
• homosexuality can be used as grounds for separation or divorce
• however, society's attitudes towards homosexuals are generally hostile and influenced by the Catholic Church (our current Pope is more progressive though.. should be interesting) 
• in 2010 a bill was introduced to the Peruvian parliament that would recognize same-sex unions
• in 2011 the bill died in Judiciary Committee because some members believed it would have to change the Constitution in order to be law
• the winner of the 2011 general election says he opposes same-sex unions
• in August 2010 a poll showed that 23.1% of Peruvians approve of same-sex unions, with a majority coming from Lima, the capital, or from the youth population
• little to almost no research has been done with the state of transgender politics in Peru

Overall, the findings produce a mixed bag of thoughts. On the one hand, same sex activity is legal, but on the other, gays still face many impediments that non-gays do not. The 2002 Pride Parade in Lima resulted in demonstrators being taunted and attacked and I think it'll still be a while before the government legally recognizes homosexuality. However, it's promising to know that 23% of the population approves of homosexuality. It seems like a small number but the fact that a majority of that 23% comes from a big urban area means that education probably has a lot to do with Peru's stance on LGBT rights. People in Lima are more educated than those in rural populations. It's time to start spreading the word to countryfolk.