Peru: New child protection legislation undermines transgender rights and free expression
Thursday, May 29, 2025 1:35 PM
A new Peruvian law combatting sexual violence against children and adolescents is enabling discrimination and censorship. While sexual violence is a pressing issue in Peru, with nearly twenty-three thousand cases against children and adolescents reported last year, the law fails to protect the most vulnerable. Amongst other provisions, it requires that public restroom access be based on biological sex. This prevents transgender youth from using the bathroom aligned with their gender identity and places these individuals at higher risk of mistreatment in these spaces. Vague provisions on preventing exploitation in the media could also be used to censor artistic, educational, and cultural expression. Human rights groups warn that the law contradicts Peru’s international human rights commitments and are concerned with the modification of the criminal code that establishes disproportionate punishments for disseminating information on sexual education and development for children and teenagers. Advocates urge the Peruvian government to repeal this law, which they say is in violation of international standards of freedom of expression, the right to information, the right to nondiscrimination, and children’s and adolescent’s right to education.