Law as a field of fight: sexual orientation and gender identity
This book is a recompilation of four articles that reflected about rights of LGBT community. The first one, “Forward through recognition of rights in LGBT people: about how The Peruvian Constitutional Tribunal had helped to it” by Marisol Fernández Revoredo, in which she review all forms Constitutional Tribunal (TC), maximum interpreter of Constitution had resolve cases of sexual and gender orientation. The second is the article of Marcelo Ernesto Ferreyra title “It is said that justice is blind but there is no worst blind that who don’t want to see. Commentaries about first and second resolution of the case Peruvian Supermarket S.A. (Santa Isabel)”; in which resolution is commented from consumer defense instance in relation with the discrimination that two men suffer because show their affection openly in the super market that was the reason to ask them to leave the place. Third article is made by Jeannette Llaja Villena “Case Karen Atala Riffo. Some considerations about superior interest of the child that Inter American System of Human Rights should consider”, in which she development some arguments that a judge in Chile use to give paternity to three children which mother openly talk about homosexuality. The forth article, “Hate crimes for sexual orientation or gender identity in Peru” by Crisstian Manuel Olivera Fuentes, is a very interesting review of definition about crimes. In this opportunity I will only comment those articles that are in direct relation with Tran’s population, but I encourage you to read the entire book.
Marisol Fernández in her article talk about three cases, the third one is about a Tran’s woman Karen Mañuca Quiroz Cabanillas. Karen Mañuca make a demand to the Director of National System of Identification and Civil Status (Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil, RENIEC), because she was waiting four years to receive a new identification because the first one was lost. Karen Mañuca had two registrations, one as Manuel Jesús and the second as Karen. She ask RENIEC to erase the first one but they erase the second one, and when she asked for a duplication of her identification (Documento Nacional de Identidad, DNI) they couldn’t do it because don’t have the registration. This case show the impossibility to get a new identification that corresponds to the new identity, even though they have a sexual resignation, as was the case. TC failed in favor with Karen Mañuca because the long time she was waiting for her identification affect her identity and was against her rights. Also TC said identity is part of the personal development and behavior, is a subjective matter because even though people are classify as man or woman because of genital characteristics, what is masculine and feminine is not a nature resolution is cultural and social.
Crisstian Olivera starts his article with a definition of hate crimes, talking about homicide for sexual orientation or gender identity. In other words, hate crime is a crime for hate and rejection through people for being gay, lesbians, bisexual or Trans, it is a crime that supposes heteronormativity, heterosexuality as the correct and privilege. Further than this characterization it is common to talk about homophobic as the reason of these hate actions, but Olivera disagree with the association with phobic because in the medical language a phobic is an expression of a neurotic disorder in front of a panic situation. Symptoms of the phobic are pulsations, asphyxia and a great fear that make the person run away from the cause of the phobic. Murders of LGBT population that are qualify as homophobic are not because there is not an impulse to run away, on the contrary there is an impulse to attack. These homicides are consequence of the heteronormativity in an extreme expression.
The reason why is not good to qualify this crimes as homophobic is because it could be an argument to unconsciousness that take off the responsibility to the action to the person who commit the crime. There is very difficult to change the meaning of a very well know term, but we could give another better meaning to these behavior as a manifestation of a social violence and discrimination, because of a cultural an social knowledge.
The article considers that heteronormativity is a most precious and convince concept to explain the stigmatization and discrimination of LGBT people. It should stop consider homophobic as a pathology to refer a cultural practice, until we find another better term that had consensus in differents disciplines. It is necessary a campaign to judge and media to understand the importance to make visible hate crimes as crimes because of sexual orientation or gender identity, and name as that.
We celebrate this publication, we are sure it will be a very useful instrument in the law field to fight against discrimination that is a common practice in our countries. These articles make as believed again that we are going forward to the recognition of LGBT rights.
