“It is crucial that we, LGBTQ people, participate in politics, become members of political parties, create organizations, and join social movements in order to hold public office and have openly LGBTQ public servants because this makes us visible.”
Gabriela Zavaleta, Victory Institute trainee and activist
Victory Institute and PROMSEX, a reproductive and sexual rights group, have implemented trainings, civil society forums, Vote for Equality campaigns, and a regional conference in Peru.
Openly LGBTI candidates in Peru have successfully run for office, and currently there are openly LGBTI elected officials from the local level all the way up to Congress.
Moving forward, Victory Institute and PROMSEX will be conducting research on the impact of work on political participation of the LGBTI population, and will explore avenues for deepening participation within political parties and state institutions.
Featured Leader
Luisa Revilla
Victory Institute trainee Luisa Revilla became the first openly transgender elected official in Peru when she became City Councilor of Trujillo in the district of La Esperanza. She also attended the regional conferences in Lima and Tegucigalpa, as well as the 2016 International LGBTQ Leaders Conference in Washington, DC.
Successes in Peru
Victory Institute and partners implemented two Vote for Equality Campaigns that played a role in increasing LGBTI party inclusion. In 2014, candidates in Lima and Iquitos signed an agreement on LGBTI equality, and in 2016, five congressional candidates from different parties signed LGBTI equality agreements.
More than 110 people from 27 countries attended the first Regional Conference on LGBTI Political Participation in Lima, Peru.