Since 2016, International IDEA has been a permanent ally of LGTBIQ organizations that have promoted election monitoring and observation actions. Trans people, because they do not identify with the sex on their identity document and do not fit the expectations and behaviour patterns that society and culture impose on them, suffer social rejection and multiple effects on their fundamental rights.
Based on these findings, awareness-raising action was initiated with electoral management bodies (EMBs) to implement measures to reduce trans people’s exposure to humiliation and discrimination during the electoral cycle. To make these initiatives visible, International IDEA teamed with Latina TV, a national media outlet, to create a social media campaign to spread information about these experiences to a broader audience.
The National Bureau of Electoral Processes in Peru (Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales) and International IDEA joined forces to develop a protocol to ensure trans citizens could exercise their right to vote on an equal footing and without discrimination. International IDEA’s technical assistance focused on two aspects—(a) providing legal advice to develop an essential document and (b) facilitating the validation of trans organizations.
The establishment of such a protocol will directly affect the expected conduct of all electoral actors (EMB staff, board members, voters, other state entities and citizens in general) in relation to the suffrage of trans voters.
Feature image: Cartoon and post on Latina’s Facebook page published in October 2020.