Peru is quarantining men and women on different days in a controversial measure to control the coronavirus pandemic

• Peru's President Martín Vizcarra passed a controversial measure to control the novel coronavirus on April 2, quarantining men and women on different days.
• Men will be able to leave their homes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while women can leave their homes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No one will be able to be on the streets on Sundays.
• Peru is the second country to implement gendered regulations to contain the novel coronavirus. Panama took similar measures on April 1.
• Some Peruvians are concerned that the new measures will lead to street harassment against LGBTQ+ people because they instruct the police to stop people based on gender presentation.
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Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra passed a controversial measure to control the novel coronavirus on April 2nd, quarantining men and women on different days of the week.

Men can only leave their houses Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays and women can leave their houses Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No one is allowed outside on Sundays.

"We have to get fewer people to be on the streets every day," Vizcarra said during a press conference.

Vizcarra explained during the press conference that the gendered days are an attempt to reduce street traffic and make it easier for security forces to enforce quarantine regulations.

Tweet Embed:
//twitter.com/mims/statuses/1246085529294249988?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
#YoMeQuedoEnCasa Conoce los días que pueden transitar los varones y mujeres para comprar alimentos o medicinas durante el Estado de Emergencia. ⤵️ #PerúEstáEnNuestrasManos pic.twitter.com/CaRJgQGZq2

The new measures will be in place until April 12, when the government will assess what measures should be taken next.

Peru is the second country to implement gendered quarantine regulations after Panamanian President Laurentino Cortez announced that starting April 1 and ending April 12, women would only be able to leave their homes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and men would only be able to leave their homes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

As in Peru, no one is allowed outside on Sundays in Panama.

Some Peruvians are concerned that the new measures will lead to street harassment against LGBTQ+ people

Some activists and LGBTQ+ Peruvians are worried that transgender, non-binary, and queer people who present as visibly gender-nonconforming may be disproportionately impacted by the new rules, since police will be instructed to stop people who are violating the quarantine days based on gender.

"Given the new measures announced by @MartinVizcarraC and given the #transphobia that exists in #Peru, it is necessary for the State to guarantee that #trans people go outside the day they feel most comfortable," Twitter user Horacio Rodríguez wrote.

Vizcarra said during the press conference that police officers have been told to respect the gender identities of transgender and non-binary people.

"The armed forces and national police will have clear instructions so that this is not at all a pretext for any homophobic measure," Vizcarra said in a livestream video.

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