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By Vero Ferrari 

Environmental activist and marine biologist Daniel Cáceres (24 years old) and his partner experienced one of the most terrifying moments of their lives on a bus belonging to the interprovincial transport company Tepsa in Peru. It was August 13th, on a trip from Lima to Máncora, a beach area in northern Peru. The road trip takes approximately 16 hours, and they were preparing to sleep that night. But when they shared a kiss, homophobia reared its ugly head. A passenger complained about them to the flight attendant, Jorge Jiménez, who threatened to remove the young couple from the bus halfway to their destination in the middle of the night. When Daniel tried to speak to the driver to explain what the attendant was doing, he was shoved.

[READ ALSO: Peruvian salsa band denounced for homophobic taunts]

While they were arguing, they were able to record a video that clearly shows the homophobic views of several passengers.

“Sir, listen to me, I’m going to tell you something legal, look, at the first station you stop at, you have to call two witnesses, two, and report them for, I’ll tell you for… so you just go there and call two witnesses, and the two witnesses already know what to do, because this isn’t a park, there are children and elderly people here who deserve a little respect and consideration,” a passenger says at one point.

Network activism

Faced with this situation, the couple decided to turn to their activist network. The case was published on the social media accounts of the Mano Alzada , and they contacted Congresswoman Marisa Glave (Nuevo Perú, the leftist party to which Cáceres also belongs), who notified the Superintendency of Land Transportation of Passengers, Cargo, and Goods (Sutran).

Presentes contacted Daniel, who indicated that he will file a formal complaint with Indecopi against Tepsa this week, with legal representation from the organization Demus (Study for the Defense of Women's Rights). He seeks a fine against the company to prevent situations like the one he experienced from ever happening again.

“No one should travel in fear or live in fear under any circumstances. What the company did by responding to me in that way is to institutionalize the homophobia I have been a victim of by not recognizing that what they did was terribly discriminatory, and discrimination in Peru, whether they like it or not, is punishable, and we have the right to use the legal tools at our disposal to stop these types of acts ,” he told Presentes.

The State's response

As soon as they were notified, Sutran began monitoring the bus the young people were traveling on so they could intercept them with a police patrol. They also contacted company representatives, who offered to resolve the situation and assist the young people by removing their companion from the bus, while an advisor from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) contacted the couple. The Ombudsman's Office also activated its alerts to offer legal guidance and support to the young people.

When the police arrived, the bus was stopped in the Chala district so that the corresponding report could be filed. There, Daniel maintains in a public statement issued on August 22, after receiving Tepsa's response by mail regarding his complaint in the Complaints Book.

Daniel's subsequent public statement stems from Tepsa's response to his complaint. The company claims they do not consider the flight attendant's behavior homophobic, stating that the couple was asked to maintain order at the request of other passengers "because such behavior can cause discomfort to both heterosexual and homosexual couples." Furthermore, the company expresses gratitude for an alleged "reconciliation" between the homophobic individuals and the couple, when in fact no such reconciliation ever occurred, as evidenced by the video they managed to record.

Background of fines for discrimination  

Indecopi has already fined other companies for acts of discrimination against LGBTI people. On May 8, 2014, a fine of 50 tax units (S/185,000) was imposed on the Gótica nightclub for denying entry to Godfrey Arbulú, a young trans woman. Similarly, on November 11, 2015, Indecopi fined the Plaza San Miguel mall S/30,800 for the actions of a security guard who discriminated against the young couple Julio Lavalle and Joustin Rodríguez by attempting to remove them from the premises for showing affection.