In Peru, a country of 33 million, 6 out of 10 women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence, and rates of femicide—broadly defined as the intentional, gender-motivated murder of women—are soaring.
Since January, there have been 51 reported femicides in Peru, a figure likely to outpace the 137 recorded last year, according to public officials. The brutality of these cases has shocked Peruvians in recent weeks, laying bare what many are calling a systemic “crisis” of gender-based violence. Between January and February of this year, there were 21,194 reported cases of violence against women and girls.
Approximately 245 national emergency centers—along with preventive psychological and legal services—offer assistance to victims of sexual violence, according to Milagros. But gender-rights activists said a lack of state funding for such programs has resulted in delayed aid to victims, who often abandon their cases. They also called for stronger prevention measures, harsher sentencing for aggressors, and meaningful education reforms to address the violence.
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