Since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown, over a thousand women and girls have been reported missing in Peru. Between March 16 and June 30, 915 people were reported missing—606 girls and 309 women. And the numbers continue to rise. Last week, Peru’s women’s ministry said that 1,200 missing women reports had been filed, with the month of July included in their count. Many are feared dead.
Latin America has the world’s highest rate of femicide (the gender-motivated killing of women), according to the United Nations. A macho and patriarchal culture and socially-dictated roles for women contribute to the problem, said Isabel Ortiz, a women’s rights commissioner in the National Ombudsman’s office, an independent body that monitors human rights in Peru.
Approximately 20 million girls and women are estimated to suffer from gender-based violence in the region every year. Peru, specifically, has long had a domestic violence problem. The UN estimated that one in three Peruvian women is likely to suffer from physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The pandemic came during a wave of massive protests throughout Latin America demanding governments to act against gender-based violence. In Peru, thousands have protested to raise awareness in recent years.
Peru is one of the Latin American countries worst hit by the pandemic, with over 430,000 coronavirus cases and 20,000 related deaths. It has also instituted one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world.
And, unfortunately, these lockdown measures have exacerbated the problem of violence against women, in Peru and in the rest of the world. Countries worldwide have reported increased domestic violence amid the coronavirus lockdowns. “The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a global spotlight on how male violence against women will continue to flourish unless and until the authorities take it seriously and hold perpetrators to account,” said Jacqui Hunt of Equality Now, a non-governmental organization that aims to promote the rights of girls and women.
Before the pandemic, five women were reported missing in Peru every day. That number has since climbed to eight.
Activists are calling for the creation of a national missing person’s register to address the growing number of disappearances. “We know the numbers of women and girls who have disappeared, but we don’t have detailed information about how many have been found. We don’t have proper and up-to-date records,” Ortiz explained.
She also explained how it is not uncommon for the perpetrators of the crime to be the ones who file the reports themselves, and without a missing person’s register, it is difficult to cross-reference information to find the missing women and identify potential suspects. It is also challenging to track how many women and girls have been found, dead or alive, and whether they have been victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, or sexual abuse.
Additionally, the UN and activists call for urgent governmental action to address the surge of domestic violence and disappearances. “We know lockdowns and quarantines are essential to suppressing COVID-19. But they can trap women with abusive partners,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. Potential measures include stepping up the prosecution of abusers and setting up emergency-warning systems in pharmacies.
“Covid-19 response measures introduced by the Peruvian government must address the particular vulnerabilities of women and girls,” Hunt said.
“The Peruvian authorities also need to take greater action to remove the deep-rooted inequalities and prejudices that allow violence against women and girls to be normalized. The pandemic must not be an excuse to further neglect the issue. Rather, extra efforts must be taken to demonstrate that even in times of crisis, gender-based violence will not be tolerated,” she added.
Photo: Imelda Medina/REUTERS