CEDAW/C/PER/CO/9

Peru (CEDAW 01-03-2022)

The Committee considered the ninth periodic report of Peru (CEDAW/C/PER/9) at its 1863rd and 1865th meetings (CEDAW/C/SR.1863 and CEDAW/C/SR.1865) held on 15 and 16 February 2022. The list of issues and questions raised by the pre‑sessional working group is contained in CEDAW/C/PER/Q/9 and the responses of Peru are contained in CEDAW/C/PER/RQ/9.

Concluding observations

E. Principal areas of concern and recommendations

General context and historical discrimination

9. 9. The Committee acknowledges the efforts by the State party to mainstream gender equality and women’s rights in its legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks. The Committee is concerned, however, about the high levels of gender-based violence against women, which have been exacerbated since the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It notes with concern the inadequate progress made in addressing the disproportionate levels of violence experienced by disadvantaged and marginalized groups of women and girls in all areas of their lives and who are also facing historical and intersecting forms of discrimination, namely indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women, women with disabilities, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons, rural women, refugee and migrant women and women and girls in detention. The Committee regrets the lack of visibility and priority given to women and girls belonging to those groups in all initiatives of the State party to achieve gender equality and women’s rights, thereby perpetuating their social and economic exclusion, and denying the rights guaranteed to them under the Convention.
   10. The Committee calls upon the State party to actively promote the use of temporary special measures, including through the adoption of quotas, targets and indicators, in all areas of the Convention, to provide urgent redress for women and girls who are subjected to historical and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women, women with disabilities, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons , rural women and refugee and migrant women and women and girls in detention. It further recommends that the State party develop a strategic and holistic response in cooperation with women’s groups and civil society organizations to ensure the timely implementation of such temporary special measures.

Access to justice

1. 13. The Committee welcomes the efforts made by the State party to strengthen access to justice for women, including the National Programme on Access to Justice for Vulnerable Persons, 2016–2021. It notes with concern, however, the persistent institutional, structural and practical barriers to women’s access to justice, including the following:
   14. In accordance with the Convention and with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice, the Committee recommends that the State party:
       

       (a) Ensure systematic and mandatory capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, public defenders, lawyers, the police and other law enforcement officers, at the federal, state and local levels, on women’s rights and gender equality, to eliminate judicial bias and discrimination against women and girls and ensure accountability for judges who discriminate against women;

       (b) Continue raising awareness among women about their rights under the Convention, targeting in particular women belonging to marginalized groups, including low-income, rural women, Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendent women, refugee or asylum-seeking and migrant women, and indigenous women and women with disabilities;

       (c) Encourage women to report incidents of gender-based violence against women, including domestic violence, ensure that women who are victims of discrimination and gender-based violence against women have access to timely and effective remedies and ensure that all cases of gender-based violence against women are effectively investigated and that perpetrators are prosecuted and adequately punished.

Discriminatory stereotypes and harmful practices

• 21. The Committee welcomes the efforts made by the State party to eliminate patriarchal attitudes, deeply rooted stereotypes and harmful practices. It nevertheless remains concerned at the pervasiveness of such attitudes and the social legitimization of harmful practices against women and girls in the State party, as manifested in:
  22. In line with joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2014) on harmful practices, the Committee recommends that the State party:
      

      (a) Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy across all sectors to eliminate discriminatory stereotypes on the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, working with a broad range of stakeholders, including women’s organizations, to ensure that all public policies integrate a gender perspective, with a view to dismantling discriminatory attitudes that perpetuate gender-based violence against women and discrimination, as well as harmful practices against women and girls, and, in particular, against those who are lesbian, bisexual, transgender , intersex, refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants or with disabilities;

Gender-based violence against women

1. 23. The Committee welcomes the strengthening of legal provisions to combat gender-based violence against women in the State party, including the adoption of Act No. 30364 on the prevention of violence against women and members of the family group, in 2015; the National Plan against Gender-Based Violence 2016–2021; and the guidelines for an intercultural perspective on the prevention, protection, and support for cases of violence against women, children, adolescents, and indigenous women, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities, published in 2019. It remains deeply concerned, however, about the high incidence of intimate partner violence against women, exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, noting that over the past two years the numbers of femicides, sexual violence and disappearances of young women increased exponentially.
   24. Recalling its general recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, the Committee recommends that the State party:

       (a) Enhance mechanisms to monitor the enforcement of laws criminalizing gender-based violence against women and providing for victim support services, in particular with regard to disadvantaged and marginalized groups of women, such as young women, indigenous, Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendants, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities;

       (b) Prevent, register, investigate and sanction discrimination and gender-based violence against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons , indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women and uphold their rights to dignity, equality and non-discrimination and to ethnic and cultural identity;

       (i) Ensure the provision of appropriate, accessible and quality support services responding to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence against women, especially indigenous women, Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescend e nt women, women with disabilities, refugee, asylum seeking and migrant women, women living with HIV/AIDS, and lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons;

Equal participation in political and public life

1. 29. The Committee welcomes the progress made by the State party in increasing women’s participation in political and public life, in particular the establishment of the Group for Strengthening Indigenous Political Participation (resolution 085-A-2016-P/JNE), as well as Act No. 31030, raising the quota in both regional and municipal elections to 50 per cent (gender parity). The Committee nevertheless notes with concern:

       (a)The persistence of structural barriers faced by women, in particular women from marginalized groups, in access to political and public life, decision-making processes and dialogues with the Government on issues such as extraction mining ventures and large-scale agricultural initiatives;

       (b)That discriminatory gender stereotypes continue to impede women from standing for election at the state and municipal levels;

       (c)Increased political harassment against women, largely with impunity for those responsible;

       (d)Complaints about women with disabilities being disfranchised because they were not on the electoral roll as a consequence of previously being subject to guardianship/interdiction status.

1. 30. Recalling its general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, as well as target 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommends that the State party:
       

       (c) Adopt measures to address discriminatory gender stereotypes and practices within political parties that discourage women, in particular indigenous, Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendants, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities, from standing for election at the federal, state or municipal levels;

Employment

1. 35. The Committee welcomes the ongoing efforts by the State party to promote the integration of women into the labour market, including through the adoption of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2021–2025), which seeks to reconcile work and family life, training on good practices and gender equality, fighting harassment and gender-based violence against women in the workplace, and ensuring equal and decent conditions of work for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons. It notes with concern, however:

       (a)That women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including indigenous and Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendent women, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities, have limited access to employment opportunities;

36. The Committee draws attention to its general recommendation No. 13 (1989) on equal remuneration for work of equal value and to target 8.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals and recommends that the State party:
    

    (a) Monitor, evaluate and report on the impact of efforts to include a gender perspective in the National Agricultural Policy as decreed by the Ministry of Agricultural Development in 2016;

    (b) Establish hiring quotas and employment retention schemes specifically targeted at promoting access by women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including indigenous, Afro-Peruvian and lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities, to formal employment;

Women and girls in detention

1. 47. The Committee is concerned about the conditions of detention faced by women deprived of their liberty, in particular the lack of adequate services to address the needs of pregnant women and women with children, girls, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons, migrant women, indigenous women, Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendent women, women with disabilities, women living with HIV/AIDS and women with other illnesses, such as tuberculosis, in detention.
   48. The Committee recommends that the State party:

       (e) Collect data on women deprived of liberty disaggregated by age, ethnicity, disability, nationality, geographical location and socioeconomic background, with a focus on the system of registration and treatment of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons in prisons.

Marriage and family relations and economic consequences of divorce

1. 49. The Committee welcomes the laws on the adoption of minors by unmarried couples, free DNA testing and the rationalization of the proceedings for establishing paternity and the provisional payment of maintenance, waiver of court fees in relation to children born out of wedlock, and the recognition of the inheritance rights of unmarried partners and those in common law unions. The Committee acknowledges the progress made in recognizing marriages of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons, including those entered into abroad. It nevertheless notes with concern:

       (a)The absence of effective mechanisms to assess women’s contributions to joint property through unpaid domestic work in judicial decisions on the division of property upon dissolution of a union, pursuant to Act No. 30550;

       (b)That many women and girls are not informed of their economic and property rights upon dissolution of marriage or de facto unions;

       (c)The low availability of state-supported mediation programmes in addressing family conflict in urban and rural areas.

50. Recalling its general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations and its general recommendation No. 29 (2013) on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, the Committee recommends that the State party:

    (a) Strengthen mechanisms to recognize women’s contributions to joint property through unpaid domestic work in judicial decisions on the division of property upon dissolution of unions;

    (b) Inform women of their economic and property rights and provide legal assistance to women to claim these rights upon dissolution of a marriage or union;

    (c) Expedite the adoption of Bill 525/2021-CR, which seeks to amend the Civil Code;

    (d) Strengthen the availability of State-supported mediation programmes and their use in addressing family conflict to all women throughout the State party.