List of issues and questions in relation to the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Peru *

Constitutional, legislative and institutional framework

1.In the report it is indicated that in 2009 three bills on gender equality were presented to Congress as was, in 2011, another bill, on the application of electoral quota for women (paras. 29 and 30). Please provide updated information on the status of these bills. Please also provide updated information on any other legislative measures taken since the submission of the report, as well as on measures taken to harmonize the different levels of the political organization of the State party.

2.According to the report, the State party adopted two equal opportunities plans for women and men (para. 92), created the Plan Peru 2021 (para. 18) and, at the time of the preparation of the report, was developing the Gender Equality Plan (para. 92). In the report it is indicated that the implementation of a gender equality policy is hampered by insufficient budget allocations (para. 95). Please indicate if these plans have been monitored and evaluated and, if so, please provide information on the results achieved. Please also provide information on measures taken to increase budget allocations for the implementation of gender policies in the State party. Please provide updated information on the status of the Gender Equality Plan. Please indicate measures that have been taken to ensure women’s participation in the development and implementation of development programmes.

3.In the report it is indicated that some discriminatory provisions related to marriage and family relations continue to exist and that, at the time of the preparation of the report, those provisions were pending review (para. 98). Please provide information on any legislative reform or review process undertaken to amend provisions that discriminate against women in all areas, in particular in the area of marriage and family relations, employment and the situation of women with disabilities.

Access to justice

4.In the report it is acknowledged that access to justice for women is limited mainly because of a lack of training for the judiciary and the persistence of gender stereotypes (annex I). Please provide information on steps taken to formulate strategies and policies to eliminate institutional, social, economic and other barriers faced by women in gaining access to justice.

National machinery for the advancement of women

5.In the report it is indicated that, under Legislative Decree No. 1098, the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Groups is the national machinery responsible for the advancement of women (para. 20). It is also indicated that challenges include the further strengthening of the Ministry, the continuing decentralization of policies on equality for women and men and collaboration with various women’s organizations in implementing comprehensive policies (para. 24). Please provide detailed information on the mandate, the human and financial resources and the current gender composition of the Ministry. Please also provide information on any cases of discrimination against women monitored by the Ministry and on indicators developed to assess the advancement of women.

Violence against women

6.In the report it is indicated that the budget allocated to the National Programme to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence is 1.2 per cent of the national budget and that the implementation of the Strategic Programme to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence (Act No. 29465) was pending at the time of the preparation of the report (para. 110). In the report, mention is made of the adoption of the Ayacucho Regional Plan to Combat Violence against Women and the establishment of the Ayacucho Regional Mechanism to Prevent and Address Domestic and Sexual Violence (para. 109). In addition, the challenges to granting full reparation to victims of violence during the internal armed conflict are acknowledged (para. 122). Please provide information on whether the budget allocated to the programmes against violence is sufficient, on major challenges impeding their implementation and on measures taken to provide full reparation to women victims of violence during the internal armed conflict. Please also provide information on whether the regional mechanisms to prevent and address domestic and sexual violence have been established in other regions of the State party.

7.Please provide information on the application of Act No. 29819 criminalizing femicide (para. 101).

Participation in political and public life

8.In the report it is indicated that the representation of women in political and public life remains low and that bill No. 00268/2011/JNE regulating the implementation of the gender quota in elections has been before the constitutional and regulatory commission of Congress since September 2011 (para. 49). Please provide information on the challenges faced by the State party to meet the established quotas for women in decision-making positions in public institutions.

9.It is also indicated that women’s representation at the international level remains low, with women representing 22 per cent of the diplomatic service, 11 per cent of ambassadors and 25 per cent of consuls (para. 52). Please provide information on measures taken to increase women’s participation at the international level, including any temporary special measures. Please also provide information on barriers, including gender-based stereotypes, impeding women from participation in political and public life.

Nationality

10.In the report it is acknowledged that the lack of identification papers limits women’s access to education and health services, credit, property ownership and participation in public life (para. 45). Two regional ordinances and 53 municipal ordinances issued in 2011 on free access to identification papers are mentioned. Please provide information on the outcome of the measures taken to ensure the provision of identity documents to women in the State party’s territory.

Education

11.Please provide data disaggregated by sex on the dropout rates at all education levels, in particular in rural areas, as well as information on specific measures taken to reduce the dropout rates of girls, especially when dropping out results from adolescent pregnancies (para. 58). Please provide information on measures taken to eliminate discrimination against disadvantaged groups of girls and young women in the field of education (para. 59). Please also provide information on measures taken to include comprehensive, innovative, more effective and age-appropriate programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights as a regular part of the school curriculum, targeting adolescent girls and boys, including in vocational training schools, with the aim of fostering responsible sexual behaviour and preventing teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV (para. 59).

12.In the report it is indicated that the illiteracy rate among indigenous women is 28.1 per cent, that 47.3 per cent of indigenous women have achieved some level of primary education and only 28.7 per cent of them have achieved some level of secondary education (para. 86). Please provide information on measures taken to improve literacy and school completion rates in the State party, in particular among indigenous women and girls.

Employment

13.In the report the persistent discrimination against women in the field of employment, in particular the persistent gender pay gap, is acknowledged (para. 66). Please provide information on specific measures taken to facilitate women’s access to the formal labour sector, narrow and close the gender pay gap, ensure the implementation of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value and guarantee that women working in the informal sector have access to social security and other benefits. Please also provide information on measures taken to combat forced labour, sexual harassment and extreme poverty.

14.In the report it is indicated that the State party’s legal framework for the protection of maternity was improved by introducing provisions on prenatal and postnatal leave for multiple births, the postponement of prenatal leave, the impact of changes to the expected delivery date and the rights of working mothers after maternity leave (para. 62). Please provide information on the impact of these measures and on whether these measures are applied to women working both in the formal and the informal sectors, including as domestic workers.

Health

15.The challenges that persist in the area of women’s health, in particular with regard to access to modern methods of contraception, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancies, are acknowledged in the report (para. 74). Please provide updated information on measures taken to address these challenges and on the measures in place or envisaged to ensure equal access to health-care services and facilities, in particular sexual and reproductive health-care services, for indigenous and rural women.

16.In the report it is acknowledged that abortion remains the main cause of maternal mortality and it is indicated that in October 2009 a draft project to decriminalize abortion in two specific situations in the Criminal Code was prepared but not discussed in plenary (annex I). Please provide information on measures taken to reduce maternal mortality. Please also provide updated information on whether the draft amendments to the Criminal Code have been adopted.

Women and development

17.In the report it is stated that there is no specific State policy regarding access to credit and markets for women and that the new Water Resources Act has changed the criteria for the allocation of votes by area of irrigated land (paras. 78 and 80), which gives women a broader economic base. Please provide information on measures taken to develop strategies aimed at promoting women’s access to economic and social benefits, especially in rural areas. Please provide detailed information on how the Water Resources Act improves the situation of women with regard to development, as well as information on the place of women in the National Action Plan on Environment.

Indigenous women and women of African descent

18.Please provide information on the measures, as well as the policies and temporary special measures, implemented and envisaged to improve access to justice, education, employment, health-care services, land and natural resources, credit facilities, community services, decision-making, participation in political and public life and the socioeconomic situation of women living in indigenous communities, which are the poorest in the country, as well as of women of African descent.

Women in detention

19.The report contains no information on the situation of women in detention. Please provide information and data, disaggregated by age, geographical location and ethnicity, on women in detention, on the manner in which the hygiene and sanitary conditions of women in prisons are monitored and on whether such conditions have been found to be compatible with general international standards, as well as information on the rehabilitation and reintegration programmes available to women in detention.

Women with disabilities and older women

20.The report contains little information on the situation of women with disabilities in the State party and on the situation of older women. Please provide information on measures taken to improve access of women with disabilities to education, employment and health-care services, taking into account the specific needs of such women. Please provide information on measures taken to improve the situation of older women, with reference to the Committee’s general recommendation No. 27 on older women and protection of their human rights. Please also provide information on the legal remedies that are available to girls and women with disabilities and older women victims of violence.

Amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention

21.Please indicate any progress made towards acceptance of the amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention.