* The present document is being issued without formal editing.

Ninth periodic report submitted by Peru under article 18 of the Convention, due in 2018 *

[Date received: 27 February 2019]

Introduction

1.The Congress of the Republic of Peru ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women on 1 June 1982. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women presented its concluding observations on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Peru on 24 July 2014, inviting the State to submit its ninth periodic report in July 2018. On 11 January 2017, the Government of Peru submitted its follow-up report (CEDAW/C/PER/CO/7-8/Add.1), which contained the progress made in the areas of health and violence in the period from January 2012 to October 2016. This report contains the contributions made through multisectoral consultations, led by the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and by the organizations that are members of the round tables for political participation of women, for Afro‑Peruvian women, for the promotion of the rights of lesbians, for the rights of gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex persons, and of the round table for the promotion of the rights of indigenous or original women (see annex 1).

Part I

A.Access to justice

Article 2: Normative measures against discrimination

2.During the reporting period, the Government of Peru approved 13 measures to combat discrimination against women in their access to justice: the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights implemented three anti-discrimination measures: (i) six itinerant campaigns on “The State in the Service of the People, Bringing Justice to the Citizenry” (2017) in remote parts of the country, providing free legal advice in family law, criminal law and extrajudicial reconciliation, as well as meeting the needs of the victims of forced sterilizations; (ii) free legal assistance and defence for victims in the fields of family law, civil law and labour law, for persons of limited economic resources, as well as defence services for victims of rights violations, to guarantee their access to justice at the national level. Between 2014 and 2017, 324,057 women received legal support through the Ministry’s different services: legal assistance, victim defence and criminal defence (see annex 2); (iii) Procedure for Inclusion in the Register of Victims of Forced Sterilization between 1995 and 2001 and the 1995–2001 Single Data Collection Sheet, from December 2015. The Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion approved and implemented “Action Plans to Promote Compliance with the Labour Rights of Domestic Workers” for 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 through Ministerial Decision No. 221-2013-TR, Ministerial Decision No. 052-2014-TR and Ministerial Decision No. 056-2016-TR; it also approved the protocol on monitoring fulfilment of the obligations of the domestic workers’ regime by means of Superintendency Decision No. 113-2017-SUNAFIL, which contains rules on monitoring compliance with labour regulations. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, it held fairs on the labour rights of women and men domestic workers and conducted training sessions on sexual harassment in domestic work. In conjunction with civil society it carried out ongoing activities and campaigns through: (i) the weekly radio programme called “We Are Not Invisible”, (ii) the mobile information and mobilization unit “Panchita’s Van” and (iii) training at “Panchita’s House” (la Casa de Panchita).

3.In order to improve women’s access to justice, in 2016 the judiciary implemented the “South Lima Legal Platform to Combat Violence against Women and Family Members” (Administrative Decision No. 960-2016-P-CSJLIMASUR/P), pursuant to the 100 Brasilia Regulations Regarding Access to Justice for Vulnerable People. This service has six family courts that operate under Act No. 30364, the Act to Prevent, Penalize and Eradicate Violence against Women and Family Members, providing protection measures for victims (see annex 3). In 2017, the judiciary issued a protocol on legal assistance for persons with disabilities, with guidelines that recognize the full exercise of the legal capacity of persons with disabilities, their autonomy, dignity, and the protection of their fundamental rights; it includes a gender perspective in legal proceedings and within the judiciary.

4.The judiciary conducted nine training activities, instructing 1,166 men and women judges and judicial officials on the gender perspective, gender violence, trafficking in persons and femicide. In 2016, the Judicial Training School held seven courses on gender, interculturalism and women’s human rights. In 2017, it led 27 educational activities, training 1,110 men and women magistrates and judicial assistants, 63 per cent (704) of whom were women. In addition, the School trained 117 men and women staff members on gender issues.

5.In order to improve women’s access to justice, in 2016 and 2017 the Attorney General’s Office, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, trained six interpreters of indigenous languages who have assisted in prosecutorial investigations, resulting in the first prosecutorial decision issued in the Awajún language. In addition, in 2016, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, an intersectional approach based on interculturalism, gender and human rights was incorporated into the Register of Victims of Forced Sterilizations in the Period from 1995 to 2001, which was established by Supreme Decree No. 006-2015-JUS, because most of those affected by forced sterilization are indigenous women who speak an indigenous language. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups collaborate on the Register (see annex 4). In 2016, the Ministry of Culture led efforts to ensure that 2,000 people, especially indigenous women, had an interpreter present at their registration process. In addition, 200 men and women staff members at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups were trained by the Ministry of Culture to provide culturally appropriate services.

6.In order to guarantee that police personnel understand that gender violence cannot be accepted or justified, the Government of Peru has continued to train operational and administrative officers and civilian staff of the National Police in women’s rights and gender equality. Between 2016 and 2017, 630 courses, 586 training workshops, 2,520 awareness-raising activities and 106 informative talks were held. The topics covered include trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation, family violence under the new Code of Criminal Procedure, prevention of family violence, child sexual abuse and discrimination, women’s rights and gender equality and the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment in the National Police. Several of these actions have involved joint and coordinated work between the Peruvian Government and civil society. In 2015, the Government of Peru, through the Ministry of the Interior, incorporated a victims-of-domestic-violence-and-trafficking-in-persons approach into the curriculums of the National Police Training Schools, improving the education of their cadets. In addition, the curriculum of the National Police Professional Training School mandated courses in family violence, the Code on Children and Adolescents, trafficking in persons and the new Code of Criminal Procedure, improving training for the police personnel who receive complaints of gender-based violence to ensure that they provide quality service. Between 2012 and 2017, the National Police received 33,576 complaints of sexual violence from women. Of these, 23,893 were minors (under 18) and 9,683 victims were 18 or older. During this period, the National Police received 778,590 complaints of domestic violence, of which 42,418 were presented by women victims who were minors (under 18), 664,022 women victims aged 18 to 50 and 72,150 women victims aged 51 and older. Through the judiciary, the Government of Peru has promoted initiatives to incorporate the gender perspective in plenary agreements on discrimination and violence against women. In 2012, the judiciary adopted Plenary Agreement No. 01-2012/CJ-116, broadening the definition of the offence of non-consensual sexual activity by adolescents over 14 and under 18 years of age, as provided for in article 170 of the Criminal Code on rape; in 2015, it adopted Plenary Agreement No. 01-2015/CIJ-116, containing guidelines for intercultural proceedings in cases of rape involving girls and young women, and Plenary Agreement No. 04-2015/CIJ-116, which establishes criteria for the evaluation of evidence in cases of sexual violence; in 2016, it adopted Plenary Agreement No. 001-2016/CJ-116, which establishes criteria for the interpretation of the crime of femicide and its scope, and Plenary Agreement No. 002-2016/CJ-116, on how cases of injury and offences involving mental or psychological harm and damage are dealt with in regulations; in 2016, it approved Plenary Agreement No. 141-2016 of the Supreme Court of Justice, which introduces the gender perspective as a policy of the judiciary and establishes the Commission on Gender Justice of the Judiciary; in 2017, District Commissions on Gender Justice were established in the High Courts of Justice across the country, through Correlative Decision No. 47611-2017; and in 2017 action was taken to adopt the technical guidelines for the mainstreaming of the gender approach in the institutional proceedings of the judiciary, through Administrative Decision No. 07-2018-CE-PJ.

7.In connection with actual regulations, bills on a gender-based administration of justice have been developed and are pending adoption by the Executive Council of the Judiciary. These include (i) a gender perspective protocol for judges; (ii) the incorporation of the gender perspective in managerial tools in coordination with the various areas of the judiciary; (iii) guidelines for the proper functioning of the District Commissions on Gender Justice; (iv) guidelines for the use of inclusive language in the judiciary; (v) a rule incorporating the gender quota and equal participation by gender in the judiciary; and (vi) guidelines for the incorporation of the gender perspective in human resource management.

8.With regard to the case of the woman known as L.C., the Government of Peru paid her and her mother economic compensation based on the settlement agreed between the Ministry of Health, L.C.’s mother and L.C. In addition, L.C. was granted coverage under the Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme, with access to all public health services nationwide. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women communication on this case was published in the Official Gazette “El Peruano” on 10 December 2015, and on the official website of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Likewise, the Government of Peru complied with the publication of the Human Rights Committee’s report regarding the K.L. case in the Official Gazette “El Peruano” in 2015, and it was also published on the official website of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. All of this was reported to the Human Rights Committee by the Office of the Supranational Attorney General, in Report No. 0180-2016-JUS/CDJE-PPES (see annex 5).

9.Through Ministry of Health Decision No. 486-2014/MINSA, a national technical handbook was adopted on standards for comprehensive care procedures for women undergoing a voluntary therapeutic termination of pregnancy before the twenty-second week, with their informed consent pursuant to article 119 of the Criminal Code, which approves care procedures at the national level. Technical Health Standard No. 130-MINSA/2017/DGIESP, the technical health standard for the comprehensive and differentiated care of adolescents during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, was also approved through Ministry of Health Decision No. 007-2017/MINSA.

B.National machinery for the advancement of women

Article 3: Guarantee of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms

10.From 2012 to 2017, the budget of the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups rose from 214 million soles (S/.) to S/. 426 million, with average annual growth of S/. 42 million. Continued strengthening of the Ministry is deemed to be of importance.

11.In 2012, the Act on the Organization and Functions of the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups was adopted by Legislative Decree No. 1098, defining the Ministry’s leading role in national and sectoral policies on women and the promotion and protection of vulnerable populations. In the same year, Supreme Decree No. 004-2012-MIMP was adopted, approving the National Plan for Gender Equality 2012–2017 and establishing the Standing Multisectoral Commission responsible for its implementation. The Commission’s presidency and technical secretariat are hosted by the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups. In 2015, the Ministry published a guide to the use of inclusive language entitled “If You Don’t Name Me, I Don’t Exist”, pursuant to Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups Decision No. 015-2015-MIMP, which is the guidance tool on the subject for public agencies.

12.The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups maintains a continuous dialogue with civil society organizations to protect, promote and guarantee the individual and collective rights of women and vulnerable populations. Through a ministerial decision it set up five round tables: the Round Table on Afro-Peruvian Women, the Round Table to Promote the Rights of Indigenous or Aboriginal Women, the Round Table to Promote and Guarantee Women’s Political Participation, the Round Table to Promote the Rights of Gay, Transsexual, Bisexual and Intersex Persons and the Round Table to Promote the Rights of Lesbians (see annex 6), all of which are chaired by the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and bring together civil society organizations and public agencies. The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups chairs the High-level Multisectoral Commission created by Act No. 30364 to promote the right of women to a life free from violence. In 2017, in coordination with local governments, the Ministry took steps to have the networks of men and women active facilitators and community agents known as “REDIFAAC” acknowledged by five District Municipalities.

13.The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups promotes the mainstreaming of the gender perspective in the design and implementation of policies, plans, programmes and projects and in general in all endeavours by the Government to advance towards equality. As at 2017, 13 executive branch ministries, 6 constitutionally autonomous bodies, the judiciary, 28 special and line offices, 5 national programmes, 3 State enterprises and 20 regional governments have created and/or strengthened special agencies, assigning functions for the implementation of gender equality policies at the regional level. These mechanisms are presided over by agency heads and include such key areas as human resources, communications, planning and budgeting, and line departments. By 2016, only 11 public agencies nationwide had this machinery but in July 2017, the establishment of these mechanisms was made obligatory at the national and regional government level by Supreme Decree No. 005-2017-MIMP.

14.In 2013, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups implemented the National System of Gender Indicators, (its application was formalized through Supreme Decree No. 005-2015-MIMP) which uses a computer application to monitor and evaluate the National Plan for Gender Equality indicators. The implementation of the National System of Gender Indicators, as well as the establishment and operation of the Standing Multisectoral Commission of the National Plan for Gender Equality, were included in the framework of the process to modernize State management, regulated by Act No. 27658 (2002), making it obligatory to monitor compliance in official activities and to evaluate results-based public management. As the main instrument guiding the modernization process, the National Policy for the Modernization of Public Management was approved in 2013 through Supreme Decree No. 004-2013-PCM. This policy requires building the leadership capacities of ministries at the national level, including aspects such as the setting of national results targets, the consolidation of information on implementation, the evaluation of results and feedback on the design of policies under its leadership. Efforts to update the 2012–2017 National Plan for Gender Equality have been underway since mid-2017. In that sense, the National System of Gender Indicators will be redesigned to improve its progress reports on results.

C.Temporary special measures

Article 4: Temporary affirmative actions

15.During the reporting period, regulations have been issued to ensure the correct application of the gender quota during electoral processes. The National Elections Board issued Decision No. 272-2014-JNE, Decision No. 271-2014-JNE, Decision No. 269-2014-JNE, Decision No. 270-2014-JNE, Decision No. 305-2015-JNE and Decision No. 0287-2015-JNE, approving the regulations for the registration of candidates and the establishment of electoral quotas during the 2014 regional and municipal elections and the 2016 general elections. Pursuant to these rules, any fractions after the 30 per cent gender quota is applied in the electoral lists are rounded up; and the quota does not apply to the head of the list, to make it more effective.

16.In April 2017, the National Elections Board submitted bill No. 1313/2016-JNE to the Congress of the Republic, proposing adoption of the Electoral Code, an initiative aimed at unifying electoral legislation that in part picks up on the proposals previously submitted by the National Elections Board to promote women’s political participation. Between 2007 and 2011, the National Elections Board submitted three bills proposing gender alternation in the lists of candidates for Congress, regional councils and local councils (bill No. 1688-2007-JNE, bill No. 268-2011-JNE, and bill No. 590-2011-JNE); the proposals considered in these three bills were worked on and agreed upon with the Office of the Ombudsman and civil society. Also, in 2012, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups submitted to Congress bill No. 01779/2012-PE, proposing alternate placements of male and female candidates on electoral lists, starting with the first place. Specifically, bill No. 1313/2016-JNE proposes measures to improve the effectiveness of the gender quota, such as: (i) parity and alternation in the composition of lists for Congress, regional councils, municipal councils and the Andean Parliament; (ii) application of the quota separately to the lists of incumbents and to the list of alternates; accessory candidates will be placed in the same position as incumbents on the respective list in terms of gender correspondence; and (iii) limitation of overlapping quotas (gender, youth and indigenous) by proposing that a single candidate can comply with a maximum of two quotas at a time.

17.Bill No. 1313/2016-JNE also proposes that the gender quota be applied until completion of the process to register on the list, and not only at the time of applying. Therefore, in the event of the death, resignation or removal of a candidate, he or she must be replaced by an alternate, in accordance with the gender quota; otherwise, the list must be declared invalid. Similarly, the Congress of the Republic has received for its evaluation bill No. 834/2016-CR, aimed at strengthening women’s political participation. This instrument is an affirmative action bill designed to guarantee the effective participation of women and men in the political life of the country, on an equal basis, for elected office and during the entire electoral process. It is also evaluating bill No. 1024/2016-CR, drafted to establish statutory minimum quotas for women on the boards of listed stock companies, which has been passed upon first reading, to be voted on by the special committee. This bill aims to achieve balanced representation in the participation in businesses of men and women, and to guarantee the full exercise of their rights to equality, dignity, free development and well-being, by preventing discrimination by sex and promoting equity and ensuring equal opportunities. The bill proposes the establishment of a thirty per cent quota for the total number of board members.

D.Stereotypes, discriminatory practices and violence against women

Article 5: Sociocultural patterns of behaviour and discrimination

18.The information in this section takes into consideration the recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in a communication dated 26 April 2017, assessing follow-up report CEDAW/C/PER/ CO/7-8/Add.1, dated 11 January 2017, and covering the progress made by the Government of Peru from 2012 to October 2016, specifically with regard to violence against women and to women’s health.

19.According to the 2017 Demographic and Family Health Survey, 65.4 per cent of women in Peru who have ever been in a relationship have suffered some form of violence perpetrated by their husband or partner, a proportion that has fallen by 8.7 percentage points since 2012. In 2012, 74.1 per cent of women who had ever been in a relationship suffered some kind of violence from their husband or partner; in 2013 the figure dropped to 71.5 per cent, in 2014 to 72.4 per cent, in 2015 to 70.8 per cent and in 2016 to 68.2 per cent. To strengthen efforts to protect victims and to prosecute and punish aggressors, the budget of the National Programme to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence of the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups has been increased by S/. 78.3 million.

20.In 2015, pursuant to Act No. 30364, the National System for the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women and Family Members was established, as reported to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in document CEDAW/C/PER/CO/7-8/Add.1. The Office of the Ombudsman has reported that, while this is an important step forward, obstacles remain for the Government of Peru. These include an insufficient budget for the services of the system of administration of justice and an overburdened National Police, judiciary and Institute of Legal Medicine which all need more staff and improved infrastructure to meet statutory deadlines. The physical and mental health care of women victims of rape requires spaces that guarantee confidentiality; as well as information and medication to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and/or unwanted pregnancies.

21.The 2016–2021 National Plan against Gender-Based Violence was adopted pursuant to Supreme Decree No. 008-2016-MIMP. The initiative is led by the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and involves public institutions dedicated to preventing violence and caring for its victims. The Plan mandates executive branch ministries to allocate financial and human resources to put it into effect and has a workplan and a 2016–2018 biannual operational plan.

22.In 2016, the coverage of the Women’s Emergency Centres was expanded geographically, providing a specialized and interdisciplinary service to women victims of violence in all of the country’s provinces. In 2017, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups, under an agreement with the Peruvian National Police, opened 50 Women’s Emergency Centres in police stations throughout the country. Between December 2016 and December 2017, pursuant to an agreement with regional and local governments, the Ministry established 12 temporary refuges nationwide that provide, among other things, integrated care for women victims of violence, including emotional support, promotion of autonomy, support in decision-making and capacity-building. In 2017, 1,592 women living in shelters received psychological support. The existing 295 Women’s Emergency Centres attended to a total of 95,317 cases of violence against women and family members and sexual violence in 2017. In 2017, the Urgent Care Facility of the National Programme to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence of the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups attended to 4,040 urgent cases involving victims of violence against women and family members and victims of sexual violence. Reports of cases are taken through the 100 hotline and social media. The Urgent Care Facility’s team of professionals is deployed to the scene; provides emergency psychological, social and legal support; presents the necessary formal complaints; and makes the pertinent social arrangements.

23.The Línea 100 hotline was used for 65,068 calls in 2017, of which 55,058 were from women and 10,010, from men; the main reasons for calling were acts of physical and psychological violence (28,812) and psychological violence (31,860). Thirty-five per cent were between 26 and 35 years of age, 31 per cent between 36 and 45 years of age and 13 per cent between 18 and 25 years of age. Fifty-eight per cent (37,469 calls) were referred to the Women’s Emergency Centres for interdisciplinary follow-up.

24.Thanks to the Strategy for Prevention, Care and Protection in Situations of Domestic and Sexual Violence in Rural Areas, adopted through Ministerial Decision No. 273-2012-MIMP, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups achieved a presence in 27 districts across the country and in 2017 managed to establish, in a participatory fashion, 91 communal mechanisms for prevention, care and protection in situations of violence. These protocols describe the duties of each authority or actor, which will strengthen protection and improve community response.

25.The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups has entered into agreements with three local governments covering the operation of institutional rehabilitation centres that provide psychological care and social orientation for aggressors. Men convicted of violence against women or against whom protective measures have been issued receive specialized and comprehensive attention, in order to construct models of equality and respect. In 2017, the institutional rehabilitation centres provided services to 1,689 men. The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups has a guide to integrated care in institutional rehabilitation centres that establishes guidelines for the provision of services to male aggressors who are undergoing a process of psychoeducational intervention. By its Decision No. 4272-2016-MP-FN, in 2016 the Attorney General’s Office established a working group to draft the regulations of the Central Register of Victims.

26.In 2017, the Ministry of Culture conducted a campaign to combat gender discriminatory stereotypes in which participants debated a film whose main character was an Andean and migrant woman. The work depicted discriminatory practices based on ethnicity, culture and gender. The campaign reached more than 1,530,000 people. Since 2014, the Ministry of Culture has taken steps to encourage the media to promote content, including the television programme featuring the aforementioned character, that guarantees the rights to dignity, equality and non-discrimination and to ethnic and cultural identity. Specially trained teachers have improved the skill sets of students and parents to prevent family and sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, through the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and the Ministry of Education. Between 2016 and 2017, this training was conducted in 393 educational institutions in the country’s 26 regions to combat violence against children and adolescents in Peru. Joint efforts and activities in the implementation of programmes aimed at preventing and eradicating violence against women and family members will be strengthened as a result of an inter-institutional cooperation framework agreement signed in 2017 between the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and the Ministry of Education. In the same year, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights organized 14 talks on combating violence against women in 10 of the country’s Departments, which were attended by 1,062 people.

27.As part of its efforts in the field of communication for behavioural change and the eradication of stereotypical gender patterns, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups conducted four nationwide campaigns in 2016 and 2017. Forty-eight schools and 18 universities participated in the “Love without Violence, Make a Difference” communication strategy, and information was provided to 27,814 people, including schoolchildren and university students. The “Violence Can Look Like Love. Open Your Eyes” campaign, conducted on 14 February 2017, was the result of a partnership with the private sector involving 5 radio stations, serving 23 cities and 8,346 people, including authorities and the general public. Also, in February and May 2017, the campaign’s radio spot was broadcast 2,361 times over 12 weeks, reaching 34.9 per cent of the target audience an average of 6.3 times. This proportion is the equivalent of 1,960,000 people, in a campaign lasting a week, out of a universe of 5,618,000 people. The “The First Step Is Knowing” campaign, which used the “Toximeter”, was based on the use of information technologies to develop a mobile application called a “Toximeter” (a test to detect situations of partner violence, whose result indicates a risk level and shows how toxic a relationship is). In addition, it provides information on Government services related to violence against women; makes recommendations regarding better treatment in a partnership and promotes egalitarian relationships; in 2017, 145,896 people received the message of this campaign and the “Toximeter” application was downloaded 47,834 times. The fourth campaign took place against the backdrop of the 25 November 2017 “Call 100, Call out Violence against Women” campaign, which reached 170,824 people through 743 mass mobilizations (fairs, processions, caravans, etc.) conducted nationwide by the Women’s Emergency Centres. In 2016, the Ministry of Education, with support from the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and the Ministry of the Interior, relaunched the campaign “I Know How to Take Care of My Body”, with the aim of raising awareness among children and adolescents of the importance of detecting and reporting possible sexual violence. Parents and teachers were given tools to enable them to detect incidences of violence and to identify channels to submit complaints and obtain care services. The campaign was broadcast on television and radio in Spanish, Shipibo and Quechua, has a website (www.yosecuidarmicuerpo.pe), and distributes printed materials. The website received 34,833 visits, the most visited section being that of children (2,486 visits).

28.Under the 2016–2021 National Plan against Gender-Based Violence, in 2017 the judiciary introduced an integrated module in justice against violence against women and family members in the High Court of South Lima, to provide specialized quality and rapid care for victims of violence. In addition, the Attorney General’s Office installed five Gesell chambers for crimes of sexual violence and the Ministry of Health established 31 Community Mental Health Centres nationwide, which have psychiatrists and specialized services trained in children and adolescents, adults and the elderly, addictions and social and community participation. In 2017, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights drew up guidelines for the handling of cases of violence against women with the aim of establishing a guide that will enable victims’ and legal aid public defenders, both men and women, to consider a road map for the care for victims of violence.

29.With regard to public policies for older women, the 2013–2017 National Plan for Older Persons, adopted by Supreme Decree No. 002-2013-MIMP, sets out the design and implementation of information and awareness-raising activities to change societal conducts and attitudes towards older women, by helping to construct a culture of good treatment and recognition. The Women’s Emergency Centres conduct preventive and promotional activities, providing information on services for the elderly. In 2017, the Women’s Emergency Centres served 5,594 older persons, of whom 76 per cent were women and 24 per cent, men. A total of 16,257 older persons were assisted in the period from 2013 to 2017.

30.Four regional governments are improving their response to cases of violence against women and family members. The regional Government of Arequipa established a women’s emergency centre in its facilities and has taken steps towards setting up two residential care centres for abandoned children. The Regional Government of Ayacucho has established a Social and Emotional Care Centre in Huamanga, which provides care for victims of family and sexual violence; the Regional Government of Tacna established a temporary shelter for women victims of violence; and the Regional Government of Tumbes, in 2017 supported the establishment of an women’s emergency centre in the family police station. In 2017, the Attorney General’s Office created two shelters for victims of sexual and family violence in Madre de Dios and Tarma.

31.The basic protocol for joint action on comprehensive care and protection of women and family members against violence is a tool used in the national system that was established by Act No. 30364, and was validated in 2017 in Arequipa, Ayacucho and Apurímac, with adoption expected for 2018 (see annex 7). In 2017, work began to update the Inter-institutional Protocol on Action against Femicide, Attempted Femicide and High-risk Partner Violence and adoption is expected in 2018.

32.In 2017, Legislative Decree No. 1297 was issued to protect children and adolescents without parental care or at risk of losing care, guiding and defining the Government’s activities to protect such children and adolescents, keeping them with their family of origin or protecting them to ensure family reintegration.

33.In 2017, Legislative Decree No. 1323 was adopted, bolstering efforts to combat femicide, family violence and gender-based violence, and Act No. 30710 was adopted, amending the final paragraph of article 57 of the Criminal Code, extending the prohibition on suspended sentences for those convicted of minor injuries caused by violence against women. Under this Act, the execution of sentences may not be suspended for persons convicted of assault or minor injury to women: (i) when the victim is a woman and is injured because of her status as such, and (ii) when the victim is pregnant. In 2017, Act No. 30609 was also published, amending the Code of Criminal Enforcement to combat family violence and gender-based violence, as well as to protect the rights of adult and adolescent women and girls, which prevents those convicted of crimes of rape of minors from being granted reduced sentences; it also stipulated that those convicted of such crimes as rape, femicide and trafficking in persons shall not benefiting from supervised released and parole. As at December 2017, the following are pending debate and approval by the Plenary of the Congress of the Republic (see annex 8): (i) the opinion on bill No. 072/2016-CR, which proposes to amend the Criminal Code, extending the ban on suspended sentences for those convicted of minor injuries caused by violence against women; (ii) the opinion on bill No. 176/2016-CR, bill No. 178/2016-CR, bill No. 877/2016-CR and bill No. 1026/2016-CR, which proposes to amend the Criminal Code and the Code on Children and Adolescents with respect to the criminal penalty for acts of violence against women and family members; (iii) the opinion on bill No. 062/2016-CR, bill No. 348/2016-CR, bill No. 471/2016-CR, bill No. 473/2016-CR, 788/2016-CR and bill No. 1405/2016-CR, which strengthens the rules for the prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women and family members; and (iv) the opinion on bill No. 793/2016-CR and bill No. 254/2016-CR, which proposes an Act to Strengthen the National Convictions Register and information systems to guarantee the protection of young and adolescent women and girls and the prevention of violence.

E.Access to justice in cases of violence

34.In 2017, the Judicial Training School worked to build the capacities of 881 women and men magistrates and judicial assistants, through 21 courses on violence against women, and has conducted various training courses on gender-based violence, given to 414 people including criminal prosecutors and staff of the Institute of Legal Medicine.

35.In order to strengthen the capacities of health professionals, in 2017 the Ministry of Health approved the “Technical Guide to the Mental Health Care of Women in a Situation of Violence caused by a Partner or Former Partner”, adopted by Ministerial Decision No. 070-2017-MINSA, establishing identification, diagnosis and treatment procedures to support the recovery of the mental health of women in a situation of violence, caused by a partner or former partner, who attend health facilities in institutions providing health services at the national level. With this tool, the Ministry of Health, together with international cooperation, strengthened the capacities of health professionals as regional facilitators for mental health care in first level and second level health-care facilities. It trained 108 health professionals from coastal, upland and jungle regions and provinces. In cases of sexual violence, the Ministry of Health has incorporated activities to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections and AIDS so trained health personnel can provide emergency care to victims of sexual violence who are at high risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection or HIV, since care must be provided within 72 hours of an assault.

36.The Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups has strengthened the capacities of 2,867 judicial operators and civil servants in the application of Act No. 30364, the Act on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women and Family Members, through onsite training days in different regions of the country and other ongoing activities, in coordination with the Congress of the Republic, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Directorate-General of the National Police.

37.Between 2014 and 2017, the National Police of Peru conducted 79 preventive and promotional civic health campaigns and activities across the country, providing psychological support through counselling, dynamics, games and other activities, empowering women in the knowledge of their rights and teaching them to lose their fear of their aggressor and to denounce violent acts in whatever environment they find themselves; these events conducted by psychology professionals benefited 25,235 people. In addition, 188 talks, 1,170 awareness-raising campaigns and 516 events were held on the subject.

38.The Single Complaints Hotline of the Ministry of the Interior was established by Ministerial Decision No. 1254-2014-IN to provide the victims of violence with greater means of protection. It links the trafficking hotline, the organized crime hotline and the national hotline in a single telephone number: 1-818, thereby creating the Single Complaints Hotline, which takes calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and receives complaints and reports from citizens related to trafficking in persons and organized crime, as well as acts of corruption and functional misconduct on the part of servants and officials of the Civil Service. Similarly, an email address (denuncias@mininter.gob.pe), a mobile application and an application called “App Policía Perú” have been set up and can be found through the website www.mininter.gob.pe/denuncias.

39.The Hotline has dealt with complaints and reports related to violations of women’s rights, including failure to receive complaints at police stations, which have led to immediate action and coordination with the agencies involved, to ensure that those affected receive service. Complaints were received of trafficking in persons (80 in 2015, 100 in 2016 and 112 in 2017) and most victims were women. The National Police of Peru rescued 126 women victims of trafficking in persons. The National Police has an Emergency Operations Hotline (users dial 105) and between 2013 and 2017 it answered 202,514 calls relating to family violence. This hotline allows for greater efficiency in police enforcement of protection measures issued in favour of victims, a patrol car being sent in response to any report of an emergency. Also, the Police has 2 WhatsApp numbers to ensure a rapid response.

40.Between 2014 and 2016, the National Police trained personnel from the Family Section in registering complaints of family violence. Since the publication of Act No. 30364, the Act to Prevent, Penalize and Eradicate Violence against Women and Family Members, new types of violence such as physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence and economic or property-related violence have been added, so that they can be considered aggravating circumstances when registering complaints. Since 2017, the Police Complaints Computer System has been able to record georeference data for crime scenes, allowing for a crime mapping. It also registers court-ordered protection measures, using a system designed and approved in 2017 and progressively implemented nationwide beginning in 2018. Pursuant to current regulations, there are plans to develop a register of protective measures as part of the Police Complaints Computer System. This register, for the whole country, will contain specific information such as the details of the victim, the offender, the grounds for the measure and the georeference of the victim and the offender’s address, to ensure victims are protected in accordance with law.

41.The Attorney General’s Office has prepared a guide to the assessment of mental injury suffered by adult victims of intentional violence and a guide to the single interview procedure for taking victim statements pursuant to Act No. 30364 on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women and Members of the Family Unit; and for interviewing boys and male teenagers who are victims of violence; and a guide to forensic psychological assessment in cases of violence against women and members of the family unit and other cases of violence. In 2014, the Attorney General’s Office ordered the appointment of special prosecutors to investigate femicides. By 2016, there were 33 offices of special femicide prosecutors, with one in Callao added to the list in 2017 by Decision No. 4606-2016-MP-FN. The Public Prosecution Service also set up a working group of prosecutors, forensic doctors and psychologists to draw up an investigation protocol based on the Latin American Model Protocol for the investigation of gender-related killings of women, pursuant to Office of the Attorney General Decision No. 1735-2015-MP-FN.

42.In 2017, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups commenced work on a national observatory on violence and its corresponding web portal, with the collaboration of international technical assistance. The Crime Observatory of the Public Prosecution Service, established in 2005, continues to carry out its work, providing information on violence against women, trafficking in persons and femicide.

43.The Office of the Ombudsman drafted documents on activities and guidelines for the provision of care in cases of family violence, pursuant to Act 30364 and its regulations, through consultations with the Ombudsman, and also published guidelines for the regime of Ombudsman intervention in cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents.

F.Violence against women in conflict situations

44.With regard to reparations for the victims of rapes carried out in the period of violence from 1980 to 2000, the Reparations Board has identified and paid 4,624 victims. Although Supreme Decree No. 051-2011-PCM of 16 June 2011 set the deadline for the process to identify beneficiaries of the economic reparations programme at 31 December 2011, that limit was annulled by Supreme Decree No. 012-2016-JUS, ordering the reopening of the process to determine and identify the civilian, military and police beneficiaries of the reparations programme. The Office of the Ombudsman has underscored the importance of generating disaggregated information that accounts for the development of the reparations process in the specific case of women victims of sexual violence during the period of violence between 1980 to 2000. Overall, according to the High-level Multisectoral Commission, 92,007 people were served by this programme in August 2017, of whom 91,404 people have been paid a total of S/. 287,254,954.93. However, according to the figures for the years since 2011, as at 2016 there were still 4,199 beneficiaries awaiting attention. In that connection, under Ministerial Decision No. 176-2017-JUS, a payment of S/. 5,888,761.41 was budgeted, to serve 829 beneficiaries. As at December 2017, 25 lists of beneficiaries have been approved, the last being the one published in 2017, pursuant to Ministerial Decision No. 347-2017-JUS. As of 2017, a total of 42,445 women have been registered in the Central Register of Victims, representing 50.49 per cent of all those on the register, which is open (see annex 9).

G.Trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution

Article 6: Suppressing trafficking in women and sexual exploitation

45.The Government of Peru approved the 2011–2016 National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The government budget allocation for the Plan increased, from S/. 400,000.00 in 2012 to S/. 6,693,569.50 in 2017. The 2017–2021 National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons was adopted on 8 June 2017. The Plan defines the responsibilities of State bodies in the fight against trafficking; and the Multisectoral Committee against Trafficking in Persons and Illegal Smuggling of Migrants has been managing the budget allocation in coordination with these bodies.

46.The Government has begun to decentralize the implementation of public policy on trafficking, coordinating with regional governments. The Ministry of the Interior, the competent body in this field, has provided technical support to 19 regions to assist them with the development of regional plans, two of which benefited from coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. In 2017, 19 local boards to combat trafficking in persons and the illegal smuggling of migrants were established in various departments across the country.

47.The Ministry of the Interior manages the Technical Secretariat of the Multisectoral Committee against Trafficking in Persons. Since 2012, the Secretariat has been developing a regulatory and institutional framework based on the minimum standards that States must attain with regard to the prevention and prosecution of crimes, and the protection and support of victims of crimes. In this regard, new offences related to or committed in conjunction with trafficking in persons have been incorporated into criminal legislation in order to punish forms of exploitation such as sexual exploitation, forced labour and slavery; the victims in most of the cases investigated and tried are adult and adolescent women, and girls. Regulations adopted up to December 2017 include: (i) Supreme Decree No. 001-2016-IN, promulgated in 2016, which enacts the adoption of the implementing regulations for Act No. 28950, the Act on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, and establishes the standing Multisectoral Committee against Trafficking in Persons and Illegal Smuggling of Migrants; (ii) Act No. 29918, which declares the twenty-third of September of each year National Day against Trafficking in Persons; (iii) Act No. 30251, which completes the definition of the offence of trafficking in persons; (iv) Ministerial Decision No. 0430-2016-IN, which approves the update by the National Police of Peru of the protocol for the care and protection of victims of and witnesses to the offence of trafficking in persons; (v) Supreme Decree No. 005-2016-IN, which adopts the Intersectoral Protocol for the Prevention and Prosecution of the Offence of Trafficking in Persons, and the Protection, Care and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking in Persons; (vi) Legislative Decree No. 1323, which strengthens measures to combat femicide, domestic violence and gender-based violence; and (vii) Supreme Decree No. 017-2017-IN, which approves the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2017–2021.

48.According to the national police system for registration of and statistics on trafficking in persons and related crimes, between 2012 and 2017 the National Police of Peru received 2,264 complaints of trafficking in persons at the national level. The incidents were reported to have affected 7,967 victims, of whom 7,458 were women, including girls, adolescents and adults. In this connection, the Office of the Ombudsman indicated the need to ensure full compliance with the protocol of the National Police for the protection and care of victims of and witnesses to the offence of trafficking in persons, which was adopted in 2016, so that, in addition to other means of protecting victims’ human rights, the confidentiality of victims’ identities is guaranteed.

49.In 2014 the Attorney General’s Office drew up a protocol for the care of victims of trafficking in persons, in which it set out shared guidelines for the protection of victims in accordance with the roles assigned under the law and the relevant international standards, to prevent revictimization. In the document, a standard route is established to ensure the protection of victims of trafficking in persons. Since 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has converted some criminal prosecution offices into prosecutors’ offices specializing in trafficking in persons; the Attorney-General’s Office also has a Victims and Witnesses Unit, which is dedicated to providing assistance to victims of and witnesses to trafficking. In 2017, the Judicial Training School gave four courses on the approach to take to cases of trafficking, benefiting 134 women and men judges and auxiliary judicial staff. Furthermore, the judiciary has categorized the sentences handed down in cases of trafficking in persons, at a statistical level. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has strengthened the capacity of the judicial and social service providers in 10 regions and conducted awareness-building activities that have benefited 30,208 people.

50.In 2017, three trafficking-prevention campaigns were carried out: (i) “Blue Heart”, a multisectoral initiative to raise vulnerable groups’ awareness regarding trafficking in persons; (ii) “There’s no Trafficking in Persons without Customers”, which was rolled out in the Madre de Dios region to encourage people to question the normalized practices that involve this form of violence and which targeted the most vulnerable groups, namely girls and boys, adolescents and women in the region, as well as truck drivers; and (iii) “Watch Out, They’re Looking for You”, which was conducted in September in the context of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, and was intended to highlight how easily traffickers capture victims and to build people’s awareness of the methods of capture used. Also in 2017, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights executed a prevention campaign called “I Give Trafficking a Zero”, aimed at secondary school students and carried out under the National Policy on Trafficking in Persons and Related Forms of Exploitation; the campaign benefited more than 12,000 students of both genders nationwide.

51.To facilitate the social reintegration of women victims of trafficking, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and local government bodies established two temporary shelters to house victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Ministry and the Provincial Municipality of Tambopata established a temporary shelter in that municipality in 2014, through an agreement; the second shelter is in Lima and is operated by a religious organization.

Part II

H.Participation in political and public life

Article 7: Participation in political and public life

52.In the framework of a Women and Civic Inclusion programme, the National Elections Board has implemented strategies to empower women in the political arena. Electoral planning in advance of the 2014 regional and municipal elections and the 2016 general elections incorporated gender equality into its educational strategies. The Government is also working with groups who have traditionally been excluded, such as women, young people and indigenous people. In the 2016 elections, people of African descent and the lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex population were incorporated as priority targets. In the context of the 2014 regional and municipal elections and the 2016 general elections, the following advances with regard to women’s political empowerment stand out. First, there were improvements with regard to the inclusion of a gender perspective in the drafting of the government plans of the political groupings that take part in elections. The National Elections Board assisted 300 political organizations with the development of their regional government plans. For the 2016 general elections, the commitment to incorporate a gender perspective in the drafting of government plans was included in the Ethical Electoral Pact. Between 2012 and 2017, the National Elections Office provided 48 offers of technical support on the inclusion of a gender perspective. Second, the National Elections Board and the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups strengthened women’s capacity to run successful electoral campaigns and to carry out their functions should they be elected through an online course, which 280 people from the country’s 25 regions take each year (see annex 10). Third, incidences of political harassment during election periods were identified and a road map to shape the institutional response was established. Fourth, campaigns and publicity were used to encourage women, young people and indigenous people to present themselves as candidates in the 2014 regional and municipal elections. Of all the political organizations that took part in those elections, 88 per cent signed the Political Inclusion Agreements. In the run-up to the 2016 general elections, information was disseminated on the proposals for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex persons contained in the government plans. Fifth, the government plans and curricula vitae of men and women candidates for regional presidencies were translated into the indigenous languages spoken in the departments where the indigenous quota was applied. Sixth, for the 2016 general elections, the media coverage given to female candidates and to government proposals aimed at women was monitored in partnership with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA); this revealed the fact that women congressional candidates for Lima were not receiving equitable coverage. Women comprised 32.8 per cent of candidates in this constituency, but they occupied, on average, 23.3 per cent of the media space allocated to candidates for Congress in the media that were monitored. With regard to the quality of information, the monitoring demonstrated that only 20 per cent of news about elections related to their political proposals. The media focused their coverage of gender equality proposals on three issues: decriminalization of abortion, same sex marriage and compensation for victims of forced sterilization. Finally, on the initiative of the National Elections Board, the major mass media outlets signed the Ethical Electoral Pact, committing to contribute to the creation of a climate of respect during the electoral campaign, guided by the principles of equality, equity and neutrality with regard to access to electoral publicity and treatment of information.

53.Since 2012, the 2012–2015 National Education and Civic Training Plan and the 2016–2019 National Education and Civic Training Plan have incorporated specific actions to reduce the gaps in the political representation of women, young people and members of indigenous communities. Specifically, the 2016–2019 National Education and Civic Training Plan is built on a cross-cutting approach that addresses human rights, gender, intercultural and intergenerational issues through educational interventions, and is focused on the following priority populations: women, young people, persons with disabilities, persons of African descent and lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex persons. The budget for the implementation of the 2016–2019 National Education and Civic Training Plan was increased from S/. 155,480.00 in 2016 to S/. 251,340.00 in 2017. However, the budget of the women’s political inclusion programme of the National Directorate for Education and Civic Training was reduced, from S/. 128,854.56 in 2013, to S/. 122,290.86 in 2014 and then to S/. 97,780.00 in 2015. This was a consequence of a reduction of the total budget of the organizational unit.

54.With regard to legislative measures taken to address political harassment, to date there is no law to address this type of violence that women confront. In 2012, civil society organizations presented a preliminary bill to the Congress of the Republic that would make political harassment punishable. In 2014, the National Elections Board and the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups committed to the process that had been initiated by civil society and the Office of the Ombudsman in 2012. In 2015, an interinstitutional working group for strengthening women’s political participation was formed by means of Decision No. 192-2015-MIMP. Through this group, the National Elections Board developed a reference framework for the identification and follow-up of political harassment of women candidates during the 2014 regional and municipal elections. In November 2016, bill No. 673/2016-CR, an Act to prevent, punish and eradicate political harassment of women, which was based on the earlier preliminary draft, was presented. The bill establishes mechanisms for the prevention of, response to, punishment of and eradication of political harassment of women in all its forms, with a view to ensuring that women are able to fully exercise their political rights without discrimination. At present, neither the Constitutional and Regulatory Commission nor the Justice and Human Rights Commission has issued an opinion on the bill.

55.In its bill No. 1313/2016-JNE, adopting the Electoral Code, the National Elections Board has included a punishment for cases of members or candidates of political organizations politically harassing women candidates for publicly elected office. The punishment consists of a fine and a notification to the Attorney General’s Office and the competent authorities. If the aggressor is a media company, journalist or other citizen not affiliated with a political organization, the behaviour will be referred to the Attorney General’s Office and the competent authorities. In the run-up to the 2016 general elections, the National Elections Board drew up and implemented a road map for responding to cases of political harassment; it was approved by the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups and was designed to establish channels for both making and responding to allegations, starting at the level of the special polling staff and going up to the plenary of the National Elections Board. This mechanism was put into practice nationwide by the 60 special polling staff involved in the 2016 electoral process, and facilitated the recording of three cases of political rights being threatened, in three departments; the allegedly wronged women politicians were running to be members of the Congress of the Republic. In addition, the Women’s Emergency Centres of the National Programme to Combat Domestic and Sexual Violence offer advice and support to victims of political harassment.

56.Since the 2016 general elections, the Ethical Electoral Pact, a document that is signed by the political organizations participating in the electoral process, has included a commitment to reject and eradicate all forms of discrimination against individuals or groups of individuals on grounds of race, ethnicity, sex, age, origin and religion, among others, as well as all acts that constitute political harassment or that jeopardize or threaten the exercise of fundamental rights, in particular women’s right to political participation.

57.In the period from 2014 to 2017, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups carried out awareness-raising campaigns on reconciling family and work responsibilities; fair family relationships, responsible fatherhood and shared responsibility; institutional lactation rooms; and paternity leave. The campaigns targeted women and men workers, civil servants and teachers in public and private workplaces, public and private educational establishments, regional and local government offices and private financial institutions. Activities were attended by 3,360 women and 1,666 men.

58.The National Plan for Older Adults is intended to increase the social and political participation of older adults, empowering them as agents of community development. It is designed to strengthen the participation of older adults at the national, regional and local levels through the Integrated Care Centres for Older Persons. As of 31 December 2017, there were 610 Integrated Care Centres for Older Persons managed by local governments, both in provinces and districts, enabling 30,278 older adults to have access to a Centre; of those with access, 65.8 per cent are women and 34.2 per cent are men.

I.Nationality

Article 9: Exercise of nationality

59.In the reporting period the Government of Peru, through the National Registry Office, has made significant progress with regard to the documentation of the population, reducing the number of women and girls without identity documents, in particular those living in extreme poverty and/or remote and isolated communities. As of 2016, 99.4 per cent of Peruvian men and women 18 years of age or older who reside in the country possess a National Identity Document, as do 98.6 per cent of young men and women under 18 years of age. Therefore, the goal set out in the Bicentenary Plan is that by 2021 all Peruvian men and women will exercise their right to identification documentation, and those figures will stand at 100 per cent. In greater detail, and in accordance with the figures provided by the National Registry Office, in 2012 15,130,940 women and 15,249,711 men held a National Identity Document; in 2013 15,635,586 women and 15,525,775 men held a National Identity Document; in 2014 15,975,375 women and 15,863,264 held a National Identity Document; in 2015 16,155,191 women and 16,269,195 men held a National Identity Document; in 2016 16,437,924 women and 16,555,760 men held a National Identity Document; and in 2017 16,678,742 women and 16,799,729 men held a National Identity Document.

60.The Government of Peru has linked its social programmes to the exercise of the right to identity, across all its different regions (urban, rural and Amazonian), taking into account special characteristics, such as disability. Noteworthy advances have been made in improving women’s access to the National Identity Document. According to the national strategic programming survey, coverage has risen from 97.2 per cent in 2012 to 99.2 per cent in 2017; however, it is important to continue to close this gap, which especially affects women in situations of poverty and vulnerability. Along these same lines, the Ministry of Health, in coordination with the National Registry Office, has implemented an online system for the registration of births, which enables the timely registration of newborn girls and boys in the establishments where births are attended; this generates a birth certificate, thereby contributing to their registration in the national database (Padrón Nominal).

Part III

J.Education

Article 10: Women’s education

61.Between 2012 and 2017, the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion supported women in situations of poverty and vulnerability to exercise their right to education throughout their lives (early childhood, childhood and adolescence), across all the country’s regions (urban, rural and Amazonian), through two social programmes and one agreement. We can report progress with regard to men’s and women’s access to educational services at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels: in 2017 the rate of participation in early childhood education is 82 per cent for girls and 81 per cent for boys aged between 3 and 5; in primary education, the rate is 91.2 per cent for girls and 91.6 per cent for boys between 6 and 11 years of age; and in secondary education the rate is 83.3 per cent for girls and 84.4 per cent for boys between 12 and 16 years of age. It is critical to continue to close this gap, which particularly affects girls in situations of poverty and vulnerability.

62.Since 2013, the Ministry of Education has had a virtual platform, “We See It!”, against school violence, which facilitates the reporting of incidences of violence in the school environment, between peers and committed by staff against students – including incidences of sexual violence. This platform enables any victim or witness to report a case of school violence, and thereby serves as a warning system for educational establishments that can prevent the escalation of acts of aggression and school violence, by facilitating early reporting of and response to incidents, and the involvement of other child protection systems. Between 2013 and 2017, 16,773 cases of school violence were reported on the platform; 8,108 of those affected women students.

63.In 2012, the implementing regulations for Act No. 28044, the General Education Act, were adopted by means of Supreme Decree No. 011-2012-ED. They provide for inclusive education, guaranteeing that the State will offer high-quality educational services to populations who are vulnerable by reason of poverty, ethnicity, health, disability, talent or extreme talent, age, gender, social risk factors and all other considerations. In addition, the regulations include measures to ensure that educational services are tailored to populations’ specific characteristics and needs, creating the conditions necessary for students to attain the educational objectives desired. The guidelines for the start of the 2013 academic year, National Guidelines and Standards for the Management of Basic and Technical Productive Educational Establishments, were adopted by means of Ministerial Decision No. 0431-2012-ED. They integrate inclusion in a cross-cutting manner and provide for the reservation of two places for students with special educational needs. In 2016 the Standards and Guidelines for Structuring the 2016 Academic Year in Basic Educational Establishments and Programmes were adopted by means of Ministerial Decision No. 572-2015-MINEDU, to facilitate inclusive education in classrooms.

64.As concerns non-formal education, in 2016 the National Environmental Education Plan was adopted by means of Supreme Decree No. 017-2012-ED. It contains guidelines that incorporate gender and intercultural perspectives in a cross-cutting manner and was developed in accordance with the National Environmental Education Policy, jointly by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Education. Also, in 2014, the National Plan for Fundamental Obligations and Rights Education was adopted and published, having been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; it provides for a focus on gender, interculturalism and environmental stewardship. The gender content includes gender equality.

K.Employment

Article 11: Women’s employment

65.In 2013, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion adopted the Guide to Best Practices for Equality and Non-Discrimination in Access to Employment and Jobs, by means of Ministerial Decision No. 159-2013-TR. The Guide promotes good practices for eradicating discrimination in the world of work, with an emphasis on job competitions and selection processes. Also, the notions of direct and indirect discrimination are discussed, for employers to take into consideration.

66.In 2014, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion developed the Guide to Best Practices for the Reconciliation of Work and Family and Personal Life, and adopted it by means of Ministerial Decision No. 048-2014-TR. The Guide sets down positive practices that employers can use to promote an appropriate balance between work and home life. Since 2015, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups has led in the promotion and advancement of women’s economic empowerment with an intersectoral action plan, the purpose of which is to narrow the gap between women and men in terms of employability, entrepreneurship and business ownership, and which is implemented by eight ministries and one public entity.

67.Among the most important legislative measures taken in the period from 2012 to 2017, we should highlight Act No. 29992, which extends the standard period of maternity leave by 30 days in cases of births of girls or boys with disabilities. Peru has approved and ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), by means of Legislative Decision No. 30312 of 2015 and Supreme Decree No. 012-2016-RE of 2016, respectively; thus beginning the process of adapting the existing national legislation to rectify the negative effects of dismissals and non-renewals of employment contracts motivated by mothers’ state of pregnancy or period of breastfeeding. Furthermore, Act No. 30367 of 2015 increased the period of pre- and post-partum rest from 90 days to 98 days, divided into 49 days pre- and 49 days post-partum, for women workers in the private sector; women are entitled to a maternity benefit during this period under Supreme Decree No. 002-2016-TR.

68.In 2012, Act No. 29896 was published, establishing that public and private workplaces where more than 20 women of childbearing age are employed must provide a lactation room. The Act facilitates the reconciliation of work and family life. In 2016, Supreme Decree No. 001-2016-MIMP was published, setting out the requirements that govern the establishment and operation of institutional lactation rooms. In the period from 2013 to 2017, lactation rooms were established at the following rate: 500 in 2013, 679 in 2014, 781 in 2015, 1,257 in 2016 and 1,467 in 2017; private entities have surpassed public ones by a significant margin in the fulfilment of the requirement to establish workplace lactation rooms. In addition, ten public entities offer day care for boys and girls under the age of 3.

69.In compliance with the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), in 2017 Act No. 30709 was promulgated. The Act prohibits wage discrimination between men and women with a view to reducing wage gaps, thereby responding to the constitutional mandate to ensure equality of opportunity and non-discrimination in labour relations, and upholding the principle of equal pay for equal work. The regulation requires companies to draw up a table of staff categories, functions and remuneration, which will be used to guarantee that wages are set in a much more objective manner. It also provides for equality in professional training and development planning, and contains measures to prevent sexual harassment in the form of dismissals or non-renewals of employment contracts of women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, in line with the ILO Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183). In 2017 preparatory steps were taken for the ratification of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).

70.With regard to the number of women in decision-making positions and positions of responsibility, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion collaborated on the development of a study conducted by the National Civil Service Authority entitled “Women in the Peruvian Civil Service 2017”, which details which civil services posts are held by women and what the current wage gap looks like. According to the study, there are 1.4 million civil servants in the country, of whom 46 per cent are women and 54 per cent are men. In 2017, there were 9,543 officers in the Peruvian National Police; 2,160 were women and 7,383 men. Of the 115,688 junior officers in the National Police, 21,559 were women and 94,129 men. Of the 2,288 civilian staff in the National Police, 959 were women and 1,329 men. Women hold 2,139 of the 7,415 managerial posts in the National Police nationwide.

71.To improve women’s access to employment, promote their economic independence and prevent gender-based violence, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion prioritizes those who are most at risk, through its three focus areas: job training, training for self-employment and certification of occupational skills. Through the “Peru, Moving Forward” programme, it is promoting formal employment, the accreditation of labour-market skills and self-employment in the country.

72.The Ministry of Production has organized more than 6,000 activities to support women’s development as entrepreneurs. It convened 19 events designed to connect entrepreneurs to markets, which included opportunities to participate in negotiations and trade fairs; 585 micro, small and medium enterprises led by women took part in the events, succeeding in negotiating deals worth over S/. 21.9 million. Awareness-raising workshops were also conducted on the Provider Development Programme, benefiting 130 micro, small and medium enterprises, and on the Cluster Support Programme, training 130 women leaders of micro, small and medium enterprises. With regard to productivity and competitiveness, training and support on technical productive issues was provided to 1,578 women business leaders and employees, and capacity-building was provided for 1,440 women market stall operators. In addition, 24 local governments allocated resources for the cofinancing for 134 business plans, amounting to a total of S/. 19,283,096.17 and benefiting 2,274 women members who make up the organized economic operators. Initiatives to support access to financing for micro, small and medium enterprises benefited 647 women. To strengthen association-building, a capacity-building programme to improve the management of agricultural cooperatives (My.Coop-Perú) is being promoted, with the participation of women leaders and directors of these cooperatives.

73.Between 2015 and 2017 the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs trained women farmers with a degree of leadership within their communities and awarded them a certificate accrediting their cacao-seedling growing skills, as a means of promoting women farmers’ economic independence and participation in their communities and the labour market. The certification also enables them to be added to the rural register of public or private sector providers. In 2015, S/. 60,000 were allocated to the project and 60 women were trained, and in 2017, S/. 46,150 were allocated and 40 women were trained.

74.In order to strengthen the response to sexual harassment at work, in 2017 the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion, by means of Vice-ministerial Decision No. 005-2017-MTPE/2, adopted the “Practical Guide to the Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Harassment in Private and Public Sector Workplaces – Work without Harassment”. The Guide is a tool to assist with the identification of cases of sexual harassment, as defined by law, and it presents case law in an instructive and accessible way for both employers and employees. The Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion has also established a free hotline to respond to cases of sexual harassment at work, “Work without Harassment 0800-1-6872”, which includes an option exclusively for women domestic workers.

75.The Ministry of Defence indicated that between 2012 and 2017 it has established policy guidelines for the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment, specifically in the national Army, Air Force and Navy. In the same vein, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, by means of Ministerial Decision No. 647-2012-EF/43, adopted Directive No. 002-2012-EF/43.01, “Rules and Procedures for the Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Harassment at the Ministry of Economy and Finance”, and indicated that the bodies and entities attached to the Ministry have taken action in this area. The Office of Social Security Standardization, through Director’s Decision No. 084-2012-JEFATURA/ONP, approved a set of internal regulations, which address sexual harassment; the National Customs and Tax Authority, through National Human Resources Office Decision No. 175-2016, adopted the Procedure for the Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Harassment; the Stock Market Oversight Body, by means of Supervisory Decision No. 056-2016-SMV/02, adopted internal regulations, which address the issue of sexual harassment; ProInversión, the national investment promotion agency, by means of Executive Office Decision No. 089-2016, amended and adopted its internal working regulations, which include a process for addressing harassment, including sexual harassment; the State Procurement Oversight Body, through Decision No. 284-2014-OSCE/PRE, approved a modification to its internal regulations, to address prevention and punishment of sexual harassment; the Bank of the Nation, through the Directive “Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Harassment” BN-DIR-2300-037-01 of 2005 and the adoption of the Code of Ethics in 2016, rejects any insulting, discriminatory, offensive or hostile behaviour towards an individual or group of individuals, including discrimination and harassment; the National Fund for the Financing of Public Sector Companies, by Executive Office Decision No. 013-2008/DE-FONAFE, adopted its internal working regulations, and by means of Executive Office Decision No. 081-2017/DE-FONAFE has issued an updated version which, in Title XXII, contains a procedure for the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment. All these sets of regulations contain mechanisms for the prevention and administrative sanction of sexual harassment at work. The Ministry of the Interior, by means of Directive No. 017-2012-IN-DM, “Rules and Procedures for the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment in the police and non-police entities of the Ministry of the Interior”, established guidelines that ensure the prevention, investigation and administrative reporting of any acts of sexual harassment in the interior sector. Furthermore, the Private Investment Regulator for Telecommunications adopted Directive No. 006-2012-GG/OSIPTEL, Directive on the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment at work, which explains the procedure for victims of sexual harassment to follow to register a complaint. The Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Culture developed online courses for their staff on this issue, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a confidential mechanism for responding to complaints of sexual harassment.

L.Health

Article 12: Women’s health

76.The information in this section takes into consideration the recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in a communication dated 26 April 2017, assessing follow-up report CEDAW/C/PER/ CO/7-8/Add.1, dated 11 January 2017, and covering the progress made by the Government of Peru from 2012 to October 2016, specifically with regard to violence against women and women’s health.

77.With regard to public policies, in the National Plan against Gender-Based Violence 2016–2021, obstetric violence is recognized as one of the forms of gender-based violence. There is also a recognition in the Plan that one of the specific scenarios where women are affected is in their pre-, during and post-partum care, when they may suffer from dehumanizing treatment, abuse of medicalization and pathologization of natural processes, which negatively impacts their quality of life.

78.In order to strengthen the capacity of health-care workers, the Ministry of Health has taken steps to raise the awareness of the regional health authorities and train the health-care workers of the networks who work at the operative levels, across the regions of Peru, incorporating into their duties a focus on prenatal care, qualified assistance during childbirth and qualified newborn care, the issue of gender-based violence, ensuring humane care in cases of incomplete abortions, differentiated care for adolescents, and family planning education and service provision for women attending health centres. Through Ministerial Decision No. 975-2017/MINSA, the “Administrative Directive on the registration of ethnicity in the health information system” was adopted, with a view to improving the registration of ethnicity in the information systems of health-care centres. There are 60 different codes for indigenous groups that users may belong to, covering Andean, Amazon and Afro‑Peruvian communities. The correct entry of the information will facilitate reports of the care and services provided, including preventive services, disaggregated by ethnicity, and showing indigenous women’s access to the various services offered by the health-care system.

79.In 2016 and 2017, the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs implemented a programme designed to build capacity to offer gender-sensitive substance abuse treatment, focused on training health-care professionals, including psychiatrists, obstetricians, nurses and psychologists, in the provision of differentiated care to women addicted to drugs, in public mental health facilities. More than 400 health-care professionals received training. Through Supreme Decree No. 061-2017-PCM of 1 June 2017, the 2017–2021 National Strategy to Combat Drugs was adopted; the Strategy incorporates a cross-cutting gender perspective, which is reflected in all its pillars: alternative development, prevention of drug use and control of the availability of drugs.

80.With regard to policies for development and social inclusion, the Government of Peru, through the social programmes of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, is promoting access to health services for children, adolescents and young people between 3 and 19 years of age. During the period from 2012 to 2017, under the “Together” programme, 97,849 people accessed health services, including prenatal check-ups for expectant mothers and growth and development check-ups for girls under 3 years of age.

81.The Ministry of Health is building the capacity of medical staff in relation to sexual and reproductive health. In the last quarter of 2017, training was provided to 1,083 individuals through theoretical and practical workshops, facilitating the implementation of regulations relating to sexual and reproductive health at different levels of care. A total of 170 professionals have updated their knowledge of contraceptive methods by training to become regional facilitators in family planning and contraception. In addition, the Ministry of the Interior has conducted 22 preventive and promotional health campaigns, providing 6,784 police officers and their dependants with information on their health rights.

82.With regard to therapeutic abortion, as the Government of Peru stated in document CEDAW/C/PER/CO/7-8/Add.1, in 2014 it approved a national technical guide on standard comprehensive care procedures for women undergoing a voluntary therapeutic termination before the twenty-second week of pregnancy, with informed consent and in accordance with article 119 of the Criminal Code. In 2016 and 2017, a total of 1,428 therapeutic abortions were performed.

M.Rural women

Article 14: Rural women

83.Management tools have been adopted to improve the living conditions of rural women under the National Environment Policy (Supreme Decree No. 012-2009-MINAM), which contains policy guidelines on social inclusion in environmental management and promotes the adoption of mechanisms for incorporating a gender and intercultural perspective and the interests of minority or vulnerable groups into environmental management processes; it also encourages participation by women and young people so that they can exercise effective environmental citizenship. The 2011–2021 National Environmental Action Plan, adopted pursuant to Supreme Decree No. 014-2011-MINAM, addresses the need to create opportunities for the social inclusion of native and peasant communities in environmental management, with an intercultural and gender perspective. The National Biological Diversity Strategy for the period up to 2021 is based on, among other things, the principle of equity, while the National Environmental Education Plan contains guidelines for mainstreaming gender and interculturalism.

84.In 2016, pursuant to Supreme Decree No. 012-2016-MINAM, the Gender and Climate Change Action Plan was adopted to mainstream gender in environmental policies, programmes and actions. The Action Plan has improved the quality of life in rural areas and medium-sized cities by giving women a greater role as agents of change and gathering their knowledge on the sustainable use of wildlife, genetic resources, ecosystems and agroforestry systems. The Action Plan is aimed at mainstreaming gender in public policies through the National Climate Change Strategy. The first phase of the Action Plan covers an implementation period up to 2021. By that date, there should be an increased awareness and greater discussion of gender inequalities and their implications with regard to the effects of climate change. The Action Plan has eight priority areas: forests, water resources, food security, energy, solid waste, education, health and welfare, and risk management.

85.In June 2016, in accordance with its mission of promoting environmental sustainability in Peru, the Ministry of the Environment signed agreements with the Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas Andinas y Amazónicas del Perú; the Confederación Nacional Agraria; and the Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas, Artesanas, Indígenas, Nativas y Asalariadas del Perú, establishing a platform for inter-agency cooperation for sustainable development with a gender perspective among indigenous peoples and native communities. The agreement with the Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas, Artesanas, Indígenas, Nativas y Asalariadas del Perú is aimed at finding solutions to environmental problems that will improve the quality of life of indigenous women. The promotion of forums for dialogue and the management of technical cooperation and the development of projects of mutual interest are joint activities for the recovery of ecosystems and the mainstreaming of gender in efforts to tackle climate change and protect biodiversity.

86.In order to promote the participation of women in rural and agricultural policies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, within its competence, has drafted multisectoral policies and plans that incorporate a gender perspective and promote the participation of women producers to help reduce gender gaps in the agricultural sector. The 2013–2021 National Food Security Strategy (Supreme Decree No. 021-2013-MINAGRI) is aimed at meeting the population’s nutritional needs and incorporates a gender perspective to promote participation in decision-making, bearing in mind that development policies, programmes and projects have different impacts on men and women and fail when they assume that men and women have the same living conditions and opportunities and do not take into account women’s actual living conditions. In addition, a gender perspective has been incorporated into the National Agricultural Policy (Supreme Decree No. 002-2016-MINAGRI), the National Forestry and Wildlife Policy (Supreme Decree No. 009-2013-MINAGRI), and the guidelines for the national strategy to promote and manage rural talent for family farming for the period up to 2021, known as “National School for Rural Talent” (Ministerial Decision No. 0604-2015-MINAGRI), with a view to closing gender gaps and promoting equality between women and men.

N.Disadvantaged groups of women

87.Policies on interculturalism have been adopted by the Ministry of Culture and incorporate a gender perspective. Specifically, the National Policy for Mainstreaming an Intercultural Perspective (Supreme Decree No. 005-2015-MC); the National Policy on Indigenous Languages, Oral Tradition and Interculturalism (Supreme Decree No. 005-2017-MC); and the National Development Plan for the Afro-Peruvian Population (Supreme Decree No. 003-2016-MC) incorporate a gender perspective as part of their mainstreaming approach.

88.During the period from 2012 to 2017, the Ministry of Culture took steps to promote the participation of indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women in permanent forums for dialogue with the Government, with the aim of coordinating, proposing and implementing public policies that involved indigenous peoples and the Afro‑Peruvian population. Indigenous women were encouraged to participate in processes of prior consultation and mechanisms for dialogue between the Government and indigenous peoples so that their views could be taken into account in investment policies, programmes and projects that might affect their way of life. In accordance with the implementing regulations for Act No. 29785, the Act on the Right of Indigenous Peoples to Prior Consultation (a right that is recognized in the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169)), the Ministry of Culture has raised awareness among those officials responsible for organizing prior consultation processes of the need to mainstream gender in those processes. In 2016, at the information stage of the prior consultation processes, 29 per cent of participants were women. In 2017, training workshops on the prior consultation process were attended by 578 women (40.3 per cent of participants) and 855 men (59.7 per cent).

89.The Government of Peru, through the Ministry of Health, has adopted the document “Intercultural Dialogue on Health” (Ministerial Decision No. 611-2014/MINSA), a tool for promoting social participation by indigenous peoples and the Afro-Peruvian population, through intercultural dialogue, in the identification and solution of individual, family and community health problems. The regions have prioritized maternal health issues.

90.With regard to access to justice, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has six public defenders, both men and women, at the national level dealing with indigenous issues and specializing in criminal defence. It also has 119 female and male public defenders who are speakers of indigenous languages: 106 have Quechua and 13, Aymara. These defenders provide criminal defence and legal aid services on matters relating to the family, maintenance and filiation and on similar matters, and also defence services for victims of any crime.

91.In 2012 and 2013, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups promoted entrepreneurial development among displaced persons, training 485 women in the Apurímac, Ayacucho, Puno, Huancavelica, Ica, Huánuco and Junín regions to promote, through women’s organizations and in conjunction with regional government programmes, businesses led by women, who are the heads of the household in 62 per cent of the families displaced during the violence of 1980–2000. In 2014 and 2015, eleven fairs for women entrepreneurs were held in Apurímac, Ayacucho, Ica and Junín.

Part IV

O.Marriage and family relations

Article 16: Marriage and family relations

92.In 2016, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Groups adopted the 2016–2012 National Plan for Strengthening Families (Supreme Decree No. 003-2016-MIMP), acknowledging different family structures and the importance of mainstreaming gender, human rights, and an intergenerational and intercultural perspective.

93.With regard to legislation, in 2015 Act No. 30179 was adopted, establishing a statute of limitations for maintenance proceedings, and Act No. 30311 was published, providing for the adoption of minors by unmarried couples. In 2017, Act No. 30628 was adopted, providing for free DNA testing and a single process for the establishment of paternity and the provisional payment of maintenance. The Act waives the payment of court fees in proceedings for the establishment of the paternity of children born out of wedlock and provides that DNA tests are to be paid for by the respondent. Act No. 30007 has also been adopted, recognizing the inheritance rights of unmarried partners. The Act recognizes inheritance rights between men and women who are free of matrimonial impediments and who enter into a common-law marriage that is attested by a notary or recognized in the courts. Act No. 30323 has also been adopted, restricting the exercise of parental authority in cases where a serious offence has been committed, providing for the suspension of parental authority if criminal proceedings have been initiated against a father or mother for offences that injure or harm his or her children, or for terrorism offences, and for the termination of parental authority in the event of conviction for one of the aforementioned offences. In 2017, Act No. 30550 was adopted, under which a contribution for unpaid domestic work must be taken into account in judicial decisions on maintenance payments. Under the Act, judges are required to consider unpaid domestic work, including childcare and housework, as a financial contribution by the mother. The Act reinforces the idea that both parents must contribute to the care of their children.

P.Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

94.The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action provided the basis for the 2012–2017 National Plan for Gender Equality (Supreme Decree No. 004-2012-MIMP), the aim of which is to ensure that the three tiers of government in Peru mainstream gender in public policies, guaranteeing gender equality and the effective protection of human rights for women and men, non-discrimination and the full development of their individual and collective potential and capacities. The strategic objectives of the National Plan for Gender Equality are as follows: (i) to promote and strengthen gender mainstreaming at the three levels of government; (ii) to reinforce a culture of respect for and appreciation of gender differences; (iii) to reduce educational gaps between women and men; (iv) to improve women’s health and safeguard the sexual and reproductive rights of women and men; (v) to safeguard the economic rights of women on the basis of fairness and equal opportunities with men; (vi) to reduce gender violence in its various forms; (vii) to increase the participation of women and men in decision-making and boost political and civic participation; (viii) to value the contribution of women to the sustainable management of natural resources.