So far, 51 cases of femicide have been registered in 2023: what can be done to change the numbers?

Numbers that disturb, hurt and outrage. barely passed four months not even half a year has passed since 2023; and in Peru they have already been reported 51 femicideaccording to official figures from the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Groups (MIMP).

reported cases To date, they have been horrific and have caused a stir in the country, from an 18-year-old girl burned alive by her former partner in Dos de Mayo Square to nurse who was the victim of a gang rape in Fist. Both women died under brutal circumstances.

Katherine Gomez, who was barely 18 years old, died on March 24. He did not resist serious burns inflicted on him by his former teammate, Venezuelan Sergio Tarache, who doused him with gasoline and set him on fire. Currently femicide confess is in Colombia awaiting extradition to Peru to serve nine months of pre-trial detention ordered by the judiciary.

On April 12, a 32-year-old nurse died after being sexually assaulted in the city of Ayaviri, Melgar province.Fist). His Health status it has become more complicated in the last few weeks; it’s so that medical staff I had to amputate my right leg as a result serious injury.

The cases of both women do little more than reflect the fact that violence against women in Peru is an issue of little or no concern to the national authorities. But what can we do to change this scenario? Experts consulting RPP Newsagreed that joint work between the Peruvian state, government and society is needed.

Change of mind?

Former Minister for Women and Vulnerable Groups Gloria Montenegro is required to work that “goes beyond public policy and laws” impregnated on paper.

The former congresswoman also affirmed that the “citizen awareness” work is urgent, which is to replace macho culture”the one that kills and burns you alive”, for a society aware of the importance gender equality.

“The problem is serious, the number has increased, but the level of cruelty has increased tremendously if we analyze and see each of these cases. That’s why it’s vital to go beyond government policies, laws, institutions to get to work with a civic conscience,” he said in a statement. Focus on Saturdays.

“We have to teach the next generations how to break this macho chip,” he added.

Although this is the first step Montenegro He said the Peruvian justice system also urgently needs to train its judges, prosecutors and forensic staff, highlighting this area, recalling that a legal doctor called the injuries sustained by a nurse who was a victim of gang rape “minor” in Puno.

“I give a clear example of how it is possible that a nurse who died from this violation caused minor bodily harm to a legal doctor. How is this possible? Was it a mistake? Is this the only report where he was wrong? What happened in other reports where he was also wrong?

Similarly, the former head of the women’s sector reiterated that National Police It should have better protocols for dealing with complaints from women victims of physical abuse.

“Police and prosecutors should be trained on gender,” he insisted.

He added that the change of “macho chips” should also begin in Houses. That is why he urged parents to raise their children on equal terms.

“Mothers should stop being macho and teach as equals, distribute tasks responsibly, but all help and cooperate around the house,” she said.

More severe punishment for feminicides

More severe was Louisa Maria Kukuliza. The former Minister of Women’s Affairs expressed her outrage at cases of femicide and therefore believes that femicide should serve a harsher sentence than life imprisonment: the death penalty. “They can’t go on living,” she said, bewildered.

“We live in fear, women are burned, this is the last straw! […] How do we live in a country where there is so much hatred and bestiality? We must be aware that women should live a free life, without any pressure, and choose how to live,” she commented.

They are asking for the reinstatement of the High Commissioner to Combat Violence Against Women

In turn, the PNP General Augusto Sanchez Bermudezwho was the first commissioner to combat violence against women, specified that the state, the government and society as a whole should take this issue “seriously”.

“We must not only act every time these horrific incidents occur, seeing a woman burned alive or her remains dismembered, as happened in Arequipa,” he said.

Like Gloria MontenegroSanchez stressed that Police should improve its “reactivity”, remembering that Sergio Tarache ran easily into Colombia after setting fire to his ex-partner in Two May Square.

“The police is the first representative body of the state that takes care of the citizen and the woman who has been subjected to violence, they must improve their ability to respond. He has a big task…” he said.

Except, Sanchez Bermudez He thought it prudent that protective measures be taken immediately for all women who report violence.

Finally, the PPP General called on the current authorities to reinstate the position of High Commissioner on Combating Violence against Women, noting that this sector works not only within the police, but also at the inter-ministerial level, in order to properly deal with cases of attacks against women.