...escalating violence against women
FEATURE-Peru confronts escalating violence against women
24 Jul 2006 12:00:15 GMT24 Jul 2006 12:00:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Isabel Ordonez
LIMA, Peru, July 24 (Reuters) - Marlin Mata has awakened from a coma she suffered after throwing herself from a moving bus to escape two men trying to rape her, but Peru is still deep in the nightmare of spiraling violence against women.
More than half of all Peruvian women over the age of 15 say they have suffered sexual or physical violence by men during their lifetime -- one of the world's highest rates.
"I want justice for my sister. We can't let this kind of thing happen again and again," said Judith Mata, standing next to Marlin, 21, who still bears a bite mark in her bruised cheek from the recent attack.
Sexual violence against women in Peru is now so bad that Peru's President-elect Alan Garcia, who takes office on Friday, made it one of his central campaign issues and has vowed to tackle the problem and give women a greater say in government.
Male frustration at high unemployment in Peru despite the country' unprecedented economic growth since 2002 and a corrupt justice system that rarely makes convictions are exacerbating violence against women in an already macho society.
"The violence is a direct consequence of poverty," Peru's Women's Minister Ana Maria Romero told Reuters.
According to the United Nations, Peru is one of the most dangerous places for women in Latin America, a region that had the world's highest number of sexual assaults last year.
..."Violence against women is part of our culture and the judicial system is no help," said Doris Blas, a lawyer representing Mata and a member of Lima-based foundation Manuela Ramos, which works to uphold women's rights.
full article can be found at http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04238127.htm
24 Jul 2006 12:00:15 GMT24 Jul 2006 12:00:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Isabel Ordonez
LIMA, Peru, July 24 (Reuters) - Marlin Mata has awakened from a coma she suffered after throwing herself from a moving bus to escape two men trying to rape her, but Peru is still deep in the nightmare of spiraling violence against women.
More than half of all Peruvian women over the age of 15 say they have suffered sexual or physical violence by men during their lifetime -- one of the world's highest rates.
"I want justice for my sister. We can't let this kind of thing happen again and again," said Judith Mata, standing next to Marlin, 21, who still bears a bite mark in her bruised cheek from the recent attack.
Sexual violence against women in Peru is now so bad that Peru's President-elect Alan Garcia, who takes office on Friday, made it one of his central campaign issues and has vowed to tackle the problem and give women a greater say in government.
Male frustration at high unemployment in Peru despite the country' unprecedented economic growth since 2002 and a corrupt justice system that rarely makes convictions are exacerbating violence against women in an already macho society.
"The violence is a direct consequence of poverty," Peru's Women's Minister Ana Maria Romero told Reuters.
According to the United Nations, Peru is one of the most dangerous places for women in Latin America, a region that had the world's highest number of sexual assaults last year.
..."Violence against women is part of our culture and the judicial system is no help," said Doris Blas, a lawyer representing Mata and a member of Lima-based foundation Manuela Ramos, which works to uphold women's rights.
full article can be found at http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04238127.htm
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