Peruvian women turn to Michelle Bachelet for help amid violence

Around 30 Peruvian women, including transgender women, gathered at a protest in Lima on Monday to denounce the daily violence they suffer and demand action from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

“Help! Peruvian laws humiliate women for not defending us. What they are doing is defending the attacker,” Magaly Aguilar, who carried a photo of her daughter who was a victim of femicide, told AFP.

The group staged a performance based on the dystopian book The Handmaid’s Tale and wore red dresses and white headscarves, while Bachelet, a former president of Chile, met with indigenous groups at the International Labor Organization (ILO) regional headquarters.

“We want to warn Michelle Bachelet about what is happening to women and people of different genders and sexual diversity in Peru,” said Gahela Cari, a 29-year-old transgender activist.

Peru saw a significant increase in violence against women in 2021, with 146 femicides up from 138 the previous year.

Bachelet is on an official visit until Wednesday and was received by Foreign Minister Cesar Landa and Justice Minister Felix Chero earlier in the day.

“We continue to deepen the human rights agenda here in Peru,” Bachelet said at the State Department, stressing that she will continue to address the various challenges facing the South American country.

At the ILO, Bachelet received leaders from the main indigenous groups of the Peruvian Amazon, who described the climate of harassment and violence created by drug gangs and illegal loggers.

Amazonian communities also drew attention to the pollution affecting rivers in the Peruvian jungle from oil spills and mining.