Peru: prison firm for sexual harassment, a victory for feminists

Text by: Wyloën Munhoz-Boillot

It is a first in the history of Peru. Peruvian justice confirmed on Tuesday, February 18, the conviction of a young man to prison for sexual harassment. A small victory for feminists in a country deemed still very macho. Reportage.

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With our correspondent in Lima,

Tuesday night, the Lima Court of Appeal confirmed the sentencing of 20-year-old Alex Manuel Alvarez to 3 years and 8 months in prison for sexual harassment of a minor. A penalty accompanied by a fine of 5,000 new soles, or 1,300 euros.

In September 2018, the young man tried to force a 16-year-old girl to resume a relationship they had had a year earlier, when both were still minors. When the girl refused, Alex Manuel Alvarez threatened her and her family with death, and released intimate photos of her without her consent.

But that same year, the Penal Code was changed in Peru. Sexual harassment and blackmail, as well as the dissemination of images, audio or videos of a sexual nature, become crimes punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison.

Alex Manuel Alvarez is therefore the first Peruvian to be sentenced for sexual harassment. In her decision, the judge said she wanted to " create a social conscience ". A sign certainly strong, but insufficient for Mabel Barreto, of the feminist organization Manuela Ramos.

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“ It is definitely not enough. We see it with other laws, for example the one that sanctions feminicides . This was not enough to decrease the number of cases. This kind of measure must therefore be accompanied by a real public education policy, because machismo is still very much anchored in Peruvian society , ”she believes.

Last year in Peru , the Ministry of Women recorded more than 14,000 cases of violence against women and 168 feminicides. Making it the worst year of the decade.

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• Peru
• Womens rights
• Justice

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