Peruvian Women Sociology

According to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) who represents the voice of all victims who have survived abuse in any way or form, define

domestic violence as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault,

and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated

by one intimate partner against another. [Which] includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse.” I believe that domestic abuse is a huge world-wide problem that affects many relationships every day. The United Nations (UN) has named Peru “one of the most dangerous places for women in Latin America, where the bar is already

set high; the region had the world’s highest number of sexual assaults last year” as specified

by Reuters, a United Kingdom news agency company.

This heart wrenching problem is not nearly talked about enough and that is why I have chosen to do my cultural anthropology paper on the matter. My research will specifically focus on the abusers of Peruvian women are being abused by their partner and getting away with it, the prevention of abuse, as well as trying to comprehend the abuser from a cultural perspective.

Peruvian culture is a beautiful mix of hispanic roots mixed with many other native cultures. According to research, its civilization is the oldest in all of South America. Human life in Peru can be traced back as early as the eighth millennium B.C. Nonetheless, it must be noted that it wasn’t until 1500 B.C that physical Peruvian culture emerged. Archeologist findings, left

behind by The Chavin (900 BC to 200 BC) and Sechin (3600 BCE - 200 BCE) civilization

are primary examples of Peruvian pre historic human communities that developed in

the
northern Andean highlands and influenced beyond its territory. As of the year 2013 there are thirty point thirty-eight million people living in Peru according to World Bank. Peru's is
usually known to be the heart of the Incan empire. Its culture and way of life is inherited
from the native Incas. Who were then defeated by the Spanish conquistadors in which allowed immigrant groups such as Africans, Japanese, Chinese and Europeans to have also contributed over the course of time to the subculture in which Peruvians live in today. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right in Peru’s culture, their most predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. However, other sizeable religions in Peru include Christianty, Buddhism, Baha’Faith, Islam, and Seax-Wica.
So how is it that such a rich culture country like Peru has the highest rate of domestic abuse in all of Latin America? Or more specifically, what is it exactly that is driving Peruvian men to act in such violent ways towards their spouse or significant other? Well, such factors like – male chauvinism, gender based violence, and poverty help explain why Peru is one of the most dangerous places for women in Latin America. Statistics provided by The World Health Organization (WHO) states that forty-nine percent of ever partnered women in Lima (capital of Peru) reported physical violence by a partner at some time in their life and another fifty-one percent of ever partnered women from Lima also reported having experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner all resulting in the prevalence of partner abuse.