70% of Venezuelan migrants in Peru and Ecuador think that their compatriots suffer gender violence

At least seven out of 10 Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Ecuador and Peru consider that their compatriots experience some type of gender-based violence, according to a binational investigation released this Thursday by the Plan International organization.

The study details that 89% of those surveyed in Peru and 72% in Ecuador They affirmed that their Venezuelan compatriots have suffered some type of gender-based violence in these countries.

These conclusions emerge from the “Study on the state of gender violence against refugee women and migrants in Peru and Ecuador”, developed by the international NGO with the support of local entities.

The Venezuelan population represents one of the largest exoduses that the region has experienced in its recent history and exceeds 6 million displaced people, according to the UN Refugee Agency (Acnur), an organization that, together with other agencies and NGOs, warns of the special vulnerability of displaced women.

According to the data from the study, migrant women in the aforementioned countries face various forms of violence due to the fact of being a woman, among which psychological violence (expressed in shouts, insults and threats), street harassment and in the workplace, stand out. as well as domestic physical violence.

Study participants noted that In Peru, a macho culture and abuse of women prevails, who show a high degree of tolerance towards gender-based violence.

“Here women are raised to let themselves be mistreated,” reveals an anonymous testimony of a Venezuelan woman who emigrated to that country.

This situation is aggravated by the mistrust of the victims towards public institutions, which is why 44% of those surveyed said they did not report the attacks.

The report states that some of the Venezuelan women who emigrated to Peru who went to various services for cases of gender-based violence were questioned about their complaints or were recommended not to continue with the process due to possible reprisals from the aggressor.

Among the answers they received were those such as: “Are you sure you want to report? She’s only going to do a couple of days in jail and she’s out.”

In Ecuador the context is very similar, since 71% of the interviewees considered that cases of violence are not usually reported for fear of expulsion from the country (32%) and mistrust in public institutions (27%).

“This study reaffirms what we know from our previous experience in other crises, that women and girls, due to their gender, are always the ones in a situation of greatest vulnerability,” said the director of Plan International for South America subregion, Verónica Zambrano.

The Ecuador-based official added that migrant women “must face barriers such as sexual, physical, domestic and psychological violence, harassment and discrimination.”

Likewise, he stressed that they are not only seriously exposed, but also have little support when it comes to denouncing the attacks due to the lack of information and mistrust that, “along with the prevailing macho culture, perpetuates and normalizes this gender-based violence.” .

Source-larepublica.pe