Final Report: Strengthening Capacities of Teachers for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence, Tambograde, Perú

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent public health threats in the worldtoday, affecting one in four women in their lifetime (The World Bank, 2019). It is a profoundhealth problem that depletes women's energy, compromises their physical and mental health,and erodes their self-esteem (Rumbidzai C., et al., 2020). The physical and psychologicalconsequences are many, and the literature maintains that in the long term, it could lead tochronic pain, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression among its victims. In Peru, although national statistics indicate that the evolution of family violence towardswomen has decreased between 2009 and 2019, it continues to be a major problem in thecountry. According to the National Observatory of Violence against Women and Members ofthe Family Group, in Piura, 7 out of 10 women are victims of gender-based violence in theirfamily (https://observatorioviolencia.pe/tag/piura/). Likewise, at the local level, according tostatistics from the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP), in 2019 the Women’sJustice Center (CEM, for the acronym in spanish) of Tambogrande presented 49 complaints ofpsychological, physical and sexual violence. It has also been reported that prosecution forsexual abuse have increased in the period 2017-2019 (Municipality of Tambogrande, 2021).This information has been contrasted with the results of the research called “Water insecurityand gender-based violence: exploring links and steps for prevention. A comparative study ofIndonesian and Peruvian women” funded by the British Academy, and implemented in thedistrict of Tambogrande, Piura, between 2020 and 2022. The study has identified the normalization of GBV in Tambogrande and the stereotypesabout gender roles in the home, which perpetuate the cyclical nature of GBV. The resultsof the study showed that women are in charge of domestic work, care and childrearing, watercollection, among other unpaid or recognized tasks. This situation has facilitated long-termimpacts such as GBV, teenage pregnancy, increased school dropout among girls andadolescents, and loss of opportunities for women, young people and girls. The local populationrecognized that one of the main causes of GBV and teenage pregnancy is machismo, religionand gender norms. This leaves women more vulnerable, diminishes their educationalopportunities and can lead to early or forced marriages, and prevent or reduce their economicindependence. The results allowed us to identify and recognize that an effective and efficient intervention,proposed by the local stakeholders, was to raise awareness among the population about howthis problem was influencing education. Taking this proposal, the Fe y Alegría Rural NetworkNo. 48, located in Tambogrande, was contacted to develop a strategy tostrengthen capacities with pre-school teachers on issues of prevention and actionagainst GBV. For its implementation, contact was made with an educator from the area with a specialty incurricular design in order to achieve the greatest possible impact. The financing of this activitywas obtained through the Academic Directorate of Social Responsibility with the initiative“RSU Fund from the PUCP” 2023 of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; the call wasaimed at the entire university community for the development of University Social Responsibilityinitiatives. Additional funding was obtained by Willa Poland-McClain, Loyola University studentthrough the CAS Undergraduate Summer Research Experiences program.