Gender-based violence constitutes a public health problem, a human rights issue and one of the most frequent forms of discrimination. In Peru, according to the Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES), in 2019, 57.7% of women in Peru have suffered at least some type of violence from their partner, at some point in time. his life. And yet, only 29.5% of women who suffered physical abuse sought help from an institution.
These figures reveal that it is especially necessary to ensure that public protection, justice and welfare services for victims of violence are constituted as safe spaces for the recovery of the mental, physical and reproductive health of women affected by various forms of violence.
This task is not easy and the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the situation of violence suffered by many women and made it more complex to provide timely, multidisciplinary and effective care for them. Above all, due to mobility restrictions, fear of contagion, living with the aggressor, restriction of face-to-face services, among other factors.
In Peru, during the state of emergency due to COVID-19, gender-based violence has not stopped. Between March 16 and August 31, 2020, there were: 121 254 calls requesting help through Line 100 of the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP), 10 840 queries through Chat 100, 17 016 cases of violence attended by the Itinerant Emergency Team (EIU) and the Urgent Care Service (SAU). 86% of the attacks were against women, there were 2,702 cases of rape, of which 2,034 were against girls, boys and adolescents, in addition to 49 femicides.
In a public health crisis, such as the current pandemic, when social distancing measures and movement restrictions are implemented to curb infections, people who face various types of Gender-Based Violence may see their possibilities of accessing care services limited. , Such as those established in the Essential Services Package for the Care of Women and Girls who suffer from Violence.
Against this, technological tools can play an important role for the adaptation of services. Technology makes it possible to adapt face-to-face services to remote care services for survivors of violence and to implement appropriate responses to the context of the pandemic, placing at the center of attention: the needs, rights, security, confidentiality and protection of women who suffer violence.
Therefore, it is especially important to have tools that make it possible to protocolize the care provided to cases of violence within the framework of a remote service, as well as to strengthen the technical skills of case managers under this modality.
In this context, the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA LACRO) prepared the “Remote Services Technical Guide. Specialized psychosocial care for survivors of gender-based violence”. Based on this regional document, the United Nations Population Fund office in Peru (UNFPA-Peru) has developed the “Technical guide for the implementation of remote services for the comprehensive care of cases of gender violence: a version friendly and adapted to the Peruvian context and legislation ”, in order to provide the staff in charge of case management and key actors with technical guidance to ensure comprehensive care (socio-legal, health, justice and well-being) of women who suffer violence of genre.
In the framework of the month of November, in which the International Day to Eradicate all forms of Violence against Women is commemorated, the UNFPA Peru Office renews its commitment to continue working to ensure that no woman suffers violence, as an indispensable condition to ensure the Sustainable Development of States and the maximum use of the potential of women.
