Living environments: Gender violence in the Peruvian highlands

• Edgard Pacheco-Luza https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0133-0573
• Rina Álvarez-Becerra https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5455-6632
• Ángel Acevedo-Duque https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8774-3282
• Gladys Bustamante-Cabrera https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2275-4386

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v30i4.42990

Palabras clave: Intimate partner violence, indigenous women, gender roles, cultural stigma, help-seeking barriers

Resumen

This research addresses the concerning living conditions of indigenous women and girls in the Peruvian highlands, who face situations of violence and discrimination that contradict the United Nations Agenda's Goal 3 (Health and Well-being). The main objective was to analyze the perceptions of indigenous women (Aymara and Quechua) who are victims of intimate partner violence regarding the barriers to seeking formal institutional help. A qualitative methodology based on grounded theory was employed, with a reflexive thematic analysis design. Seventeen interviews were conducted with women aged 22 to 60 who met the criteria of having experienced intimate partner violence and self-identifying as Aymara or Quechua. Key findings include self-silencing behaviors, fear of the aggressor’s reaction and the consequences of seeking help, as well as the minimization and justification of the violence, which perpetuate the abuse. Additionally, a cultural stigma was identified that questions women’s rights over their traditional gender roles, thus hindering their well-being and safety. Social barriers at multiple levels further prevent these women from seeking formal help, reinforcing the cycle of violence.

Citas

Ajayi, L. A., & Soyinka-Airewele, P. (2018). Key triggers of domestic violence in Ghana: A victim centered analysis. African Population Studies, 32(1), 4097-4108. https://aps.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/1181

Ali, T. S., Farhan, R., & Ayub, M. (2020). Intimate partner violence against women in Pakistan: A review of qualitative research. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 70(5), 892-903. https://www.pakmedinet.com/43660

Apatinga, G. A. (2019). “Suffering in silence”: A qualitative inquiry of sexual violence against married women in Ghana [Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland]. https://research.library.mun.ca/13964/

Arisukwu, O., Igbolekwu, C., Adebisi, T., & Akindele, F. (2021). Perception of domestic violence among rural women in Kuje. Heliyon, 7(2), e06303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06303

Asociación Médica Mundial - AMM (2020). Declaración de Helsinki de la AMM – Principios éticos para las investigaciones médicas en seres humanos. AMM. https://www.wma.net/es/policies-post/declaracion-de-helsinki-de-la-amm-principios-eticos-para-las-investigaciones-medicas-en-seres-humanos/

Benavides, M., León, J., Etesse, M., Espezúa, L., & Stuart, J. (2019). Exploring the association between segregation and physical intimate partner violence in Lima, Peru: The mediating role of gender norms and social capital. SSM - Population Health, 7, 100338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.100338

Benoit, C. M., Shumka, L., Phillips, R., Kennedy, M. C., & Belle-Isle, L. M. C. (2016). Issue brief: Sexual violence against women in Canada. Status of Women Canada.

Both, L. M., Favaretto, T. C., Machado, L. H., Pereira, S., & Crempien, C. (2020). Intimate partner violence against women: Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2). PLoS ONE, 15(10), e0239708. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239708

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589-597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. SAGE Publications.

Carrasco, A. M., & Gavilán, V. T. (2014). Género y etnicidad. Ser hombre y ser mujer entre los Aymara del altiplano chileno. Diálogo Andino, (45), 169-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0719-26812014000300014



Carrión-Abarca, F., & Aranda, J. (2022). Violencia hacia la mujer y estrategias de afrontamiento en madres de familia de Ucayali, Perú. Apuntes Universitarios, 12(3), 349-366. https://doi.org/10.17162/au.v12i3.1135

Castañeda, M. P., & Torres, P. (2015). Concepciones sobre la violencia: una mirada antropológica. El Cotidiano, (191), 7–19. https://elcotidianoenlinea.azc.uam.mx/index.php/numeros/numeros-completos/cotidiano-no-191/viewdocument/342

Castillo, E. F., Bernardo, J. V., & Medina, M. A. (2018). Violencia de género y autoestima de mujeres del centro poblado Huanja – Huaraz, 2017. Horizonte Médico, 18(2), 47-52. https://doi.org/10.24265/horizmed.2018.v18n2.08

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. SAGE Publications.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.

Defensoría del Pueblo (19 de diciembre de 2019). Mujeres indígenas sufren mayores violaciones a sus derechos humanos que las mujeres no indígenas. Defensoría del Pueblo. https://www.defensoria.gob.pe/mujeres-indigenas-sufren-mayores-violaciones-a-sus-derechos-humanos-que-las-mujeres-no-indigenas/

De Souza, M. C., Ramos, E., Alves, M. M., & Gonçalves, S. (2018). Institutionalizing the theme of violence within Brazil’s national health system: Progress and challenges. Ciencia e Saude Coletiva, 23(6), 2007-2016. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232018236.04962018

Donoso, V., Garzón, M. J., Costales, A. I., y Arguello, E. D. (2021). Dependencia emocional transgeneracional: Mujeres víctimas de violencia intrafamiliar en la Sierra del Ecuador. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), XXVII(3), 299-316. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v27i3.36771

Falcke, D., Gonçalves, M., & Wagner, A. (2017). Violência conjugal: Mapeamento do fenômeno no Rio Grande do Sul. Psico, 48(2), 120-129. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2017.2.25148

Fernández, C., Quiñonez, M. M., & Prado, J. I. (2019). Perfil del agresor y violencia en mujeres de una zona periurbana Huánuco, Perú. Universidad y Sociedad, 11(5), 124-130.

Ferreira, D., De Oliveira, V. L., De Oliveira, D. C., Corrêa, S., & Da Fonseca, A. D. (2018). Social representations of nurses concerning domestic violence against women: Study with a structural approach. Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem, 39, e61308. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-1447.2018.61308

Formiga, K., Zaia, V., Vertamatti, M., & Barbosa, C. P. (2021). Intimate partner violence: a cross-sectional study in women treated in the Brazilian Public Health System. Einstein, 19, eAO6584. https://doi.org/10.31744/einstein_journal/2021AO6584

Grigsby, N., & Hartman, B. R. (1997). The Barriers Model: An integrated strategy for intervention with battered women. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 34(4), 485-497. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087721

González-Díaz, R. R., Acevedo-Duque, Á. E., Guanilo-Gómez, S. L., & Cruz-Ayala, K. (2021). Ruta de Investigación Cualitativa – Naturalista: Una alternativa para estudios gerenciales. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), XXVII(E-4), 334-350. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v27i.37011

Herrero-Arias, R., Truong, A. N., Ortiz-Barreda, G., & Briones-Vozmediano, E. (2021). Keeping silent or running away. The voices of Vietnamese women survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. Global Health Action, 14(1), 1863128. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2020.1863128

Houseman, B., & Semien, G. (2022). Florida Domestic Violence. StatPearls Publishing.

Hulley, J., Bailey, L., Kirkman, G., Gibbs, G. R., Gomersall, T., Latif, A., & Jones, A. (2023). Intimate partner violence and barriers to help-seeking among black, Asian, minority ethnic and immigrant women: A qualitative metasynthesis of global research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 1001-1015. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211050590

Igbolekwu, C. O., Arusukwu, O., Nwogu, J. N., Rasak, B., Asamu, F., & Osueke, N. O. (2021). Domestic Violence against Women in the Nigerian Rural Context. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 22(1), 226-245. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol22/iss1/14/

Jewkes, R., Fulu, E., Tabassam, R., Chirwa, E., Dunkle, K., Haardörfer, R., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2017). Women’s and men’s reports of past-year prevalence of intimate partner violence and rape and women’s risk factors for intimate partner violence: A multicountry cross-sectional study in Asia and the Pacific. PLoS Medicine, 14(9), e1002381. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002381

Kennedy, A. C., & Prock, K. A. (2018). “I still feel like i am not normal”: A review of the role of stigma and stigmatization among female survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 19(5), 512-527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016673601

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE.

Luebke, J., Kako, P., Lopez, A., Schmitt, M., Dressel, A., Klein, K., & Mkandawire-Vahlmu, L. (2023). Barriers faced by American Indian women in urban Wisconsin in seeking help following an experience of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 29(11), 2080-2103. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012221132304

Marmo, M. (2023). Unmasking State Harm: The Border as a Theatrical Space of Gendered Violence. Violence Against Women, 29(8), 1541-1561. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231162037

Mujica, J. (2011). Violaciones Sexuales en el Perú 2000-2009: Un informe sobre el estado de la situación. Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos (PROMSEX).

Nagashima-Hayashi, M., Durrance-Bagale, A., Marzouk, M., Ung, M., Lam, S. T., Neo, P., & Howard, N. (2022). Gender-Based Violence in the Asia-Pacific Region during COVID-19: A hidden pandemic behind closed doors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2239. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042239

Observatorio Nacional de la Violencia contra las Mujeres y los integrantes del Grupo Familiar (2018). ENDES-Indicadores 2017. https://observatorioviolencia.pe/endes-indicadores-2017/?print=pdf

Observatorio Nacional de la Violencia contra las Mujeres y los integrantes del Grupo Familiar (2019). Mujeres rurales en el Perú: Población vulnerable a la violencia. https://observatorioviolencia.pe/desigualdad-y-violencia-hacia-las-mujeres-rurales-en-el-peru

Observatorio Nacional de la Violencia contra las Mujeres y los Integrantes del Grupo Familiar (2021). Cusco: Planifican inicio de la Estrategia Nacional de Prevención de la Violencia contra las Mujeres “Mujeres libres de violencia”. https://observatorioviolencia.pe/inicia-planificacion-de-la-implementacion-de-la-estrategia-nacional-de-prevencion-de-la-violencia-contra-las-mujeres-mujeres-libres-de-violencia-en-la-region-cusco/

ONU Mujeres (2018). Hacer las promesas realidad: La igualdad de género en la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible. ONU Mujeres. https://www.unwomen.org/es/digital-library/publications/2018/2/gender-equality-in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018

Orozco, K., Jiménez, L. K., y Cudris-Torres, L. (2020). Mujeres víctimas de violencia intrafamiliar en el norte de Colombia. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), XXVI(2), 56-68. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v26i2.32422

Palacios, A. P., & Bayard, L. (2017). (Ab)usos y costumbres: Mujeres indígenas confrontando la violencia de género y resignificando el poder. Amerika, 16. https://doi.org/10.4000/amerika.8165

Pope, C., & Mays, N. (Eds.) (2013). Qualitative Research in Health Care. John Wiley & Sons.

Quispe, M. P., Curro, O. M., Córdova, M., Pastor, N., Puza, G. M., & Oyola, A. E. (2018). Violencia extrema contra la mujer y feminicidio en el Perú. Revista Cubana de Salud Pública, 44(2), 278-294. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=82972

Ramírez, J. C., Alarcón, R. A., y Ortega, S. A. (2020). Violencia de género en Latinoamérica: Estrategias para su prevención y erradicación. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), XXVI(4), 260-275. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v26i4.34662

Rapanyane, M. B. (2021). Women in Trouble? A critical reflection on the major hindrances to addressing gender based violence in South Africa. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development (Formerly Journal of Gender, Information and Development in Africa), 10(4), 209–225. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2021/v10n4a10

Razaghi, N., Ramezani, M., Parvizi, S., & Tabatabaee, S. M. (2022). Domestic violence against women, Islamic Republic of Iran: a grounded theory study. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 28(4), 281-287. https://doi.org/10.26719/emhj.22.033

Riffe-Snyder, K. A., Crist, J. D., & Reel, S. J. (2022). Intimate Partner Violence Stories of Appalachian Women. Clinical Nursing Research, 31(2), 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/10547738211036272

Rincón, A. M., Aliaga, F. M. A., Ortecho, R. B., & Preciado, A. E. (2024). Violencia contra la mujer: Análisis a partir del ordenamiento jurídico peruano. Revista de Ciencias Sociales (Ve), XXX(2), 446-459. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v30i2.41925

Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in Interview-Based Qualitative Research: A theoretical and practical guide. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(1), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2013.801543

Romero, P. M., & Olivares, A. I. (2021). Urban mobility of Indigenous women: literature review and possible research routes. AlterNative, 17(3), 378-386. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211038653

Roomani, F. Z., Tayyab, F., Kamal, N., & Siddique, K. (2016). Role of women in perpetuating violence against women: Case studies of domestic violence victims. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 36(2), 1185-1195. https://pjss.bzu.edu.pk/index.php/pjss/article/view/501

Santillan, D., Schuler, S., Anh, H. T., Minh, T. H., & Mai, B. T. T. (2002). Limited equality: Contradictory ideas about gender and the implications for reproductive health in rural Vietnam. Journal of Health Management, 4(2), 251-267. https://doi.org/10.1177/097206340200400210

Satyen, L., Rogic, A. C., & Supol, M. (2019). Intimate partner violence and help-seeking behaviour: A systematic review of cross-cultural differences. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(4), 879-892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0803-9

Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M.-J., & Chen, J. (2018). National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/60893

Stewart, D. E., & Vigod, S. N. (2019). Update on mental health aspects of intimate partner violence. The Medical Clinics of North America, 103(4), 735-749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2019.02.010

Sztumski, W. (2021). Reflection on the human living environment in connection with sustainable development. Problemy Ekorozwoju, 16(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.35784/pe.2021.1.04

Tayupanda, N. J., Ivañez, J. M., Sánchez, J. G., Valente, L. M., & Alcocer, I. M. (2021). Violencia de género contra mujeres indígenas del área rural del Cantón Tena, año 2021. Más Vita, 3(3), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.47606/ACVEN/MV0075

Tsapalas, D., Parker, M., Ferrer, L., & Bernales, M. (2021). Gender-Based Violence, Perspectives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Hispanic Health Care International, 19(1), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540415320924768

Wassan, M. R., Channa, A. R., & Syed, F. H. S. (2021). Violence against women in Pakistan: Causes, consequences and the way forward. International Research Journal of Arts and Humanities, 49(49), 49-60. https://sujo.usindh.edu.pk/index.php/IRJAH/article/view/3811

World Health Organization - WHO (2001). Putting women first: Ethical and safety recommendations for research on domestic violence against women. WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-FCH-GWH-01.1

World Health Organization - WHO (2012). Understanding and addressing violence against women. Intimate partner violence. WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-RHR-12.36

World Health Organization – WHO (2021). Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018. WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240022256

Zeoli, A. M., Rivera, E. A., Sullivan, C. M., & Kubiak, S. (2013). Post-Separation abuse of women and their children: Boundary-Setting and Family court utilization among victimized mothers. Journal of Family Violence, 28(6), 547-560. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9528-7