Left to Right: Rocío Franco Valdivia, Psychology Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú or Pontifical Catholic University of Peru; Roxana Vásquez Sotelo, feminist lawyer and co-founder of the non-governmental organization, DEMUS and the international feminist network, CLADEM; and Elvira Álvarez Olazábal, President of the Gender Commission of the Judiciary.
From November 24 to 25, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) Justice Sector Support Project II (JSSP-2) organized the International Conference "Debates on the Elimination of Violence Against Women", with the aim of contributing an interdisciplinary perspective to the debate on this social problem in Peru. The JSSP-2 project is ABA ROLI’s newest project in Peru, that was launched in February 2022. It is expected to build on the success of the five-year JSSP project implemented from 2016 to 2021. The project, funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), has a number of objectives including to support the efforts of Peruvian authorities to consolidate and build on judicial reforms; to improve Peru’s capacity to combat complex crimes; to prevent and detect corruption in justice sector institutions; and to support the strengthening of equitable and fair access to justice, especially for vulnerable populations and Indigenous communities. The event was co-organized with the Gender Commission of Peru’s Judiciary and sponsored by INL of the United States Embassy in Peru.
The conference on Violence Against Women was held in the capital, Lima, and was attended by more than 80 representatives of public institutions and civil society organizations. Attendees learned about the national and international testimonies and experiences of renowned women who combat this type of violence in their respective communities.