Community Advocates: A Community Response to Domestic Violence: Cusco, Peru.

The project "Defensorias comunitarias: Una respuesta comunitaria a la violencia familiar" (Community Advocates: A Community Response to Domestic Violence) was first implemented in 1999 by a Peruvian non-governmental organization, the Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL, Legal Defense Institute), with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The project also received financial backing from the British Council and Trocaire of Ireland. Thanks to its quality, strength, impact and innovativeness, the project took first place in the 2005-2006 cycle of the Contest "Experiences in Social Innovation," an ECLAC initiative with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

This report has been prepared as part of the "Experiences in Social Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean" project run by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). For further information, contact innovacionsocial@cepal. org or visit the "Experiences in Social Innovation" project website: www.eclac.cl/dds/ innovacionsocial.

Indigenous Communities in Latin America: Persistent Poverty and Discrimination

Although the project works with both indigenous and non-indigenous people, its geographical location means that many of its activities center on indigenous women, especially when it comes to working with language. In the Department of Cusco, Quechua is the native language of almost 70% of the population. (1) Furthermore, many Quechua-speaking women are not fluent in Spanish.

The indigenous population is considered to be one of the most vulnerable and excluded sectors of society in our region. It is discriminated against not just in the exercise of its cultural rights, but also in access to basic goods and services. Indigenous poverty rates are generally higher than those of the non-indigenous population and tend to come down more slowly during economic upturns (Hall and Patrinos, 2006). As can be seen from the Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2006 (ECLAC, 2006), indigenous populations are invariably in the lowest income quintiles in all countries. This is compounded by other socioeconomic indicators reflecting "unequal access not only to services (...) but also and especially to information, resources and decision-making power for individuals as members of a social group" (Del Popolo and Oyarce, 2006, p. 37). According to World Bank studies on the indigenous peoples of Peru, members of non-indigenous households earn virtually twice as much on average as members of indigenous households (World Bank, 2005). In short, indigenous people are particularly disadvantaged and vulnerable in the areas of income distribution, education, health (life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality) and housing.

In their analysis of the situation of indigenous peoples between 1994 and 2004, Hall and Patrinos conclude that, while political participation has improved, there has been no substantial progress in reducing indigenous poverty in the countries considered (Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru). The gap in incomes and education levels remains considerable, while the difficulty of obtaining basic services is particularly severe in the area of health for children and women in indigenous rural communities (Hall and Patrinos, 2006).

In the specific case of Peru, indigenous households account for between 25% and 48% of all households in the country. (2) As tables 1 and 2 show, both poverty and extreme poverty are considerably more prevalent in this group than in the non-indigenous population.

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Evaluations by Trivelli (2006) also show that people's place of residence substantially influences the likelihood of their living in poverty, since the figure for rural areas is 16% higher than the average for the countries' capitals.

The exclusion factors mentioned tend to be heightened in the case of women in rural indigenous communities, a description that exactly fits the women who participate in the community advocacy project and those who receive assistance from it. These women suffer from multiple discriminations of gender, ethnicity, socio-economic class and place of residence, and these are compounded by the domestic violence they experience in their communities or neighborhoods.

Domestic Violence: A Challenge for Human Rights and Democracy

Domestic violence is a phenomenon of huge proportions both in Latin America and the Caribbean and throughout the world, and the physical, psychological and economic damage it inflicts is incalculable. Consequently, violence against women and children is now being treated as a human rights issue (Rico, 1996). (3) "A life free of violence is a human right for all women--and it is attainable," as Rebeca Grynspan, Regional Director of UNDP for Latin America and the Caribbean, argues in the foreword to a recent study on the cost of domestic violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to Grynspan, this cost is the equivalent of 2% of the region's GDP; it affects the productivity of female workers and places an additional burden on health services. (4)

In addition, domestic violence is unquestionably "an obstacle to democracy because it impairs the mental health and quality of life of women and their children and constrains and impedes them in their development, preventing them from participating in society and contributing to the democratic process" (Rioseco, 2005, p. 9). In the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, violence against women is defined as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private" (United Nations, 1993). In 2000, the importance of combating all forms of violence and discrimination against women was emphasized once again in the Millennium Development Goals. Of the different forms of gender-based violence, physical and sexual violence practiced by the woman's own partner continues to be the most widespread (WHO, 2005). In the message he gave out to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Secretary-General of the United Nations referred to the findings of a detailed study conducted by the organization which showed that "half of humankind lives under this threat--in every continent, country and culture, regardless of income, class, race or ethnicity. This is so, even though we live in a world order where human rights have been recognized in law, and guaranteed in international instruments; even though we have learnt that the enjoyment of human rights is essential to the well-being of the individual, the community and the world; even though, at the 2005 World Summit, leaders pledged to redouble efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women." (5)

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In the specific case of Peru, the Encuesta Nacional de Demografia y Salud Familiar (ENDES, National Demographic and Family Health Survey) for 2000 provides some information on the extent of domestic violence, both in the country as a whole and in the Department of Cusco, where the community advocacy project is being implemented. According to these figures, 41.2% of Peruvian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been assaulted at some time by their husband or partner.

A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000, involving interviews with 1,414 women in Lima and 1,837 in Cusco, reports even higher figures. In Lima, 51% of women who had had a partner at some stage claimed to have been subjected by him to an act of physical or sexual violence. In Cusco, 69% of women had suffered physical or sexual violence, or both. In both Lima and Cusco, around half the women interviewed had suffered injuries as a result of the violence, and Cusco recorded the highest frequency of serious injuries. A quarter of all women in both cities had been injured more than five times. As regards physical violence generally, Cusco has the highest percentage recorded for any of the countries studied (61%). (6) It is precisely for this reason that IDL decided to begin its work in Cusco.

Although the National Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES) does not break down its figures by province, there are official data for the Department of Cusco as a whole, showing that Cusco has the unfortunate distinction of heading the list of the 24 departments evaluated with a distressing 57.3% of women experiencing physical violence at the hands of their husbands (INEI, 2001a). (7) The likelihood of falling victim to domestic violence is greater among women who were previously married or in partnerships (77%) than among those who are married (54.6%) and increases from the age of 35 onward. In the Department, 26.4% of women state that they are frequently subjected to physical abuse. The frequency of such abuse declines gradually as the woman's education level rises, with the figure falling from 38.5% among women without formal education to 15.2% among those with higher education. It is slightly higher among women living in rural areas than among those living in urban areas (26.9% and 25.5%, respectively).

It is common knowledge that domestic violence is very rarely reported and that the phenomenon is concealed out of fear or shame or because of the difficulty the public sector has in dealing with it. This pattern is confirmed in the case of Peru, where 80.2% of women nationwide stated that they had not sought the help of any institution after being abused (INEI, 2001a), while in the Department of Cusco the proportion of women who had not sought help from any institution was 72.1%. In both Cusco and Lima, women were most likely to go to the police (21.7% and 15.6% in Cusco and Lima, respectively).

When the national average is compared with the situation in the Department of Cusco, one thing that stands out is the differing frequencies of the reasons given by women for not seeking help from any institution. Whereas the most commonly cited reason in almost all departments is "I wasn't badly hurt," the proportion of women stating that they did not know where to turn was twice as high in the Department of Cusco (20.8%) as in Lima (9.9%) and higher than the national average (14.5%). In these circumstances, the creation of advocacy services in rural communes, which often lack adequate public services, is a vital step in supporting the victims of domestic violence.

These same women were also interviewed about the punishments that they and their husbands or partners used with their children. Both women and men used physically violent punishments, the most common being slaps and blows.

Again, more than a third of women interviewed in the Department of Cusco thought that physical punishment was sometimes necessary as part of their children's upbringing, while 61% thought that physical violence should never be applied in raising children.

In addition, 61.6% of the women interviewed stated that they themselves had been struck by their parents as a strategy of education and upbringing, which bears out the vicious cycle theory of domestic violence being reproduced from one generation to the next.

The Origin and Aims of the Community Advocacy Project

As the figures show, domestic violence affects women and children, who are usually unaware of their rights and the mechanisms for protecting themselves. This situation is clearly heightened even further in indigenous and poor populations and in rural areas, where people often do not speak or even understand Spanish. In this context, the community advocacy project was created to deal with domestic violence in communities as a first step towards changing widespread habits of violent behavior and nurturing a culture of peace right from the earliest stage of socialization: the family. This will have to be achieved, first, by making rights widely known and creating an awareness that domestic violence should not be tolerated or permitted, but also by establishing a concrete mechanism, the system of community advocates, to support women and families suffering from domestic violence, which nothing and no one can ever justify.

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To achieve this objective, the project works directly with community leaders (women and men) who appreciate the need to use all means possible to put an end to domestic violence in their communities. They are trained as community advocates so that local skills are developed for the promotion and protection of women's and children's rights as required by the special rural and multicultural characteristics of the region. The advocates are people from the community itself who not only help others but empower themselves, becoming living examples of the potential for new attitudes towards violence and for self-protection within a framework of rights. They thus realize that the elimination of violence against women and children is a right and not an act of aggression towards the aggressor. The victims are not guilty of the aggression; it is the aggressor who has to be judged. It is important to appreciate that community advocates have so far been working on a voluntary, unpaid basis for the benefit of their entire community and, as they themselves put it, for their own benefit as well, because they feel that they are making a valued, useful and important contribution to solving a problem that is common to all.

Accordingly, the goals set for the project are:

(1.) To halt the intergenerational reproduction of traditional patterns of domestic violence in communities, taking a zero tolerance approach to abuse and discrimination.

(2.) To strengthen the institutional framework for community advocacy services in the Cusco region, turning them into a model for new advocacy arrangements in other areas of action.

(3.) To empower women in their communities as leaders who promote and defend children's and women's rights.

(4.) To involve men as community advocates despite the existing culture of male chauvinism, improving relationships of gender equity in communities.

(5.) To create a bond of support between community advocates, the population and the authorities in order to resolve situations of domestic violence in their local areas.

When the community advocacy project was launched in 1999, the concept of public advocacy services (defensorias) was not unknown in Peru. (8) However, the IDL initiative did have a novel and innovative character in its participatory approach. It was the first time such advocacy services had been staffed by people from the community itself rather than by outside specialists. The fact that advocates came from the communities themselves was not only empowering for the indigenous rural women concerned but allowed the victims of domestic violence to obtain justice thanks to the civic participation of the community. Rather than being passive beneficiaries, citizens play an active role in bringing an end to domestic violence.

In its early years of implementation, the project was overseen by the IDL team of professionals. During the first stage (1999-2000), eight community advocacy services were created in the region, four in the city of Cusco, two in the province of Paruro and two in the province of Canas. In the second stage (2001-2002), the scope of the project was widened, and community advocacy services began to be developed in indigenous rural communities. Since the project began, the number of such services in the region has grown from eight to 38 and the number of community advocates from 79 to 380, most of them in rural areas where awareness of rights is particularly low and fear is very prevalent, often because of the tradition of violence described previously.

Advocacy services have been consolidated over time thanks to the creation of a departmental network. In 2002, the Coordinadora Departamental de Defensorias Comunitarias del Cusco (CODECC, Departmental Coordination Office for Community Advocacy Services in Cusco) was created so that the teams of community advocates could coordinate their work, receive training and discuss the experience and knowledge acquired in their day-to-day activities and the challenges they faced.

CODECC has become an important regional actor and plays an important role as a contact point for regional policymaking input. It is actively involved in project decision-making, the preparation of new intervention strategies and the creation of community advocacy services throughout Cusco.

Project Implementation and Management

Before community advocates can be trained, a number of consciousness-raising activities have to be carried out to generate support in the community for the service, establish clear criteria for selecting the people to be trained as advocates and, most importantly, ensure that those accepting the position understand the challenges that await them and the obligations they will have to meet. Participants in workshops include local authorities, leaders of social organizations and public officials who come together to share their thinking about how the organization ought to function if it is to respond to the rights issues facing citizens in the community. They also address the subject of domestic violence, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed advocacy service for the community and for the authorities. The workshops are supplemented by short radio programs broadcast in Quechua and Spanish that inform people about their rights and the work being done by community advocacy services.

These actions are then followed by a local diagnostic exercise to assess the institutional stability of the organizations looking to take on community advocacy responsibilities, the support and commitment they can expect from the authorities and public officials and the accessibility of services to make case referral viable. The first diagnosis revealed a priority need to create community advocacy services in provincial and district capitals, as their organizational structures were more developed than those of outlying communities. The latter were able to look for support from these original advocacy services when the decision was made in the second stage to create such services in more remote areas.

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The selection of participants for training as advocates follows certain basic criteria that have been reformulated and refined over time, in consultation with the advocates themselves. The profile decided upon is very important, since the selection of individuals to be trained is made by rural communities in their local assemblies.

The basic requirements to be met by potential advocates, as laid down by the communities, are:

* Being legally of age;

* Living in the community;

* Having time for the advocacy work;

* Having self-assurance and self-esteem;

* Being trusted and recognized by local people;

* Being discreet and able to keep secrets;

* Being able to listen calmly and patiently;

* Dealing with problems boldly;

* Knowing how to act towards their own families and local people who may be against the community advocacy service; and

* Belonging to an organization (Cabrera, 2005).

The teams of advocates selected in the different communities meet to share experiences and receive training so that they can set up their advocacy service. Training for advocates lasts three days, during which they develop skills and a commitment to protecting the rights of children and women in their communities. The course is divided into three modules, each of which has a theoretical part and a practical part. Methodologically, it combines lectures with group analysis and content application work. Participants have to think, for example, about the worst thing that could happen once their advocacy services are established, which allows them to explore their fears and anticipate ways of managing future conflicts. The use of the Quechua language is vital in these workshops to allow clear, confident communication. One important task is to translate concepts and definitions learned in both Quechua and Spanish in order to give them meaning, since in the rural areas (where most advocates work) a large proportion of the population--particularly women--are of Quechua origin and do not speak Spanish.

To make it easier for women to participate, workshops have someone on hand to look after small children while their mothers are attending the training sessions. By the end of the workshop, each team of advocates has a working plan ready and returns to its community to create the advocacy service.

The work of creating the advocacy service includes drafting internal operating rules, choosing a team leader, obtaining premises and the necessary furnishings from the community or municipality and registering with the Oficina Nacional de Defensorias del Ministerio de la Mujer y Desarrollo Social (National Office of Advocacy Services of the Ministry of Women and Social Development). During this period, the IDL visits the teams and gives them the guidance and support they need to carry out formalities, conclude agreements and negotiate with the authorities.

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With this done, the advocacy service exists in its own right as a community organization whose task is to guarantee respect for the rights of women and their children. Its core activities are guidance, assistance, support, referral and follow-up of the fundamental rights of women and children vis-a-vis the legal authorities.

Once the advocacy service is in operation, the IDL provides advice and support. At periodic meetings where each team of advocates can discuss their work and receive guidance on case handling, core capabilities are reinforced and enhanced: 1) management and teamwork; 2) case-handling and promotional activities; and 3) the creation of synergies with public authorities and officials.

Group discussions of the cases received by advocates (prosecutions, appropriate referral, follow-up activities) foster a process of learning and activate a number of paralegal mechanisms that bring community resources to bear on the protection of victims of violence. The aim of this whole process is to allow advocates to develop their creativity, assert their independence and, most importantly, explore their capacity for bringing about change and building group identity among the advocates.

Other ongoing training, information sharing and learning activities are:

* Visits and placements between services to promote horizontal learning opportunities and forge a stronger spirit of solidarity between teams from the different advocacy services.

* Emotional support for advocates in order to generate a more personal environment in which they can deal with the impact of the violence they hear about every day. These group sessions, carried out with a psychologist, allow advocates to develop their own personal resources for coping with violence.

* Training for community advocate instructors so that accumulated knowledge can be passed on through the participation of former advocates in new challenges. A team of advocates have been trained to act as instructors/ facilitators in the training of new community advocates.

One constant challenge in this project is to develop support materials for people who have little formal education, low levels of literacy and speak Spanish as a second language. To address this reality, a collection of printed and audio material (in Quechua and Spanish) has been designed to reinforce the content imparted in workshops or to provide up-to-date information on current norms (basic legislation, advocates' manual, etc.). Work is also in progress with the more experienced advocacy teams to design a leaflet to publicize the image of the service community advocacy service that they wish to convey. Radio programs and assemblies are the most important channels of promotion, with almost 60% of users finding out about the services this way (Diaz, 2005).

Another important aspect of the community advocacy services' activities is their joint work with public officials and local authorities. This is a difficult relationship, since advocates are playing a law enforcement oversight role and altering the established social order by contending that women in rural communities may be able to play a role elsewhere than in the home. At the same time, advocates need to establish alliances for their work to succeed, and this is why it is essential that they also exert themselves to raise awareness among the authorities and foster joint training arrangements, providing opportunities for meeting and dialogue in which both sides put aside their prejudices and find ways of working together to put an end to domestic violence.

The work of advocacy teams has been followed up with user satisfaction surveys, recording service costs and changes in the image of advocates to create databases that can be used to redesign activities with a view to providing a better service. Low literacy places serious obstacles in the way of rapid, large-scale application of quantitative measurement instruments. For this reason, qualitative measures--such as interviews and drawings--are used to gather information. Because this is a project that places particular emphasis on qualitative results and the development of personal skills, finding indicators to monitor process and convey results was a tremendous challenge. However, one of the great achievements of the IDL is the excellent quality of the three publications prepared to describe the project's progress (Franco, 2003; Cabrera and Diaz, 2005; CODECC, 2005). (9)

Community Advocates

The lack of effective alternatives for dealing with the victims of domestic violence in the rural areas where the project operates means that the work of community advocates, both in raising awareness and in attending to victims, is of critical importance.

To publicize the service and inform people about their rights and the mechanisms to protect them against violence, advocates distribute leaflets, broadcast radio messages and personally attend events such as talks and community assemblies. They also have premises where members of the community can easily go and seek help. Advocates provide victims with emotional support from their first contact until they decide to make a formal complaint and then through the different procedures, such as police reports and medical examinations; finally, they ensure that the procedures established by law are followed in all the proceedings they have supported. As one advocate put it, this last step ensures that the process occurs as the law requires even when the police superintendent is a close friend of the assailant.

If a team of advocates become aware of a situation of abuse, they take the initiative of approaching the family to investigate, provide the necessary guidance or encourage the extended family to involve themselves in protecting the people whose rights have been infringed. Advocates are often obliged to receive cases in their own homes, in the early hours of the morning or at weekends, since there are no shelters or safe houses to take in people who have been forced to leave their own homes in the provinces like there are in the city of Cusco.

Most of the 380 advocates are in the region's rural areas (about 82%), 68% are women with an average age of 40, while 32% are men with an average age of 38. (10) There is a sharp difference between rural and urban areas when it comes to the participation of men as advocates. Whereas their role is fairly marginal in urban areas (10%), they have a substantially greater presence in the countryside (40%). This can be attributed in part to a strategy change implemented in 2002, when women advocates made a deliberate decision to involve men in the community advocacy service, as well, so that their make-up would reflect the mix of citizens, thereby correcting the distorted view of women's rights as being solely a matter for women. This change is important because family violence and family law are still often regarded as exclusively a problem for women rather than for the community as a whole, not just in the further-flung regions of Peru but by the intellectual, academic and political elite as well (Benoit, 2007).

The vast majority (99%) of people in rural areas speak Quechua as their first language, whereas in the urban areas of Cusco the proportion is 41%. Most live with a partner and have received primary (46%) or secondary (33%) education. Only 9% have been through technical higher education and 13% have studied at university, usually in the field of health or education.

The Strengths and Impact of the Project

One of the great strengths of the community advocacy model is its ability to strengthen the social capital of communities and the use it makes of this capital in dealing with one of the most severe problems facing women and children. (11) Community advocates work as volunteers and display a high level of commitment to their work and the welfare of their communities. They are convinced that they are working for the benefit of women in their community, not just for the present but for the younger generations who now understand --thanks to their activities--that violence is not a healthy custom and should be eradicated completely. They are thus helping to halt the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence. Given all this, establishing the right profile for community advocates and working with local people to select the right individuals is vitally important because of the implications for the acceptability and legitimacy of the institution and those working in it in the eyes of local communities.

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Thanks to the training process and the continuing support given to advocates, the retention rate is high. The average number of people actively working in each community advocacy service in late 2005 was 10.2, as opposed to an average of 8.5 per team in 2003 (Benoit, 2007). Most of the people who begin this work carry on, endowing the service with a high degree of stability and continuity and allowing it to consolidate itself firmly in communities or neighborhoods.

The average length of time for which advocates had been working in this capacity as of late 2005 was 3.3 years, the longest period being six years and the shortest six months. Breaking down the data by area, we find that the average length of involvement was 4.6 years in urban areas and 2.8 in rural ones (Benoit, 2007). The difference is mainly because the majority of community advocacy services in urban areas were created in 2000, while those in rural areas began operating in 2002.

If the figures are broken down by the sex of the people working in these services, we see that women in urban areas have an average experience of 4.8 years and men an average of three years. The average length of involvement in rural areas is 3.1 years for women and 2.4 years for men.

The creation of community advocacy services has built up structures of advice and support in rural communities where they did not previously exist and has had the effect of facilitating access to justice. It is no secret that the legal system is severely constrained in its handling of domestic violence. Working in collaboration with legal services, community advocates make a very important contribution to the effectiveness of this public system in its response to domestic violence.

Although they interact constantly with the team of professionals from the IDL, the community advocacy services are independent agencies sustained by the participation of their communities in all the decision-making that affects them. Citizen involvement in a specific issue (domestic violence) that is, at the same time, emblematic for human rights allows people to make sense of the concept of rights and helps to entrench grassroots democracy. This task seems to be particularly important in Peru where, in addition to the after-effects of a long, violent conflict and the political problems the country experienced during 1990 to 2000, trust and support for democracy are among the lowest in Latin America. (12) At the same time, interaction with the IDL team of professionals provides a high degree of flexibility in the way the project is implemented. Through analysis and the systematization of experiences, strategies and priorities, the project can be reformulated and adapted to the reality on the ground.

Another important aspect is the empowerment of women, who participate in a learning process outside the domestic sphere and begin to take on a crucial leadership role within their communities and indeed within their homes. This obviously affects the personal lives of female advocates, strengthening them both in their self-esteem and in their knowledge and exercise of their rights. These women are an example to their daughters and sons, showing them that women can and must have an independent life of their own while continuing to be excellent mothers and partners. They are putting behind them a submissiveness that encouraged them to accept violence, and it is in this spirit that they are bringing up the younger generations.

Training and follow-up activities involve contact with people from elsewhere, allowing advocates to compare their own experience and social situation to those in other areas. In many cases, their activities outside the home also lead them to renegotiate their roles within it, help them to establish more democratic relationships with their partners and forge better mother/daughter and mother/son relationships that are free of abuse. Thus, their training serves to drive substantive change in their own lives and also boosts their expectations of personal development in future.

Besides the advocates themselves, people in the communities where they operate benefit from the activities of victim support and human rights promotion. Unfortunately, it is not possible to measure quantitative changes in the incidence of domestic violence before and after the intervention of these services. However, monitoring data obtained from beneficiary surveys conducted by the IDL team show that the project has affected more than 35,000 people since its inception, including the advocates themselves, the population reached by awareness-raising measures, the authorities contacted and the victims assisted.

An evaluation of 177 users carried out in 2002 revealed that most were women (74%) and that their cases were most likely to concern domestic violence (39%), followed by proceedings over child-support payments (19%), family abandonment (14%) and school enrollment problems (13%). (13) A large proportion of users were satisfied with the services provided: 67% stated that the community advocacy service had changed their lives and the community for the better. Although only 22% of the women interviewed said that their cases had been resolved, 50% stated that they had learned from the process and 28% that the emotional support provided while their case was being handled by the advocates had been vital to them (Franco, 2003). Of the users interviewed, 97% would recommend the community advocacy service to a relative, friend or neighbor, for the following reasons: 24.5% because it is free; 22.6% because it provides support and guidance; and 18.9% because it provides a quick solution to problems (Diaz, 2005).

In addition to their work on specific cases, an analysis of a sample of eight advocacy services showed that over a period of six months they had carried out 21 promotional activities in a which a total of over 2,000 people had participated (Franco, 2003). These activities to publicize and promote human rights--and women's rights in particular--help to keep the issue at the fore in local communities.

This is a sustainable social initiative because its aim is to change behavior in the medium term, in addition to enabling the justice system to operate in more remote areas that would otherwise be beyond its reach.

It operates with a strikingly innovative working methodology that has empowered women--both the victims of violence and the advocates themselves, who are now conscious that they are playing a role of great importance for their entire community. Furthermore, it is easy to replicate in any part of the region, if the training and working model is adapted to each local situation and support is forthcoming from the public sector. What is essential above all, though, is for it to be staffed by committed people who are determined to improve their own lives and their community and to eradicate the scourge of domestic violence.

Finally, it should not be forgotten that the work of the advocacy services began as a response to the difficulty experienced by the public sector in enforcing respect for the human rights of children and women, especially in rural areas. The initiative rests on the unpaid voluntary work of women who take on this role without receiving any financial compensation. This active, voluntary participation demonstrates a real commitment to the welfare of their communities and empowers the women as community leaders, but it does not relieve the need for the State to accept its responsibilities as a guarantor of human rights by giving active support to initiatives like this one and indeed by providing some financial recognition of the contribution that advocates make.

Testimony

Victoria (age 44) sells chicha (corn liquor) in the town square of Yanaoca. She has five children, four by her husband and one she had before she was married.

"I had problems with my husband, he treated me badly, until one day he almost killed me in front of my children, and that's why I went to the advocate, to get help. I knew the advocates were there in the town and they were always helping people, that's why I went to them, the local women suggested it.

"For years, he was violent towards me, now he doesn't hit me any more, but he puts me down, it affects me psychologically. He doesn't hit me because they made him sign a paper in the prefecture, and so he holds back, he asks me to forgive him, but it makes me sad, I've forgiven him but I'm still sad."

At times, Victoria seems to be lost in her memories, and her eyes fill with tears. She says: "I haven't left my husband because we have to live. He helps support the household. Everything's settled down now. He helps me, but he treated me very badly. I've cried so much. He used to throw me out of the house with my small children. I had to go. I've cried so much that my eyes aren't right. I can't see properly any more. I feel terrible."

The advocates supported her for weeks after they learned of her case and encouraged her until she decided to report him. Her husband's violent behavior was cyclical: he used to hit her when he was drunk and then beg for forgiveness when he was sober again.

The advocates and prefecture prepared a pledge whereby the husband, as well as apologizing, signed an commitment of non-violence and was told that if he broke it he would be fined 500 soles (US$150) and drastic measures would be taken.

Victoria says that had it not been for the advocates she would have been killed or would still be in the same predicament along with her children, and that at one time she even thought of killing herself and her children. The advocates have been her support, they give her the strength to cope with the problem and even if she does not make any decision, they continue to support her and counsel her.

Testimony

Juliana (age 58) is illiterate and lives in Kunturkanki.

Juliana Puturi is a poor, Quechua-speaking woman who walked four hours to testify to us. Her village is more than 13,000 feet above sea level.

Juliana wears rough sandals, and her clothing consists of a black flannel skirt (hand-made from sheep's wool) embroidered in red, a sweater of the same material and a hat. She explains that she is bringing up a granddaughter whose father has refused to acknowledge her or provide any resources for her upkeep. The girl is now eight years old and is attending school, where she is in the third grade.

"We make ends meet by knitting, spinning, working in people's houses when they ask us. We look after our animals. We are evangelicals."

The community advocacy service is very important for her because the advocates have given her guidance and have brought her granddaughter's father before the judge. They are going to make him acknowledge his daughter so that he gives her child support, since otherwise she does not know what will happen to the girl once she herself dies and she is worried.

"Ordinary people don't think. They don't know. I don't know much myself. It's good to talk. We need more advocates, more people who know and understand about rights. I'm poor and ignorant. I never went to school or learned to read, but I've found out about my rights from the advocates and about my granddaughter's rights, so I'm doing some advocating myself."

What is a Community Advocacy Service?

* A service that exists to promote, safeguard and monitor rights.

* A service that approaches human rights from an everyday perspective.

* A service that goes out from the organization to the community.

* A free service staffed by volunteers.

* A service where citizens come together to obtain justice.

Source: Rocio Franco, Defensorias: una respuesta comunitaria a la violencia familiar, Lima, Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

Testimony

Florentina (age 60) is illiterate. She has six children and lives with her 80-year-old husband. She says her sons are alcoholics and behave irresponsibly towards her grandchildren.

"The advocacy service is important because we're so poor that we just put up with our suffering. Fathers abuse their children, and no one says anything. It's important for this work to be recognized because then the authorities and the police are going to respect what the advocates do, and that's why I've come to tell my story."

In Florentina's view, "The advocates are the only option for the poor, because they're poor as well. They're women. They speak Quechua. They live in the same place as everyone else. They know the people and they're good people themselves. They don't charge a thing for everything they know. They work for free as volunteers."

Florentina's daughter had a son and the father refused to acknowledge him. He doesn't provide anything for the child's upkeep. He is an alcoholic and works at the municipality. They are trying to have the municipality withhold a monthly child support stipend. The advocates have spoken to the father about it and have taken him before the judge. They are talking to him to persuade him to change his ways, and they are also advising the daughter on how to get the boy acknowledged and bring him up with affection so he doesn't suffer.

Florentina said that her own sons beat their wives, drank and turned violent, and this was why she was concerned and sought out the advocates so that they would reprimand them. She said that one of her sons had been taken to the police station, cautioned and made to sign a document, and that since then, he had been changing, starting to work and behave better. She was hopeful she could gradually make them all change their ways.

The Process of Change and the Empowerment of Community Advocates

A survey of community advocates (Benoit, 2007) was carried out to explore the changes they had experienced and the way their role as advocates had influenced their lives: first, in relation to their position in the community; second, within their families; and third, in the organizations with which they are involved. A total of 34 advocates were interviewed, 20 women and 14 men. Of these, 16 lived in the city of Cusco (ten women and six men) and 18 in communities in the province of Canas (ten women and eight men).

1. Influence of Advocates on the Community

The teams of advocates stated that once they had taken on this role, their opinions carried weight in the rural communities and deprived urban areas where they worked. This answer was given by 100% of those with five to six years of experience (level three), 94% of those with two to four years of experience (level two) and 75% of those with two years of experience or less (level one).

2. Influence of Advocates on Their Own Families

In advocates' own families, the survey shows a very high level of respect for their opinions: all those interviewed in levels one and two felt that their opinions had been taken seriously since they were trained as advocates, while 90% of people in level three said the same.

The empowerment of advocates as a result of their association with the community advocacy service has turned hierarchical, authoritarian relationships in their homes into relationships of mutual respect and tolerance with partners and children. This personal and family achievement underpins the continuity of their work in the advocacy service.

3. Influence of Advocates on the Organizations to Which They Belong

All those in level three stated that they were now able to change their colleagues' views, while the figure was 93% in level two and 87% in level one, as the chart shows.

Sphere

Main Reasons Why Those Interviewed Feel That Their Views Have Been Taken Seriously Since They Became Advocates

Community

* People trust us because we advise them, look for solutions to their problems and provide a service for the benefit of the community.

* They listen to what we have to say as advocates because we have been trained and speak knowledgeably.

* The authorities recognize us and this means, for example, that we are invited to joint training workshops or to conferences as panelists or facilitators.

* As advocates, we possess knowledge and have consistent views; this is why we are regarded as important in the community.

* People come to us for advice when they are in trouble.

Family

* The way we relate to our children has changed, and there is more dialogue among our family members.

* We have talked these things over with our families, and now they are more aware of them.

* We explain things in our families: we teach them about human rights and domestic violence and other things and set an example.

* Our partners are more aware and see us as responsible people.

* Some members of our families also attend training workshops or talks.

* Our relationship with our children and partners is better, and we show each other more affection.

Organizations

* We have a leadership role and feel accepted by the people in our organizations.

* We have credibility and are recognized as leaders in organizations.

* We encourage our colleagues to talk things over, and we argue openly for our views as part of a process of change.

* Our opinions are respected because we are responsible and we provide guidance and explanations to our colleagues.

* Our colleagues realize that we are trained and that we know a lot about rights and legislation.

* Our knowledge makes us better able to analyze the situations faced by the organization.

Testimony

Julio (age 44) finished high school and lives in Tusa. He learned about the existence of the advocacy services from the radio.

"Before the advocates everything was corrupt. The police and the authorities were on the side of the people with money, the ones who bribed them, and so the victims always lost because whoever had money to buy off the police and the authorities got his way."

Julio's wife gave birth to a stillborn child and was very depressed, so she decided to visit her relatives. She quarreled with her parents, however, and in the course of the argument, the situation became so violent that they beat her half-unconscious. All this happened in front of Julio's children, age eight and ten.

Julio took her to hospital and reported what had happened to the police. However, the police took no notice because his father-in-law bribed them, so he went to the advocates. Once they had heard him out, they went to the father-in-law and brother who had beaten her and reprimanded them. They also told them they would have to pay the daughter's hospitalization expenses. This is how they were made to pay the expenses, and they even bought her vitamins and apologized.

The advocates also reported the case to the authorities so that the police would be reprimanded.

Julio is now supporting the advocates in the effort to have money allocated for their work in the municipal budget. He is convinced of the importance of their work and is trying to find a way of institutionalizing it.

For further information, contact: Rocio Franco Valdivia, Project Coordinator Instituto de Defensa Legal Tel. [phone] E-mail: [e-mail], [e-mail]

Bibliography 

Almeras, Diane et al. (2002) "Violencia contra la mujer en relacion de pareja: America Latina y el Caribe. Una propuesta para medir su magnitud y evolucion," in Mujer y desarrollo series, No. 40 (LC/L.1744-P/E). Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Bravo, Rosa (2004) "Las metas del Milenio y la igualdad de genero: El caso del Peru," in Mujer y desarrollo series, No. 55 (LC/ L.2126-P/E). Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Benoit, Christine (2007) "Sistematizacion del proyecto Defensorias Comunitarias: Promoviendo la participacion ciudadana para el acceso a la justicia y los derechos humanos," Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL), forthcoming.

Cabrera, Zoila (2005) "El programa de capacitacion de las Defensorias Comunitarias," in Defensorias Comunitarias: Una experiencia de liderazgo social sostenible. Zoila Cabrera and Javier Diaz, Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

Cabrera, Zoila and Javier Diaz (2005) Defensorias Comunitarias: Una experiencia de liderazgo social sostenible. Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

CODECC (Coordinadora Departamental de Defensorias Comunitarias del Cusco) (2005) Hablan las defensoras: Una justicia distinta para las mujeres. Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

Del Popolo, Fabiana and Ana Maria Oyarce (2006) "Poblacion indigena de America Latina: Perfil sociodemografico en el marco de la Conferencia Internacional sobre la Poblacion y el Desarrollo y de las Metas del Milenio," in Pueblos indigenas y afrodescendientes de America Latina y el Caribe: informacion sociodemografica para politicas y programas. Project documents, No. 72 (LC/W.72), F. Del Popolo and M. Avila, Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Diaz, Javier (2005) "Estudio de costobeneficio en las Defensorias Comunitarias," in Defensorias Comunitarias: Una experiencia de liderazgo social sostenible. Zoila Cabrera and Javier Diaz, Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) (2006) Social Panorama of Latin America, 2006 (LC/ G.2326-P/E). Santiago, Chile: ECLAC.

Franco, Rocio (2003) Defensorias: Una respuesta comunitaria a la violencia familiar. Lima: Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

Hall, Gillette and Anthony Patrinos (2006) "Key messages and an agenda for action," Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Human Development in Latin America. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

INEI (National Institute of Statistics and Informatics) (2001a) Encuesta Nacional Demografica y de Salud Familiar, 2000. Lima: INEI.

--(2001b) Encuesta Nacional Demografica y de Salud Familiar, 2000. Departamento de Cusco. Lima: INEI.

Kishor, Sunita and Kirsten Johnson (2004) Profiling Domestic Violence. A Multi-Country Study. Calverton: ORC Macro.

Latinobarometro (2005) "Informe Latinobarometro, 2005" (Santiago, Chile). Available online at http://www.latinobarometro.org/uploads/ media/2005.pdf.

Macher, Sofia and others (2006) "Defensorias Comunitarias: Una estrategia comunal para la constuccion de una cultura de derechos." Available online at http://www.idl. org.pe/educa/Publicaciones/dc.pdf.

Rico, Nieves (1996) "Gender-based violence: A human rights issue," in Mujer y desarrollo series, No. 16 (LC/L.957-P/E). Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Rioseco, Luz (2005) "Buenas practicas para la erradicacion de la violencia domestica en la region de America Latina y el Caribe," in Mujer y desarrollo series, No. 75 (LC/ L.2391-P/E). Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Trivelli, Carolina (2006) "Peru," in Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Human Development in Latin America. G. Hall and H.A. Patrinos (eds.), Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

United Nations (1993) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (A/ RES/48/104). New York: UN.

WHO (World Health Organization) (2005) WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Initial Results on Prevalence, Health Outcomes and Women's Responses. Geneva: WHO

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Notes

(1.) Calculated on the basis of figures from the 1993 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI, National Institute of Statistics and Informatics), http:// www.inei.gob.pe. In the rural areas alone, the proportion of people with Quechua as their native language rises to 90%.

(2.) The percentage of indigenous people in the country's total population largely depends on how "indigenous" is identified. In the case of Peru, the only indicator available to determine indigenous identity is native language. Accordingly, people whose native language is neither Spanish nor a foreign language are defined as indigenous. The lower figure (25%) is for households where the head of household or the spouse or partner of the head of household speaks an indigenous language; the higher figure (48%) covers households where the head of household has parents or grandparents whose native language is an indigenous language.

(3.) See, among other instruments, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women: "Violence against women constitutes a violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and impairs or nullifies the observance, enjoyment and exercise of such rights and freedoms" (quoted in Bravo, 2004).

(4.) See http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/ 2006/12/01/solidaridad/1164972850.html.

(5.) See http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/ 2006/sgsm10738.doc.htm.

(6.) The countries where interviews were carried out were: Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Montenegro, Namibia, New Zealand, Peru, Serbia, Thailand and the United Republic of Tanzania.

(7.) In addition to actions causing physical harm, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women includes behavior leading to psychological harm in its definition of violence. In addition to the violence reflected in these figures, therefore, there is the issue of verbal or emotional violence in the form of verbal humiliation or threats (see Kishor and Johnson, 2004).

(8.) For example, there already were Defensorias Municipales del Nino y el Adolescente (DEMUNAS, Municipal Child and Adolescent Protection Services), which defended the rights of children and adolescents of both sexes in cases of abuse, with the municipality acting as the institutional channel. The DEMUNAS began to be created in the Department of Lima in 1993.

(9.) A systematic project survey is also in press, see Benoit (2007).

(10.) The youngest person involved is an 18-year-old woman who carries out support work at a rural advocacy center, while the oldest participants are two 62-year-old female advocates from the city of Cusco.

(11.) Although the literature generally differs on the exact meaning of the concept of social capital, one definition is the ability of people to collaborate to achieve collective goals (Fukuyama, 2004). According to Diaz-Albertini, social capital fosters collective action and social responsibility through relationships of trust and reciprocity based on shared (formal or informal) rules (Diaz Albertini, 2004). Social capital has come to be regarded as a core concept in sustainable development and anti-poverty debates.

(12.) In 2005, just 40% of Peruvians stated that democracy was preferable to any other form of government and just 13% declared themselves satisfied with the way democracy worked in the country (Latinobarometro, 2005).

(13.) The systematic review of cases dealt with by the community advocacy services associated with CODECC during the 20032005 period shows that during that period some 4,657 cases were handled, of which 41% concerned domestic violence, 9% child support and 8% abandonment of the home. These proportions were consistent over years of operation. See Benoit (2007).

Table 1
Percentage of Households in Poverty
Peru, 1994-2000

       Total Population   Indigenous   Non-indigenous

1994         45.2            62.3           40.1

1997         41.8            61.4           36.4

2000         46.5            62.8           43.0

Source: Carolina Trivelli, "Peru," Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and
Human Development in Latin America. G. Hall and H.A. Patrinos (eds.),
Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 199-220.

Table 2
Percentage of Households in Extreme Poverty
Peru, 1994-2000

       Total Population   Indigenous   Non-indigenous

1994         14.7            28.6           10.9

1997         11.4            24.7           8.6

2000         11.7            22.2           9.5

Source: Carolina Trivelli, "Peru," Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and
Human Development in Latin America. G. Hall and H.A. Patrinos (eds.),
Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 199-220.