Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
24822939
label
Latin America - Women's Issues
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
24822939
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Latin America - Women's Issues
citationUrl
collections
Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Nicole Rabner's Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
24822939
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
otherTitles
42-t-7763278-20121035S-048-003-2015
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
0f340e11b71e4152
ocrText
Women Talk
ReproSalud Occasional Report on Qualitative Research Findings
October 1996
Domestic Violence toward Women
Reproductive Health in the Community, or ReproSalud, is a five-year, $25-million effort
to improve the reproductive health of women in selected rural and peri-urban zones of
Peru. USAID's development partners in ReproSalud are Movimiento Manuela Ramos
(MMR), a leading Peruvian women's organization, and Alternativa, a Peruvian non-
governmental organization. ReproSalud's technical implementation began in full swing in
early 1996 with the opening of eight regional offices in the cities of Trujillo, Puno,
Juliaca, Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Pucallpa, Tarapoto, and Huaraz. These offices are
supported by core technical and administrative staff based at project headquarters in
Movimiento Manuela Ramos' home offices in Lima.
Community-based organizations compete for assistance in identifying, prioritizing and
addressing their reproductive health needs. Effective participatory, educational and
consciousness-raising approaches enable community ownership and promote positive
gende relations.
This document briefly summarizes the data available on domestic violence from some of
ReproSalud's initial activities.² These data were gleaned principally from four pilot tests
of ReproSalud's autodiagnostico.³
The pilot tests of the autodiagnostico took place in July 1996 in the villages of Pamaya in
the Aymara section of Puno, Luyanta in Ayacucho (Quechua-speaking), Shilla in Chavin
(also Quechua-speaking) and Aguaytillo in Ucayali (this one in Spanish) -- three Andean
communities and one jungle community. At this writing, ReproSalud staff are now
conducting the first round of full-fledged autodiagnosticos with the 18 CBOs selected as
partners for the first grant cycle.
Even from these limited encounters, domestic violence emerges as a frequent event in the
communities visited, and as one that negatively affects reproductive and sexual health. A
1
Women Talk is a way of communicating to an English-speaking readership the voices of everyday women
in Peru on subjects affecting their health. It is drawn from the qualitative research ReproSalud undertakes on a
regular basis. Women Talk will be issued periodically, as issues and requests for information arise.
2 For purposes of this report, domestic violence refers to physical or psychological harm inflicted on a
woman by her spouse or partner.
3
A qualitative research methodology implemented with community-based women's organizations that, by a
combination of consciousness raising, education and participatory techniques, enables women to identify and
prioritize their own reproductive health problems.
Women Talk, October 1996
2
health, will emerge by the end of November, when the first round of autodiagnosticos are
completed.
1.
Findings from the pilot test of the autodiagnostico in Pamaya, an Aymara-speaking
community two hours from the city of Puno
The topic of domestic violence arose frequently. While women identified fear of
maternal mortality as the major reproductive health problem they face, spousal behavior
emerged as an important contributing factor to this mortality. In many cases women say
they are the victims of domestic violence perpetrated by their husbands, even -- or
sometimes particularly -- when they are pregnant.
An underlying factor is alcohol abuse. Women say alcoholism is a major problem in
Aymara communities, though it is never dealt with by development agencies. Women
talk of how men come home drunk, yelling at them and forcing them to have sexual
relations. Alcoholism and domestic violence go hand in hand in affecting negatively the
welfare of women and children.
In women's own words:
"Men beat their wife if, according to the husband, the wife is not doing things
right; they also complain if the women takes part in meetings. Women are expected
to cook and wash clothes every day.
"Sometimes when a woman is pregnant, she gets hit (since she can't work as
hard) [when] there's not enough money to buy food.
Further, the women declare that some husbands virtually beat their pregnant wife in the
stomach, risking the unborn infant's health. In speaking of the various ways women in
the community die:
"
other times it's because their husband has beat them and hurt their body
and it kills them.
From group work in which the causes of maternal mortality were listed:
"Because of violence inflicted by husbands before childbirth."
"The man arrives drunk at night and the woman is in labor, and he doesn't take
care of her or give her any sustenance.
"Fights with family members and husbands."
"The husband doesn't take care of the mother, lack of care and sustenance. "
Women Talk, October 1996
3
"When he's drunk, the husband beats the pregnant women in the stomach until
she's almost dead, and then the baby is born dead.
Spousal neglect is a recurrent theme, since in Aymara society men are traditionally
among the principal caregivers during childbirth. Husbands play a very important role at
this time; they are expected to give moral and psychological support to the birthing
woman. In one exercise of the autodiagnostico, women are asked to project their lives.
They recount either their own personal experiences or those of someone known to them.
In this way the group comes up with a composite story that reflects reproductive health
problems as lived in their community, but no one woman is expected to tell directly the
most personal things about her situation. One story of a 19-year-old woman ends thus:
"
when she had finished nine months of pregnancy she told her husband, but
he went to look after the cattle while she gave birth, without even giving her
breakfast, nor any broth; there was no one to give her any sustenance, and so she
died. "
In another exercise, women describe likely routes followed by pregnant women in need
of help. Part of one such story about the case of "Nancy":
"Nancy continues in her search for help. On the road she meets up with
Carmen, an old school friend, who tells her that Jose (Nancy's husband) is out
getting drunk, happy as can be, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Nancy
then meets up with her drunken husband, but he doesn't pay any attention to her,
nor does he believe that she has pains; unworried, he continues drinking Finally
Nancy gives birth without adequate attention and she
dies.
"
The facilitator asks: Why did Nancy's husband Jose have that attitude? The women
respond:
"He had another woman and so he made Nancy's life miserable [domestic
violence]; he didn't like Nancy's cooking and he says that he liked the cooking of
the other woman more.
The themes of domestic violence and spousal neglect were repeated in four other stories. 4
4
After the second or third group's story had been listened to in plenary, some women commented that they
didn't believe the part about domestic violence. There was an uneasy laughter in the group. Then a woman
about age 30 with a toddler and an infant started to stand up (all of us were seated on the ground). I thought
she was going after her toddler, or leaving the group momentarily. I thought this because these were typically
the only moments when women stood up. But this woman didn't begin to walk; rather, she stood in place and
confirmed that it is true that women are hit by their husbands. The translation (from the Aymara) that I
received was, "My husband hits me in the nose, so much that I have blood." She gestured as she said this,
swinging her arms to show how he might hit her. Again there was uneasy laughter in the group, until the
facilitator asked why everyone was laughing. The woman sat down again, took her baby in her arms and began
to breastfeed him.
Women Talk, October 1996
4
The groups agreed that women die because of a combination of neglect -- spousal neglect,
neglect of other family members and neglect of the health system.
At the end of the six-session exercise, the women stated they had enjoyed the days of
activities; they had played and spoken of both their sorrows and their joys. They said
they had never talked about such things as a group before; they had always thought
women's suffering was something natural [that had to be]; but now they saw not all
women suffer:
"We have had the chance to talk about women's health problems and domestic
violence; we always thought that these were natural things; now we realize it
shouldn't be that way.
2.
Findings from the pilot test of the autodiagnostico in Luyanta, a Quechua-speaking
community one hour from the city of Ayacucho
The theme of domestic violence was also quite evident in the pilot test in Ayacucho, an
area that, as the birthplace of Sendero Luminoso, has suffered a great deal of civil strife
over the past two decades.
In an exercise in which women tape composite stories about their health problems, the
stories contained various reference to domestic violence. The first story talks about the
difficulties when an adolescent gives birth and the lack of support of the baby's father in
such circumstances. The second story goes on to describe how women's health
deteriorates and their worries multiply, aggravated by blows they receive continually
from their husbands. Women associate hemorrhage, which this group identified as one of
its two most important problems, with pregnancy and miscarriages caused by spousal
physical abuse. The negative characteristics of men that come out in these stories are
wife-beating ("son pegalones"), drinking, laziness and irresponsibility.
From the case of "Sara":
"Sara's life was very difficult because she didn't even have enough money to
dress her children, she had very little land to till, her husband was lazy, he didn't
help her and everything fell to Sara. He even beat her a lot. When Sara tried to
make some money through trade , her husband would beat her when she got home a
little late.
I was mostly impressed by the powerful nature of this woman's action. I don't know if she stood
because she consciously wanted to make her statement more powerful or because it was the only way to gather
the strength to talk publicly about something so personal. She seemed to have been driven by fear and power at
the same time. B. Feringa
Women Talk, October 1996
5
Because of what she was going through, Sara's health did not get any better,
because her husband abused her and she was always very worried. Because of all
this she was very sickly. She couldn't think about doing another type of business
because her husband wouldn't let her work. She couldn't feed herself well because
she barely had enough for her children. When her husband worked, he used his
earnings to get drunk and then he would abuse his wife; he wouldn't even let her
support their children. Sara was the only one who concerned herself with feeding,
dressing and educating the children, working day and night."
From the case of "Maria":
"When Maria was 18 or 19 years old she walked in vain looking for money.
Then she found herself a husband, who was named Daniel. Her husband made her
suffer a lot and made Maria regret the many things that were lacking in her life.
Ever since Maria married Daniel she has suffered a lot, since her husband
beats her because she doesn't know how to cook. She only knows how to take care
of sheep. For all these reasons her husband beats her a lot
For all that her husband made her suffer and his beatings, Maria miscarried.
While she was getting over the miscarriage, she began to hemorrhage and she
almost died from this hemorrhage, because she was loosing all her blood. She
could only get up with the help of her husband. When Maria became so ill, her
husband repented of all the blows he had dealt her."
3.
Findings from the pilot test of the autodiagnostico in Shilla, a Quechua-speaking
community some distance from Huaraz
Domestic violence came up in this community in the exercise in which women construct
composite life histories. Speaking about the adult woman's husband, they said:
"When he is drunk he beats Paola. She cries and regrets her marriage. She
goes to see her godmother and godfather, in hope that they can help her solve this
problem. She doesn't think she can solve it by herself. She can't leave her husband
because of the children; she has to put up with him for the children's sake."
4.
Data from an article prepared by ReproSalud staff of the regional office in Pucallpa,
Ucayali (jungle)
The city hall of Pucallpa has an office of DEMUNA (Defensoria Municipal del Nino
Adolescente, or Adolescent Defense Office). This program operates in many cities in
Peru. In Pucallpa, "y de la mujer maltratada" (and abused women) has been added to
the office's name. Consequently, it is the place where some women go to report episodes
of domestic violence.
Women Talk, October 1996
6
Records for the nine-month period January-September 1996 show 667 reported cases of
wife abuse -- an average of 74 per month. The abuse can be physical, psychological or
both. The areas where women are most frequently beaten are the face, the arms and the
thighs. Generally, blows are dealt by fist, accompanied by verbal abuse and insults.
The cases were largely first-time reports, though most reporting women stated they had
been beaten 5-10 times before they decided to report the abuse. The principal assailant is
the woman's partner, whether in a legal arrangement or a common-law marriage.
Some rape statistics were also available from the same office. For the same nine-month
period, 201 rape cases were reported, with 91 percent of them being to women and girls.
Four out of every five cases are rapes of young people below age 16. One-fifth of the
under-aged girls raped were below age 11. In the majority of cases, the assailant is a
family member or someone else known to the family.
The local ReproSalud office in Pucallpa reports that prevailing socio-cultural norms often
condone domestic violence. Women who let others know about domestic violence are
sometimes told, "You probably weren't attending to your husband's needs appropriately,"
or "A husband has the authority to beat his wife if she has not been behaving well."
As part of the pilot test of the autodiagnostico in Aguaytillo, two hours from Pucallpa,
one of the two reproductive health problems identified by community women as highest
priority were the aches and pains associated with an inadequate resting (lying-in) period
after childbirth In the role-playing the women did to convey how this happens, they
portray a woman going about household tasks while a lazy husband refuses to help. The
woman gave birth three days ago, but has already re-assumed her duties, while her
husband is portrayed as drunk. Her niece, a schoolgirl, comes to help her.
Neighborwomen come to visit the birthing woman and reproach her husband for his lack
of responsibility. He gets angry and throws them out of the house. The wife declares
that her husband is very aggressive and hostile.
5.
Wider reporting on domestic violence
Movimiento Manuela Ramos, the Peruvian NGO that is USAID's development partner in
implementing ReproSalud, has been active for some time in tracking and trying to counter
domestic violence. MMR's six-month report for the period January-June 1996 states that
1,545 appointments for counseling on domestic violence took place in a legal clinic in a
shanty town in Lima South where MMR gives technical assistance, and that MMR's own
legal service responded to 746 requests for services, three-fourths of which were new
cases.
Summary conclusion: If these limited experiences are any indication, domestic violence
may be very prevalent in Peru, at least in the areas where ReproSalud has begun work so
far. (It is worth noting that 5 of the 17 promoters who work in the regional offices of
ReproSalud admit to having been physically injured by their partners.) The pilot tests
Women Talk, October 1996
7
also suggest that under the proper circumstances -- a safe space to do so -- women are
willing, indeed desiring, to talk about domestic violence.⁵ Besides constituting a problem
on its own merits, domestic violence, the limited data suggest, may also be a factor that
leads to other problems, including maternal mortality, morbidity and, importantly, non-
use or discontinuation of contraception.
Prepared by:
Barbara Feringa, ReproSalud Technical Advisor
Susan Brems, ReproSalud Project Officer
from own participation (Feringa) and ReproSalud staff
reports and interviews.
5
In Pamaya, community men wanted to participate in the autodiagnostico. The women, however, would
not agree to this. One reason is that they did not want the menfolk to scold them, once they were back in their
homes, for the things the women might say during the autodiagnostico. Another reason is that the women
would be reluctant to talk, in the presence of men, about certain things that they consider the province of
women. Domestic violence falls into both these categories. This insight poses questions about the generalized
use in Peru of male promoters for community outreach work in reproductive health.
Clinton Presidential Records
Digital Records Marker
This is not a presidential record. This is used as an administrative
marker by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Staff.
This marker identifies the place of a publication.
Publications have not been scanned in their entirety for the purpose
of digitization. To see the full publication please search online or
visit the Clinton Presidential Library's Research Room.
World's
Women
DEVELOPMENT GAPS
women in less developed
FIGURE 4:
North America, men were the
countries work in the informal
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF
The Literacy Gap
predominant victims.
economy - markets and
MATERNAL DEATHS, 1990
Throughout the developing
THE NEED FOR EQUALITY
world, a lower percentage of
cottage industries - where
ASIA 60%
their contribution is not
women than men are literate.
Women are the primary
counted in official statistics.
custodians of the health and
Figure I shows that the gap
In general, women's wages
well-being of their families.
is largest in Africa. With few
MORE
DEVELOPED
exceptions, where men's
for non-agricultural work are
COUNTRIES
Without adequate education,
AFRICA 34%
1%
lower than men's, both because
LATIN
health care, and access to jobs,
literacy is high (above 75
AMERICA 5%
percent), the gap between
women have less access to
many women face these house-
hold responsibilities without
men and women is smaller.
high-paying jobs and because
Although Africa's maternal
sufficient power or resources to
mortality ratio is the highest,
FIGURE 1: PERCENTAGE OF ADULT MEN AND WOMEN (AGES 15+)
more deaths occur in Asia,
meet them. A significant propor-
IN DEVELOPING REGIONS WHO ARE LITERATE, 1990
tion of women around the world
because that region includes
such a large population (3.4
carry the added burdens associ-
WOMEN
91
:87
MEN
84
85
87
84
billion) compared to Africa's
ated with being head of their
80
81
78
households. The elimination of
(700 million). (See Figure 4.)
61
exploitation, abuse of and vio-
53
Fewer than 1 percent occur
lence against women, and other
in more developed countries.
forms of gender-based discrimi-
Women and AIDS
nation is essential to increasing
On January 1, 1995, an
women's participation in
SEST
EAST:
HIGH
SEAL
HUMAN
SOUTHEAT
EAST
CENTRAL
Hums
CARIMBEAS
estimated 17.6 million adults
national development agendas.
ASIA
LATIN AMERICA
AND CARIBBEAN
were living with HIV - the
FIGURE 6: DISTRIBUTION
Human Immunodeficiency
OF AIDS DEATHS, 1994
Despite dramatic increases
they are paid less than men
Virus. Nearly one-third of the
in primary schooling and
for comparable jobs. Among
adults with HIV have developed
CHILDREN
Sub-Saharan
literacy over the past 25 years,
the countries shown on Figure
AIDS.
23%
Africa
Total Deaths
there are still more than a
3, only Australia has wage
Around the world, there
1,191,000
MEN
billion adults in developing
equality.
are 73 women infected with
countries who cannot read or
East Asian countries
HIV for every 100 infected
South/
MEN
write. Nearly two-thirds of
men. There is, however, sig-
Southeast Asia
CHILDREN
exhibit the largest wage gap;
Total Deaths
these illiterate adults are
for countries shown on Figure
nificant regional variation in
115,000
CHILDREN
women (see Figure 2).
this ratio, as highlighted on
10%
3, the range is from 68 in Hong
Kong to 51 in Japan.
Figure 5. Sub-Saharan Africa
WOMEN
FIGURE 2: PERCENTAGE
is the only region where more
Latin/America
OF WOMEN AND MEN IN THE
WEN
Total Deaths
women than men are infected.
81;000
ILLITERATE POPULATION, AGES
HEALTH CHALLENGES
CHILDREN
15+, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
In six of the regions shown,
2%
Maternal Mortality
HIV still predominantly affects
WOMEN
MEN
For every 100,000 births
men, typified by Western
North/America
36%
Total Deaths