Final Evaluation: Contributing to the Construction of a System of Justice that Adequately Processes, Sanctions and Provides Reparations for Sexual Violence (Peru)

Location: Peru

Grantee: DEMUS (Study for the Defense of Women’s Rights) 

Grant period: January 2013 – December 2015

Grant amount: USD430,801

The DEMUS project “Contributing to the Construction of a System of Justice that Adequately Processes, Sanctions and Provides Reparations for Sexual Violence” aimed to improve access to justice for women who have experienced gender-based violence in Peru. The project: 

• pushed for gender-awareness training to be included in the Judicial Academy’s curriculum, and for the National Council of the Judiciary to consider gender-awareness when evaluating candidates to serve as judges or attorneys; 
• facilitated dialogue between judicial authorities and women’s organizations, empowering both to better advocate for women’s rights; and
• ran a media campaign to raise awareness about the problems women who have experienced gender-based violence face in accessing justice. 

Main findings of the evaluation:

• Peru’s Supreme Court approved two agreements that require that victims receive better treatment during investigations and trials of sexual crimes.
• The institutional changes achieved by the project are significant, but are only likely to survive if additional monitoring and evaluation work is done. 
• The project empowered women’s organizations and made judicial authorities more accountable to them.

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