Moving from Formal to Substantive Equality
and provincial levels, and in rural areas. In some cases women political leaders are sent to prepare the food during political meetings and are therefore excluded from partaking. They are then pressured into signing documents, with men even physically preventing them from turning the pages to see what they are signing. Other examples included the use of derogatory language to describe women leaders and instances of verbal and physical abuse.
In collaboration with the National Network of Women Authorities of Peru, Ms. Mendoza drafted a political harassment bill that was presented in 2012. She admitted that when this civil society group first approached her, she could not have imagined the scope or gravity of the problem. They discovered that, like many other forms of gender-based violence, political harassment is complicated to define in terms that allows for its effective prosecution, as it is often subtle and has cumulative effects that are hard to quantify.
Though the bill has not yet been debated by the relevant commissions, Ms. Mendoza acknowledged that contributing to the debate has led to progress, because political harassment is something the public is now aware of. Recent documentation of this phenomenon through various surveys and studies has also allowed politicians and activists to better understand the phenomenon and devise appropriate responses.
Ms. Mendoza anticipated that once passed, implementing the law will prove even more challenging. She noted that Bolivia has already passed legislation on political harassment, so there
would be an opportunity to share lessons learned. It will be essential to build networks of solidarity around this issue.
Lastly, Ms. Mendoza voiced her agreement on the necessity of focusing efforts on prevention, not solely criminalization. In Peru, some of the following preventive measures were identified: raising awareness about the bill on political harassment, encouraging open debate sessions, and establishing that the ministry for women would document and provide follow up on individual cases.