Washington, DC, June 15, 2022. The Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women "Belém do Pará Convention" (MESECVI) expresses its concern regarding the Bill 904/2021-CR approved by the Congress of Peru, considering that it represents a severe setback to the right of younger girls, boys and adolescents to receive a quality education, free of discrimination and gender stereotyping.
The "Law that promotes the quality of educational materials and resources in Peru," approved by the plenary session of Congress on May 5 and pending ratification by the Executive Branch, grants fathers and mothers the ability to influence the elaboration process of educational materials, establishing that their moral and religious convictions should be recognized.
 
The Bill indicates that participation of family representatives is mandatory and demands: “(i) full respect for religious freedom or moral convictions of students and their parents; and, that (ii) education should not promote any type of social or political ideology, especially those practices that contravene moral standards or constitute a crime sanctioned by the Peruvian Penal Code.”
 
In this regard, the Committee of Experts has learned about the concern expressed both by civil society organizations and by the national mechanism for the advancement of women's rights, that is, the Ministry for Women and Vulnerable Populations, regarding provisions in the new regulation that pose a severe risk to the inclusion of a gender perspective and comprehensive sex education in educational materials and resources.
 
The Committee of Experts recalls that according to article 8 of the “Belém do Pará Convention,” the States Parties are obliged to “progressively undertake specific measures, including programs to […] b) modify social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, including the development of formal and informal educational programs appropriate to every level of the educational process, to counteract prejudices, customs and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes or on the stereotyped roles for men and women which legitimize or exacerbate violence against women.”
 
In this regard, the Committee of Experts, in its Third Hemispheric Report on the Implementation of the Belém do Pará Convention, stated that: “In the realm of education, a set of norms is required to ensure that women and girls receive education free of violence, gender stereotyping and without discrimination in educational entities.
 
In the same report, the Committee of Experts also stressed the need for “programmes of study and educational materials to be reviewed by education professionals to ensure they do not reinforce gender stereotypes that subjugate women and girls.”
 
The Committee of Experts considers that the inclusion of a gender perspective should be understood as a tool to counteract the stereotypes that fuel all forms of violence against women, adolescents, and younger girls. In this sense, the Committee of Experts considers it relevant to highlight that in 2019 subsequent to a statement by this Committee, the Supreme Court of Peru declared, as unfounded, a class-action lawsuit against the inclusion of a gender perspective in the National Curriculum of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education, thus recognizing the fundamental importance of integrating this perspective in curricula for all levels of education.
 
In light of the above, the State of Peru is requested to take the necessary measures to prevent the ratification of the mentioned Bill in its current form and move towards regulations that mandate the inclusion of a gender perspective in educational materials and resources used at all levels of education thus promoting education free of gender stereotyping and gender-based discrimination. The Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention, through its Committee of Experts, makes itself available to the State of Peru for any technical support it may require in this matter.