Untitled - Terre des Hommes

violence can leave children without a support network. 176 The majority of both sexual and physical
violence occurs within the home: sexual violence against children is usually perpetrated by a male
relative and physical violence most often by the mother. 177
Children in rural areas are identified as particularly vulnerable to exploitation. They are expected to
carry out many tasks around the house or on the land and a failure to fulfil them often results in
physical punishment. Girls in particular are given many responsibilities, such as taking care of
younger siblings, household chores and cooking; they generally face physical punishment or abuse
when this is not carried out properly (ILO-IPEC Estudio sobre el Aspecto Cultural en el Trabajo
Infantil en Peru).. Corporal punishment is common until the age of 12 to 14. Older children by
contrast are insulted, shouted at or threatened with being thrown out of the house(ILO/INEI 2007).
Children escaping these abusive situations generally end up living and working on the streets.
Families in rural areas often have many children and sending one or more of them to work outside of
their communities is a traditional survival strategy. Boys are often sent into the mines or forests,
whereas girls are sent to the cities for domestic work. Girls are often sent or given away at very young
ages, 7 or 8 years old is common, because it is believed that younger girls will adapt to their new
environment (ILO/INEI 2007).faster. Many children from rural communities do not have birth
certificates or other-such identity documents. This situation facilitates their recruitment as domestic
workers, but also increases their susceptibility to trafficking and smuggling for commercial sexual
exploitation. Without official identification, children can easily be made to disappear and are almost
impossible to track(ILO 2007).
Even though the majority of child labour takes place in the rural areas, there is a feeling that
government child labour policies are dominated by urban groups and concerns and that the rural
areas have been somewhat neglected. 178 The large range of geographical environments within Peru
bring additional consequences, for example the communities living in the higher Andes are more
dependent on the natural climate cycle and hence feel the impact of climate change more than the rest
of the country. 179
The current debate surrounding child labour in Peru focuses on whether child labour should be
eradicated or whether the monitoring process, work conditions and support for working children
should be improved. The official state position is total eradication. 180
National laws for the protection of children are in place, the problem lies with the implementation of
these laws. The main reasons for the lack of implementation are insufficient budget allocation, a lack
of continuity within the government and its policies 181 , the prioritization of other issues over those
concerning children and the absence of a strong civil society to pressure the government for change. 182
Furthermore, there is a lack of knowledge about the legal consequences of different forms of child
exploitation, as well as corruption among those responsible for bringing these cases to justice. 183 There
is not enough specialized knowledge among police, 184 health-care workers 185 or the staff members of
176
Ada Meija (Via Libre), Maria Angelica Chong (Centro De Estudios Sociales y Publicaciones (CESIP))
177
Sra. Matilde Becerra (Demuna Cajamarca), Paula Contreras (Demuna Baños del Inca)
178
Walter Alarcon
179
Ana Maria Marquez (Save the Children)
180
Roxana Davila (Ministry of Women and Social Development)
181
Maria Luisa Rodriguez Campos (ILO-IPEC)
182
Isaac Ruiz (Centro De Estudios Sociales y Publicaciones (CESIP))
183
Ada Meija (Via Libre)
184
Ada Meija (Via Libre), El Instituto de Investigacion y Capacitacion Profesional (IINCAP) Staff
185
Ana Maria Marquez (Save the Children)
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