In a recent expert study surveying the sexual harassment that women face in major cities around the world, Peru’s capital ranks as the most dangerous for women.
“Lima is the most unsafe city for a girl to leave the house alone or use public transport, both at night and during the day,” the report concluded.
The survey carried out by Plan International took from nearly 400 experts in issues like child rights and women’s rights to poll how likely it is that women in cities globally face sexual harassment.
The upsetting results show experts think there is a very high likelihood that the average woman in Lima will face sexual harassment in her daily life. The Andean capital also ranks as one of the three cities in the world where it is most likely a woman will be the victim of rape or sexual assault.
Lima also ranks poorly in terms of women likely being victimized in a robbery or being murdered.
Peru is no stranger to tragic news when it comes to how women are treated in daily life. Just this year, the country has been moved by multiple cases of femicide, including the case of Eyvi Ágreda, who died after a man on a bus in Lima lit her on fire. Her death and subsequent other tragedies have led to women calling on politicians for reform and added protections, to which the administration of Martín Vizcarra has tried to respond by enacting some changes that would prevent further attacks.
Another troubling trend spotted by researchers in the Plan International poll is how likely women are to suffer acid attacks. Nearly a third of the experts polled said women are at the risk of acid attacks, which are usually calculated assaults based on revenge or anger from men.
Plan International representatives and experts polled said they hope the survey raises more awareness about the daily dangers faced by women in cities around the world. One expert in Toronto noted that hopefully, this will serve as a reminder why more women should have positions in public and safety planning in their cities, a subject where Lima also ranks low.
