Personal Experience
In 2018, on a normal afternoon, I was on the way home after class. On the bus, a news radio was playing. I wasn’t really paying attention, but suddenly I heard: “We’ve just been informed that Eyvi Ágreda did not survive and has passed away.” The news shocked everyone on the bus. I lifted my head and locked eyes with a woman. Her face was filled with disbelief; she shook her head in denial, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. But who was Eyvi? You might wonder. Eyvi Ágreda was a 22-year-old woman from the northern highlands of Peru who, like many other young people, migrated to the capital to study while also working to support her parents. But her life was taken in the most brutal way. One day, after work, as Eyvi was heading home, Carlos Hualpa, her stalker, followed her without her noticing. He was a former coworker who had been harassing her for months, wanting a romantic relationship. Even though Eyvi had repeatedly rejected him, he refused to accept it. That day, Carlos got on the same bus as Eyvi, walked up to where she was sitting, and without hesitation, poured fuel on her and set her on fire while shouting: “If you’re not mine, you’re no one’s.” Eyvi survived the attack but suffered burns over more than 60% of her body. She fought for her life for five weeks in the hospital, but her body couldn’t take it. Carlos later stated that he didn’t intend to kill her—he just wanted to “disfigure” her, to “teach her a lesson.” Her death was a massive tragedy that shook the entire country. It caused widespread outrage and sparked massive protests demanding justice, calling for such a brutal crime to never happen again. But reality told a different story. In March 2023, the story repeated itself. This time it was Katherine Gómez, only 18 years old, full of life and dreams. Unbelievably, she too was doused in gasoline and burned alive in the middle of downtown Lima by her ex-boyfriend, who refused to accept her decision to end the relationship. The attack took place in a plaza, in broad daylight, in front of witnesses who couldn’t do anything. Katherine agonized for days in the hospital but didn’t survive. And more recently, as I write these words, I read the news from just a few days ago about Carmen Moreno, a 34-year-old woman who was murdered by her husband in the same way—he poured gasoline on her and burned her alive inside their home. But these are just a few stories among thousands. In Peru, hearing news like: “Woman stabbed by her ex-partner,” “Missing teenager found dead with signs of violence,” or “Mother murdered by her husband,” has become almost routine. But no matter how common these headlines become, they never stop hurting.
You never get used to them. Being Peruvian is a source of pride for me. I love our culture, our diversity, our people. But it’s also necessary to recognize that our country carries a deep-rooted problem: a toxic machismo that normalizes violence and harassment and still discriminates against and subordinates women. We live in a society that questions the victims, where justice arrives late if it arrives at all and where women continue to be murdered in horrific ways. Each new femicide reminds us that feeling outraged for a moment is not enough. We need to transform the system that still allows thousands of women to live in fear, and many others to die. Because women shouldn’t be afraid to walk alone, to say no, or simply to exist. So that Eyvi, Katherine, Carmen, and thousands of other women and girls are not forgotten. Their stories must continue to move us, until we can all live free.
This story is powerful, and the data that follows shows that it is far from alone…
- Femicides on the rise: More than 130 femicides were recorded. Many more cases go unreported, and countless women disappear without answers. Girls as young as 10 are among the victims. For every femicide, there are multiple prior attempts to report it or signs of violence that were not addressed in a timely manner. Re-victimization and impunity remain serious barriers to access to justice.
- Disappearances: On average, five women disappear every day in the country. Many of these disappearances end in their lives being found or in the context of human trafficking.
- Gaps in access to opportunities: Peruvian women earn approximately 30% less than men for the same work. Furthermore, seven out of ten women are forced into the informal labor sector, without access to labor rights or social security. Female representation in decision-making positions remains low: less than 30% in Congress and less than 10% in business management.
- Inequality in education: In rural, Andean, and Amazonian areas, girls face higher dropout rates due to teenage pregnancies, early marriage, and domestic wor