Making discrimination illegal in Peru
Peru is an ethnically divided country. With its large indigenous population and small white elite, deep-rooted discrimination towards indigenous people has persisted since the time of colonisation. It was identified by Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission as one of the leading causes of the violence that gripped the country in the 1980s. This finding prompted grassroots NGO APRODEH to develop anti-discrimination programming. It is here that VSO volunteer Claire Reid worked to carry out invaluable research that ultimately led to the passing of anti-discrimination legislation in the country.
“Things have always been this way and they aren’t going to change.”
“Discrimination doesn’t exist here.” That’s what regional government officials told volunteer Claire when she first arrived in Peru to begin her human-rights research. She was based in the Apuriac region where direct and indirect discrimination towards the Quechua (indigenous) people has long been institutionalised in laws, private business, policies and procedures of government and educational institutions.
Empowering marginalised communities
Drawing on the expertise of Claire and another VSO volunteer, APRODEH carried out ground-breaking research into the causes of discrimination, which was taught as part of a university curriculum on human rights. “The research showed how many apparently neutral laws and policies were in fact discriminatory in their effect.” says Claire.
The volunteers supported APRODEH in developing practical actions such as anti-discrimination training for government officials, hospital staff, teachers, law enforcement and the military. Special night school workshops were conducted for young indigenous women from remote areas who are too often found working in urban areas for very little, if any pay, and a city-wide treasure hunt was organised engaging hundreds of people in questions over human rights. Another event had participants creating large street murals showcasing anti-discrimination images.
This all helped to raise APRODEH’s credibility as well as public awareness, and paved the way for the most important result of all: the passing of local anti-discrimination legislation.
Bringing about lasting change
With Claire’s help, partner organisation APRODEH designed a draft law to be considered by the Apurimac regional government. It was discussed and amended in many forums and gradually won support from key decision makers. Eventually, the new law was passed, making discrimination of all kinds illegal – a major milestone for many, including countless indigenous people in Peru.
Before the bill was passed, indigenous people from remote villages who didn’t speak Spanish were automatically excluded from essential public services because they didn’t have the National Identity Card required to enter public buildings. As Claire recalls, “For two years I would see a long queue of Quechua women outside the Government Offices, waiting to communicate their concerns with the people elected to represent them….the day after the legislation was published it was amazing to see there were no queues, and that everyone was free to enter.”
The local anti-discrimination legislation passed in the Apurimac region was the first one of its kind in Peru. It has been so successful, that 40 other councils and 5 other regions have approved their own similar legislation.
Ensuring it is properly enforced remains a challenge for APRODEH, but in a country where the ‘powers that be’ long denied the existence of discrimination, the combined efforts of VSO volunteers and APRODEH continue to spawn previously unknown opportunities for present and future generations of indigenous Peruvians.
