Sexual violence may be a cultural practice of the Awajun and Wampi peoples of Peru, said the Peruvian Minister of Education, Morgan Quero. RT reported this on June 14.
On May 9, local media reportedly published a report citing more than 500 complaints of sexual abuse committed by teachers against hundreds of schoolchildren in the province of Condorcanqui in the Amazon region.
The document was sent by the president of the Awahun Women’s Council, Professor Rosemary Piok, who stated that the teachers had even infected minors with HIV. In Condorkanki, the human immunodeficiency virus was declared a public health problem.
The next day, June 10, Quero accompanied Boluarte to the start-up of a school in the San Luis district in the department of Lima, where he spoke about the topic.
“We encourage the girls, some of them already adults, to file a complaint. “We will work hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to resolve relevant health problems.”he said.
Kero has been Minister of Education since April 2024, but has not been informed of ongoing allegations that teachers sexually harass and abuse their students. Although since 2012, 480 teachers in the province of Condorcanqui have been reported for having committed acts of violence.
He announced that he would work with the Awajún community – the second largest indigenous people in the Amazon in Peru – to resolve this situation, suggesting that sexual assaults could be “cultural practice”.
“If unfortunately this is a cultural practice that is used to create families with young girls, we will be very careful, but we will also demand answers from the community. If these girls were raped, our hand will not waver!” – he emphasized.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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