In Peru, half of the women report having been victims of some form of violence by their partners, and 59 percent of Peruvians show tolerance towards violence against women, as reported by the National Survey on Social Relations (ENARES).  

Addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in Peru requires more than awareness—it demands evidence-based action. Reliable data is essential to challenge harmful norms and guide effective policies. This blog post highlights key initiatives that contribute to the evidence base and uncover pathways for meaningful change.

Promoting Local Research and Evidence Generation  

To understand what works to address GBV in Peru, significant efforts have been developed to fund innovative activities and generate new evidence. One notable example is the “Development Marketplace to Address Gender-Based Violence,” a global initiative by the World Bank Group and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). Under this initiative, five research projects in Peru are directly contributing to the evidence base and addressing key issues. 

Research on GBV prevention in the Amazon highlighted that community-led participatory interventions are among the most effective strategies for addressing deeply rooted social norms that perpetuate violence. Research on masculinities and the prevention of sexual violence emphasized the importance of mobilizing men as key actors in GBV prevention and re-education, while an experimental evaluation of a police home visits program highlighted the potential for tailored officer training and improved risk assessment tools to reduce violence recurrence during the critical period before protective measures are granted. To measure the economic impacts of prevention actions in companies, a groundbreaking evaluation model provided companies with practical tools to assess and sustain their efforts to prevent violence against women.

Notably, the ongoing impact evaluation of "Leaders in Action" (LIA or ICLLOS for its name in Spanish) is testing the value of empowering community leaders to serve as role models and disseminators of prevention strategies.

“Leaders in Action” (LIA)– Evaluating Impacts to Inform Scale-Up

One of the projects funded by the Development Marketplace is helping the government of Peru to take important steps to inform its policies and their potential scale-up. In partnership with the World Bank’s LAC Gender Innovation Lab, academics from Duke University and ETH Zurich, the non-profit Innovations for Poverty Action, and researchers from the Peruvian Think Tank Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, the government of Peru is testing how to better implement its LIA program. LIA prepares leaders of local organizations in rural Peru to conduct training and awareness campaigns following a specific curriculum aimed at changing social norms around violence.  

Traditionally, LIA has been delivered through door-to-door campaigns, where Community Health Volunteers conduct home visits. Preliminary analysis of data collected during the intervention shows that door-to-door campaigns are effective at reaching households, with over 80% of those targeted participating and receiving the sessions. However, it is difficult to ensure the participation of men during these visits as they are often working in the field. Moreover, as some norms and beliefs depend on group dynamics, it might be more effective if the entire village is involved simultaneously.

Thus, the impact evaluation is testing other ways of changing social norms around violence. In addition to door-to-door visits, the curriculum has been adapted to be delivered at community-level meetings. Here, discussions about norms and violence are moderated by health experts. Anecdotal evidence from the piloting of the group sessions suggests that both men and women engage actively in the discussions. The project is also evaluating the usefulness of complementing the intervention by involving more village leaders in the activities, who might be key for changing norms and expanding the treatment. Additionally, a short miniseries in telenovela style is being tested to see if it can help intensify the program impacts. 

The impact evaluation of LIA will soon yield results. The research team recently visited Ayacucho, where part of the experiment is taking place, to pilot data collection of the endline questionnaire. Preliminary results are likely to come by mid-2025. 

A Future Built on Evidence

As shown by these projects, Peru is building a strong foundation for effective GBV prevention. By integrating robust data, innovative methods, and community-driven approaches, the country is addressing immediate challenges while creating a replicable model for other countries and regions. The fight to end gender-based violence is far from over, but these efforts demonstrate that real progress begins with solid evidence and the commitment to act on it.

The LACGIL within the Poverty and Equity Global Practice, works in partnership with units across the World Bank, aid agencies and donors, governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector firms, and academic researchers. This work has been funded in part by the World Bank Group's Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank to advance gender equality and women's empowerment through experimentation and knowledge creation to help governments and the private sector focus policy and programs on scalable solutions with sustainable outcomes. The UFGE is supported by generous contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.