Contestants of the Miss. Peru Beauty Pageant refused to answer the traditional questions of body measurements in protest of abuse and violence against Peruvian and Latin-American women last week.
Former 1987 Miss. Peru, Jessica Newton, worked with the contestants to pre-plan the event. The contestants were purposely asked about how they would combat femicide in their country during the Q&A period. Following this segment was the swimsuit portion; while the women walked, their backdrop featured news clips and articles about murdered and assaulted women in Peru. Newton explained the juxtaposition of the swimsuit segment and the news cycle backdrop: “Women can walk out naked if they want to. Naked. It’s a personal decision.”
When asked about their measurements, the contestants made it clear that the government of Peru is not measuring up after United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, visited Peru and pleaded with the Peruvian government to implement preventative measures. Hussein urged the government “to address the social and cultural attitudes that continue to be used to justify violence against women.”
The contestants reflected Hussein’s fears with startling statistics.
Luciana Fernández said, “My measurements are: 13,000 girls suffer sexual abuse in our country.”
Camila Canicoba recited the statistic, “My measurements are: 2,202 cases of femicide reported in the last nine years in my country.”
Melina Machuca spoke out for her city, saying, “My measurements are: more than 80% of women in my city suffer from violence.”
The winner of the aforementioned pageant, Romina Lozano, used her platform to bring attention to the “3,114 women victims of trafficking up until 2014.”
This groundbreaking protest of gender based violence and femicide has sparked the twitter hashtag #MisMediasson which translates to “my measurements are.”
This protest follows on the heels of the Peruvian hashtag #PeruPaisDeVioladeres meaning “Peru country of rapists,” after a female survey worker was raped.
In 2017, Lima, the capital city of Peru, was rated fifth most dangerous megacity for women on a survey conducted by the Thomas Reuters foundation. Lima is also known as the most dangerous city for women’s health, partially due to the amount of back alley abortions that endanger the lives of women. Two prominent female figures have admitted to being in abusive relationships, including Prime Minister Mercede Araoz and popular TV journalist Lorona Alvarez, who filed a restraining order against prominent columnist partner Juan Mendoza. This month also put Peru on the map as a video of a woman being dragged on the street by her boyfriend was aired on the news.
As a whole, the country of Peru has demonstrated a history of violence against women. In August 2016, a group of 50,000 people came together to protest the murders of three women, including one sixteen year old girl who was forcibly intoxicated and then raped by a taxi driver. These deaths sparked the twitter campaign #NiUnaMenos.
Susan Chavez commended the contestants on the brave use of their platform. Chavez said, “These competitions focus on many stereotypes about women and judge them by their physical characteristics, but they impact a broad group of women and men that we [feminist groups] do not reach.”
With the recent allegations against major Hollywood executives and actors including Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and Kevin Spacey, the Miss. Peru contestants garnered much attention regarding the systematic problem women face in Peru.
Their protest has garnered the attention of Peru’s first lady, Nancy Lange Kuczynski, who took to Twitter to express her gratitude for the Miss. Peru contestants, saying “Violence against women has to stop. Thank you Miss Peru for being part of a struggle that belongs to us all.”
Footage of the entire pageant is available here.
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- #MeToo: Dealing With Sexual Violence
- How Workplace Sexsm Led to the Women in STEM Club
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