For the directors of the institution, the regulations aim to eliminate distractions and avoid cases of sexual harassment, but there is no evidence that a woman's clothing can affect her learning process

In order to reduce the distraction of students and teachers, a Peruvian university banned men and women from wearing "provocative" clothing and denied access to students who do not adhere to a strict dress code. The measure not only sparked controversy at the national level, it also ignited once again the alarms about the increase in violence and repression that lives a large part of the female population in Latin America.

For the directors of the Madre de Dios Amazonian University in Peru, young people wearing torn pants, sandals, blouses that show off their shoulders or back, transparent garments and miniskirts become a distracting element for classmates and teachers. In addition, they say that students motivate with their clothing possible cases of gender aggression or sexual harassment.

The initiative, rather than promulgate ideas about the defense of human rights, caused criticism from feminist organizations and students of the institution, who denounced to the University Secretariat of Peru -organism responsible for monitoring higher education entities-, that restriction restricts students' freedom of expression and limits their capacity to develop identity.

In conjunction with the rejection of the particular prohibition, the Feminist Organization Flora Tristan said through a statement that "it seems questionable that this measure has been taken that does nothing but reflect the machismo of society, because clothing is not the culprit of any kind of aggression or harassment towards women ".

In the same way, in an interview for NTN24, the activist of the Peruvian Women's Center, Clea Guerra, described the regulation as "an intrusion in the XXI century to the freedom of the people" and a retrograde and sexist act. He also indicated that although the prohibition is aimed at both men and women, it is the female population that is the most affected.

Tell me what you wear and I'll tell you who you are?

There are no studies or investigations capable of determining in a certain way that a woman's clothing can affect her learning process or impair her work performance. What we do have clear records of is the percentage of women who have suffered from abuse or harassment in the street, at work, at the university, or even within the family circle.

According to arguments granted to CNN by Yeliz Osman, coordinator of the UN Safe Cities program for Mexico, abuses against women in Latin America are normalized and even the authorities are the protagonists of sexual harassment cases.

According to Osman, in Mexico alone 9 out of 10 women have experienced harassment at some point. Meanwhile, in Brazil, a study conducted by ActionAid found that 86% of the women surveyed had been victims of harassment and gender violence in public places; and 84% admitted to being sexually harassed by a police officer.

A report presented in February by Amnesty International noted that sexual harassment in universities is more frequent than considered. Young women do not report harassment because schools tend to protect their teachers when they are involved in any case of this type, and in most cases the victim does not identify that she is being violated in this way.

Although the term sexual harassment is used to describe a series of violent behaviors mainly directed against women, Amnesty International defines it as unwanted behavior that has negative consequences for the victim and which turns a certain space IGNORE INTO a hostile, degrading place, humiliating and dangerous for the person attacked.

LatinAmerican Post | Krishna Jaramillo

Translated from "Perú: Una universidad prohíbe usar ropa “provocativa” y la medida ha sido altamente criticada"