The impacts of illegal economies on social dynamics are reflected in the erosion of social cohesion, declining trust in institutions, rising insecurity, and heightened levels of violence. Although illegal economies have expanded significantly in Peru over recent decades, there is still limited empirical knowledge about how these dynamics shape patterns of school violence. This paper presents findings from a study that examines school violence in contexts marked by increasing crime and insecurity, with a specific focus on gender-based violence.

Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed a set of indicators related to family violence, school violence, gender stereotypes, and tolerance of violence across three Peruvian regions. In addition, we conducted qualitative fieldwork in nine schools, exploring the lived experiences of violence as reported by school principals, teachers, and students.

The findings reveal multiple ways in which gender shapes the configuration of school violence, ranging from the normalization of teenage pregnancy and school dropout in certain contexts to the appropriation of physical violence by female students. The study also shows how the intensification of violence associated with illegal economies stretches institutional response capacities to their limits, aggravating longstanding challenges such as resource constraints, weak intersectoral coordination, and bottlenecks in policy implementation.

We argue that school violence in contemporary Peru cannot be understood as an isolated, school-bound phenomenon driven solely by interpersonal dynamics among students. Rather, violent practices within schools constitute localized expressions of broader structural processes that permeate the country’s social fabric.

Authors:
Mariana Eguren, Institute of Peruvian Studies, Peru
Juan Leon, Group for the Analysis of Development, Peru
Carolina De Belaunde, Institute of Peruvian Studies, Peru

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Mariana Eguren is currently a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Peruvian Studies in Lima, Peru. She focuses on the relationships that teachers and students establish with the State and society based on their school experience.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariana-eguren-a-02b461200/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mariana-Eguren-2?ev=hdr_xprf

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