Peru Admits Responsibility for Violating Abuse Victim’s Human Rights 

(Updated 03.18.21) Before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Peru admitted its international responsibility for violating the human rights of a woman who was drugged and raped by a public health service doctor when she was seeking medical services. The Peruvian government compensated the victim, admitted responsibility for violating her rights under international law, and took steps to improve its legal and administrative policies on sexual violence  

M.M., a 19-year-old Peruvian woman, was drugged and raped by a public health service doctor when she came in for medical services. After filing a criminal report immediately thereafter, the woman was subjected to mistreatment and discrimination by the criminal justice system. The accused was acquitted. 

The Center for Reproductive Rights, the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of the woman.  

The Peruvian government entered into a friendly settlement in 2000 in which the government paid compensation to the victim, agreed to professionally sanction the accused, agreed to improve legal and administrative measures involving sexual violence claims, and admitted responsibility under international law for the violation of her human rights. 

Filing date: Petition filed in April 1998

Country/Region: Peru/LAC

Plaintiff(s): M.M. 

Center Attorney(s): Luisa Cabal and Lilian Sepúlveda 

Partners: CLADEM, CEJIL, and DEMUS. 

Press Releases 

• UN Human Rights Committee Makes Landmark Decision Establishing Women’s Right to Access to Legal Abortion 
• International Human Rights Settlement Expected to Improve Women’s Access to Reproductive Health Care in Peru 

Books & Reports 

• Silence and Complicity: Violence Against Women in Peruvian Public Health Facilities (Book)