Each year, countries around the world elect their national Miss in a great fancy beauty contest, usually broadcast live on TV. However, The Peruvian candidates took this opportunity to highlight one of the most crucial problems in their society.
Generally, beauty pageant contestants are told to confess their bodily dimensions: hip, waist, and bust publicly during competition. At least, that’s what typically occurs at the annual Miss Peru show—but this year its participants chose to offer other important numbers: statistics about femicide, rape, and other gender-based violences that plague the country.
From the number of women who have been trafficked to the percentage of women who have been harassed on the streets. These numbers are not known but they’re too real and too shocking.
28 different candidates stepped forward in the competition with statements such:
“My name is Camila Canicoba and I represent the department of Lima. My measurements are: 2,202 cases of femicide reported in the last nine years in my country.”
“My name is Juana Acevedo and my measurements are: more than 70% of women in our country are victims of street harassment.”
“My name is Luciana Fernández and I represent the city of Huánuco, and my measurements are: 13,000 girls suffer sexual abuse in our country.”
“My name is Melina Machuca, I represent the department of Cajamarca, and my measurements are: more than 80% of women in my city suffer from violence.”
“Almendra Marroquín here. I represent Cañete, and my measurements are: more than 25% of girls and teenagers are abused in their schools.”
“My name is Bélgica Guerra and I represent Chincha. My measurements are: the 65% of university women who are assaulted by their partners.”
Miss Peru 2018 winner Romina Lozano also said “My name is Romina Lozano and I represent the constitutional province of Callao, and my measurements are: 3,114 women victims of trafficking up until 2014.”
The organizers of Miss Peru 2018 displayed newspaper clippings of prominent cases of murdered and assaulted women as the contestants made their way across the catwalk in bathing suits.
At the time of the 13 finalists’ swimsuit parade, Jessica Newton, organizer of the event and Miss Peru 1987, told BuzzFeed that they used the swimwear portion of the events to illustrate a point. She insisted that women are all free to dress as they wished and that no one has the right to disrespect them, to touch them, to attack them.
Miss Peru 2018 took a very important initiative to end violence against women in the country. For that, both the contestants and organizers deserve a round of applause.
