Study for the Defence of Women's Human Rights

DEMUS – Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer (Study for the Defence of Women's Human Rights) is a Peruvian feminist human rights organization founded on 15 December 1988 in Lima. It grew out of a group of young women lawyers from the feminist organization Flora Tristán who wanted to work with women in the popular neighborhoods of the Peruvian capital using a critical legal approach against a machista and patriarchal system, at a time when public policies on violence against women were limited. DEMUS is dedicated to the protection of human rights with an emphasis on the sexual and reproductive rights of Peruvian women. The organization provides free legal and psychological guidance programs in collaboration with volunteer professionals, and it has run a telephone helpline for victims of gender violence since its early years. It also promotes self-help groups where women survivors of domestic violence support one another and work on their self-esteem. By 2024 its volunteer support reached 45 volunteers, and by 2025 it counted more than 50 volunteers. DEMUS has been part of the national chapter of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women's Rights (CLADEM) alongside other feminist organizations such as Movimiento Manuela Ramos and Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán. DEMUS is known for its emblematic litigation. It represents victims in the Manta case, in which nine women from Huancavelica denounced 13 Peruvian military personnel for sexual violence committed during the 1980s internal armed conflict; the case is the third trial in Latin America to address sexual violence as a crime against humanity in a conflict context. DEMUS also legally represents the families of Celia Ramos and Victoria Vigo in the forced sterilization case attributed to the government of Alberto Fujimori, linked to the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program 1990–2000. As of 2025, DEMUS accompanies the legal defense, against the Peruvian State, of the first forced sterilization case to reach the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In May 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged the Peruvian State to guarantee that the organization can represent victims of forced sterilization without being sanctioned, in the context of the so-called Anti-NGO Law. DEMUS communicates through campaigns such as PRENDE, Contar los Cuidados, and Tengo dos Mamás, and publishes reports and research including "Tejido de Saberes," "Vigilancia Feminista en Acción," and a national monitoring report. Its headquarters are at Jr. Caracas 2624, Jesús María, Lima, and its website is www.demus.org.pe.

DEMUS was founded on 15 December 1988 in Lima, Peru. Its origins lie in 1987, when a group of young women lawyers from the feminist organization Flora Tristán came together to work with women in the popular neighborhoods of the Peruvian capital. They adopted a critical legal approach against a machista and patriarchal system, motivated by the lack of attention to violence against women. At that time there was a great demand for services, so DEMUS started the first telephone helpline for victims of gender violence, alongside research, workshops, and other primary prevention activities, in a context of limited public policies on gender violence. During that period, DEMUS also became part of the national chapter of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women's Rights (CLADEM), together with other feminist organizations such as Movimiento Manuela Ramos and Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán. Since the 1990s, DEMUS has developed free legal and psychological guidance programs in collaboration with volunteer professionals to address problems from different angles. By 2024, volunteer support reached 45 volunteers, and by 2025 it counted more than 50 volunteers. The organization has also promoted a self-help group where women survivors of domestic violence support one another and work on their self-esteem. DEMUS has taken on emblematic cases. In the Manta case, nine women from Huancavelica denounced 13 Peruvian military personnel for crimes of sexual violence that occurred during the 1980s internal armed conflict. The case is socially and legally significant because it is the third trial in all of Latin America to address sexual violence as a crime against humanity in a conflict context, and it forms part of the country's historical memory. In the forced sterilization case, attributed to the government of Alberto Fujimori through the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program 1990–2000, the Ombudsman's Office found that 272,028 tubal ligation operations and 22,004 vasectomies were performed between 1996 and 2001 on people living in poverty, speakers of indigenous languages, and rural areas, possibly through deception and coercion. More than 2,000 women reported having been sterilized without their consent or without being properly informed of the procedure. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) noted that due to the high number of sterilizations, the number of victims may be significant. DEMUS has taken this case as its own, legally representing the families of the deceased Celia Ramos and Victoria Vigo, two of the victims. The representatives have asked for a detailed analysis of the case, taking into account all the evidence submitted as well as the voices of women from various parts of Peru who were also victims. However, in the last year, due to the promulgation of the so-called Anti-NGO Law, obstacles have arisen for the development of the defense, so in May 2025 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged the Peruvian State to guarantee that the organization can represent victims of forced sterilization without being sanctioned. As of 2025, DEMUS accompanies the legal defense, against the Peruvian State, of the first forced sterilization case to reach the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

• 2025

  DEMUS counted more than 50 volunteers and accompanied the first forced sterilization case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

• 2025

  In May, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights urged the Peruvian State to guarantee that DEMUS can represent victims of forced sterilization without being sanctioned.

• 2024

  Volunteer support reached 45 volunteers.

• 1990

  Start of the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Program 1990–2000 under Alberto Fujimori, later linked to forced sterilizations.

• 1988

  DEMUS was founded on 15 December in Lima, Peru.

• 1987

  A group of young women lawyers from the feminist organization Flora Tristán began working with women in popular neighborhoods of Lima.

• DEMUS started the first telephone helpline for victims of gender violence in Peru.

• DEMUS became part of the national chapter of CLADEM alongside other feminist organizations.

A feminist human rights organization providing free legal and psychological support and strategic litigation for women's rights in Peru, with a critical legal approach against patriarchal systems.

• Free legal guidance

  Free legal orientation and support for women, developed since the 1990s in collaboration with volunteer professionals.

• Free psychological support

  Psychological guidance programs for women victims of violence.

• Telephone helpline

  The first telephone helpline for victims of gender violence in Peru.

• Self-help groups

  Groups where women survivors of domestic violence support one another and work on their self-esteem.

• Strategic litigation

  Legal representation in emblematic cases such as Manta and forced sterilizations.

• Research and reports

  Publications such as "Tejido de Saberes," "Vigilancia Feminista en Acción," and national monitoring reports.

1. 1DEMUS | Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujerdemus.org.pe
2. 2Study for the Defence of Women's Human Rights - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer - Wikipediaes.wikipedia.org