Struggle and Resistance: Using International Bodies to Advance Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Peru

Abstract

Peru is often highlighted as an example of the internationalization of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) norms, through supra-national litigation. Yet, the impact to petitioners and other similarly situated women in Peruvian society has fallen far short of expectations. This Article argues that the reasons underlying the need to use international SRHR litigation in the first place are indeed the same as those that give rise to poor implementation. Through an analysis of four cases—two that relate to indigenous women’s rights to be protected from abuses of SRHR and two that relate to women’s rights to access abortion under circumstances when it is legal—this Article traces the drivers, origins, and effects of these cases, on both litigants and broader population groups and institutions. In particular, we analyze the impact and limitations of these cases on SRHR norms in Peru.