Peru
- Population: 29.4 million (UN, 2010)
- Capital: Lima
- Major languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
- Major religion: Christianity
- Main exports: Fish and fish products, copper, zinc, gold, crude petroleum and by-products, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton
- GNI per capita: US $4,150 (World Bank, 2009)
1. The ‘costa’ (coast), to the west, is a narrow plain, largely arid except for valleys created by seasonal rivers.
2. The ‘sierra’ (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau as well as the highest peak of the country, the 6,768 m (22,205 ft) Huascarán.
3. The third region is the ‘selva’ (jungle), a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east.
Exploitation of the country's great mining resources has supplied the country with considerable revenue in recent years, but this has not been reflected in an improvement in the standard of living for the general populace.
In the 1940s about 65% of Peruvian inhabitants lived in the Andes; nowadays only 25% of the population is rural. The population of Lima has increased by twelve-fold and the population of Cusco is now eight times its size in 1940. This urbanisation has not been the result of industrialisation but rather of the precarious situation in rural areas.
People from the country continue to ‘invade’ land on the outskirts of Lima, building rudimentary structures and forming large slum neighbourhoods. It is estimated that these contain 70% of Lima's metropolitan population.
Quechua immigrants meet a wall of racism in cities where they are seen as ‘backwards’ mountain peasants. Although some of those who migrate are fortunate and manage to rise up the social ladder, the majority find themselves in worse conditions than before, disillusioned and often exploited.
Cusco is the seventh city in Peru, in terms of population; the peripheral zones of the city have received the influx with no preparation or town planning, which has led to a high concentration of slums. The majority of these settlements are in seismic and flooding high-risk areas, making it impossible to provide affordable running water and sanitation.
Childhood
Peruvian children and young people are all too often victims of violence, both on the streets and in homes. In the Peruvian southern Andes, where we work, the child and adolescent population is in a serious state of maltreatment, abuse and neglect. According to national statistics, 49% of children and adolescents are maltreated by their parents, and this figure rises considerably in rural areas (National Demographic and Health Survey, 2000). 18.8% of children and adolescents receive physical abuse in schools, and 48% have been maltreated at home. (Save the Children - Peru, 2002). Domestic violence is one of the main reasons why young people leave their homes and end up living on the city streets, especially in Cusco and Lima.In recent years, reports of sexual abuse of both boys and girls have increased. It is estimated that in eight out of ten reported cases the aggressor is a family member, but reports have also indicated educational workers. According to the same sources, six out of ten child and adolescent pregnancies between the ages of eleven and fourteen are a result of incest or rape (Social exclusion in Peru, UNICEF, 2001).
As can be seen by the capacity of children's refuges in Cusco, families abandoning their children continues to be a frequent occurrence. This is largely due to the marginalisation suffered by women, high mortality rate, prevalence of households headed by women, low educational level, paternal irresponsibility and the high rate of poverty in the area.
According to UNICEF's 2005 report, 7% of births are not officially registered, which means that a considerable percentage of children do not legally exist, and therefore cannot have their human rights recognised.
