Narrative Study of Sexual Violence Impacts on Indigenous Girls in Peru

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative narrative analysis of the mental health of girls and adolescents who are survivors of sexual violence in Peru, based on academic literature and policy documents reviewed between 2019 and 2024. The objective is to identify the main psychological consequences, barriers to accessing care services, and sociocultural determinants that influence institutional revictimization. Fifteen academic and institutional sources were reviewed and organized thematically for analysis. The findings reveal severe trauma such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, along with fragmented care pathways that perpetuate revictimization. Factors such as poverty, rural environments, cultural practices, and institutional weakness limit the effective protection of girls' rights. In Amazonian indigenous communities, such as Awajún and Wampís, territorial inequality, language barriers, and the absence of the state exacerbate vulnerability and hinder access to mental health care and justice. The study is based on a human rights and trauma-sensitive approach that recognizes girls as subjects of law and promotes coordinated and culturally relevant institutional responses. From feminist perspectives, sexual violence is understood as a mechanism of patriarchal and macho control (Kelly, 1988; Herman, 1992), reinforced by rape culture, which normalizes these attacks and reinforces impunity (Buchwald, Fletcher & Roth, 1993). Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) allows us to analyze how gender, age, ethnicity and territory intersect in the experience of survivors, showing that sexual violence cannot be addressed solely from universal frameworks. This work provides narrative and analytical inputs for the formulation of public policies centred on human rights, sensitive to trauma and respectful of cultural diversity. It highlights the urgent need to strengthen intersectoral coordination, design culturally relevant interventions and promote a research agenda that evaluates existing practices and reduces institutional revictimization.