The Ombudsman's Office urges the Government to stop generating a hostile environment against the press

After the deplorable declarations of Hannibal Torrespresident of Minister councilagainst the journalist Sol Carreño, the Ombudsman He spoke to urge the Government and its representatives to stop creating a hostile environment with the national press, as it is a constant in the Pedro Castillo government.

According to this institution, these expressions against the journalist only reinforce gender stereotypes, which the State has the responsibility to reject and eradicate, since they show and perpetuate structural discrimination against women.

“Referring to these to qualify them according to socially and culturally rooted expectations and stereotypes is stigmatizing and discriminatory.”, they point out.

LOOK: Sol Carreño on the words of Aníbal Torres: “a frightening machismo”

This situation, for the Ombudsman’s Office, becomes particularly serious, since the Central Government is in charge of the elaboration and direction of a public policy that is oriented towards eliminating this problem, deeply entrenched in Peruvian society.

And it is that, in Axis 6 of the General Government Policy for the period 2021-2022, the participation of women in public spaces is prioritized; furthermore, in the sixth objective of the National Gender Equality Policy, it is noted the need to reduce the incidence of discriminatory sociocultural patterns against women in the population.

They criticize Aníbal Torres after misogynistic statements against Sol Carreño

Likewise, freedom of information is compromised, given the constant questioning that is exercised by the Government towards the media. We recall that journalistic work is important for the exercise of the freedom of expression and information of the population, for which they enjoy a special status and protection to investigate matters of public interest, helping to keep society informed and encourage their participation in debate on issues of public relevance.

On the other hand, given the position of power and influence of the public officials who are spokespersons for the Government, it is urgent that the State fulfill its obligation to guarantee the fundamental rights of people in situations of vulnerability, in this case , women, who are 50% of the national population. To this end, these statements that exacerbate the climate of intolerance and animosity, especially against female journalists, must be avoided.

The persistence in the country of a socially tolerated macho culture hinders the achievement of real equality, which is the basis of any constitutional and democratic State of law. The Government cannot be indifferent to this problem.

Prime Minister does not recognize error

Despite the criticism against him from political parties, journalistic associations, the Ombudsman’s Office and other organizations and institutions, the Prime Minister, Aníbal Torres, assured that his statements were distorted.

“When in a journalistic report it is affirmed that the absence of asphalt on the roads of Huancavelica is due exclusively to the current Government and not to the previous ones, the truth is falsified. Whoever distorts the truth cannot be a good person or a good communicator”, he wrote on Twitter.