ETHNIC-RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

 First of all; what is ethnic-racial discrimination? To understand it perfectly, we must know what discrimination is "all differentiated, excluding or restrictive treatment based on the ethnic-cultural origin and the physical characteristics of the person".

It is a serious social problem in Peru because it deepens poverty and social exclusion and it does not allow the construction of a culture of peace and equality. Promoting the exclusion and violation of people's rights. This mainly affects people who belong to indigenous peoples, the Afro-descendant population, and people of Andean or Amazonian origin. More than half of Peruvians have felt discriminated against. A survey carried out by the Ministry of Culture informs us that 59% of Peruvians perceive that the Quechua and Aymara population is discriminated against because of their way of speaking, their clothing and the language they speak, 60% of Peruvians confirm that the Afro-Peruvian population is discriminated against because of their skin color, physical features and because they are allegedly associated with crime. In this survey, 53% of people say that Peruvians are racist, but only 8% consider themselves racist.

As we can see discrimination is a problem that strongly affects our society in several fields, which is not only detrimental to women, but also to other groups in vulnerable situations and exclusion, with Peru being the country with the largest wage gap in Latin America. Nevertheless, not much is said about the naturalization which racism is perceived, which makes it seem "normal" the difference present when it comes to occupying the highest ranking and best paid positions, which particularly goes to people of European descent.

 In our country, ethnic-racial discrimination presents different patterns such as the denial and naturalization of the case, in which denial is used as a defense method to avoid being involved in the act and naturalization where people say they are not discriminated against, saying that it is part of the colloquial treatment. An example of this are the jokes and other offensive expressions with racist connotations often lead to harassment and bullying.

 There also exists a hierarchy because in our country there is a lot of diversity and that’s a motive of discrimination and the establishment of hierarchical relationships. For this motive, discrimination increases every time when a person or group think is superior than other ones. For example; ethnic-racial discrimination is evident in the incorporation to professional and managerial positions, where the presence of people with Andean and Afro-Peruvian features is very low. In the case of small and mid-sized companies, discrimination is common in the selection process, while in the case of large corporations, it is frequently in the promotion and placement process in functional areas. Discriminatory attitudes may occur at several moments of the employment environment, from the employment offer to the relationship in the workplace and its conditions, from the interaction and attitudes towards co-workers to the employment contract conclusion.

This last three patrons don’t allow the full exercise of people’s rights, since they are discriminated, being unable to express their opinion, their voice doesn’t count in the circumstances and their condition of citizens is underestimated

To prevent this, we need social inclusion and this really takes place when all the members of a community can live in harmony and without any conflicts in the same place. And talking about our country this will be a reality when we all accept our differences as citizens. To live in harmony, it’s necessary the formation of an intercultural citizenship which means “all the citizens assume the cultural diversity in a positive way, respecting and valuing all the cultures, ethnic groups and cultural groups” 

REFERENCES:

Ministerio de la cultura (2017) Plataforma de acción contra la discriminación étnico racial  Plataforma de acción contra la discriminación étnico racial

Ministerio de la cultura (2017) Discriminación y racismo en el Perú Discriminación y racismo en el Perú 

Ministerio de cultura. ( 2017). Discriminación étnico-racial en el ámbito laboral. Diagnóstico situacional. https://alertacontraelracismo.pe/sites/default/files/archivos/investigacion/Diagno%CC%81stico%20Situacional_Discriminacio%CC%81n%20E%CC%81tnico-Racial%20en%20el%20A%CC%81mbito%20Laboral_2017.pdf

Discriminación en las empresas: ¿Qué pueden hacer los derechos humanos? (2018) IDEHPUCP.  https://idehpucp.pucp.edu.pe/analisis1/discriminacion-en-las-empresas-que-pueden-hacer-los-derechos-humanos/