Cindy Arlette Contreras Bautista (born June 26, 1990) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian lawyer and social activist. She is an

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

recipient, and was also included in the ''Time'' 100 list of the most influential people.

Assault incident

Contreras came to notice after she was assaulted at a hotel in

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...

by her then boyfriend, Adriano Pozo Arias, on 15 July 2015. Security cameras recorded her being battered and dragged screaming by her hair. The attack left her with damage to one of her legs, necessitating the use of a cane. Contreras went public with her demand for justice and pressed her case in the media. The evidence against her assailant was sufficient for a conviction but a three judge panel decided that he should be given a suspended sentence in July 2016. The violence toward her and the treatment afterward became a rallying point for the nationwide NiUnaMenos movement. The march in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

was said to be the largest demonstration ever in Peru. In November 2016, the Appeals Tribunal of the Ayacucho Superior Court threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial on charges of attempted rape and attempted femicide. On 8 July 2019, he was convicted to 11 years in prison for attempted femicide, but cleared of attempted rape.

Recognition

In 2017 Contreras' advocacy was recognised by the US State department who chose her with twelve others to receive an

each in Washington. She was also chosen as an "Icon" by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine for their list of the 100 most influential people and listed as part of the 2018 BBC's 100 Women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Cindy Peruvian women lawyers 21st-century Peruvian lawyers People from Ayacucho Living people 1990 births Peruvian feminists Peruvian women activists BBC 100 Women Violence against women in Peru Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 21st-century Peruvian politicians 21st-century Peruvian women politicians