Environmental defenders in Peru: the paradox of citizen perceptions and its implications for public policy

Environmental defenders in Peru face alarming levels of violence and criminalization, yet little is known about how citizens perceive and value these political actors. This study examines how the social legitimacy of environmental defenders is constructed in Peru and how citizen knowledge of the specific risks they face influences support for public protection policies. Drawing on an anonymous online survey administered to 427 Peruvian citizens ( N = 427) through non-probabilistic convenience sampling, we analyze the relationship between environmental attitudes, knowledge of lethal violence against defenders, and support for protective legal frameworks. The results reveal a structural paradox: 79.4% of respondents consider the work of environmental defenders important or very important, but only 33.0% are aware of the murders of defenders recorded between 2013 and 2023, a statistically significant gap of 46.4 percentage points (McNemar test, p < 0.001). This gap persists across educational levels, and knowledge of killings does not moderate the relationship between environmental attitudes and support for protection policies (Fisher’s z tests, all non-significant). Support for protection policies is anchored in general environmental values rather than in specific knowledge of risk. We conclude that the social legitimacy of environmental defenders in Peru is predominantly normative: citizens recognize their importance without understanding why their protection is urgent. The findings have direct implications for the ratification of the Escazú Agreement and for the design of public communication strategies aimed at transforming normative legitimacy into substantive legitimacy.