Sexual violence against women as a form of torture.Chile's military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military; it is similar but not identical to a , a state ruled directly by the military. began in 1973 with a brutal coup d'etat against President Salvador Allende Salvador Isabelino Allende Gossens[1] (July 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from November 1970 until his death during the coup d'état of September 11, 1973. Allende's career in Chilean government spanned nearly forty years. that left thousands of people dead, disappeared, jailed or exiled. During 17 years and under the direct command of General Augusto Pinochet, the military regime carried out a relentless campaign to repress re·press v. 1. To hold back by an act of volition. 2. To exclude something from the conscious mind. and persecute per·se·cute tr.v. per·se·cut·ed, per·se·cut·ing, per·se·cutes 1. To oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs. 2. women and men who were considered "dangerous" to the stability of the de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. government. From the very same day of the coup and throughout the entire period of military rule, torture was used against people who were seized on the street, from their homes, at places of work or study. Women were no exception. Many still bear the profound physical and psychological scars left by torture, and others died because of it. Sexual violence was one of the primary weapons used by the men of the armed forces to "punish" the women who had dared to take a dissident stand or who helped the opposition in any way. However, although a great many women prisoners endured sexual violence at the hands of their captors during the dictatorship, they did not always perceive this form of torture as gender-based violence. In the following Opinion section, we present an article by the Chilean psychologist Carolina Carrera, "Secrets Revealed: Women Victims of Sexual Violence as Torture during Chile's Era of Political Repression, 1973-1990." Carolina's article summarizes the results of a project of the same name carried out by the Citizenship Program of the Chilean women's organization La Morada. This study sought to draw attention to the sexual torture that women prisoners endured at the hands of the military specifically because they were women and in a form specific to their sex. Also included in this section is an interview with Dr. Maria Isabel Matamala, an expert in women's health Women's Health Definition Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues. and gender and a longstanding activist for human rights. She speaks from personal experience as a former political prisoner about the repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl of torture and sexual violence and the need for opportunities for women victims of sexual torture to talk about their experiences, an essential part of the healing process for them and for society as a whole. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion