Authors: ResearchGate

Abstract: »Several women from the community of Manta were raped by soldiers assigned to the military bases there during the Peruvian internal armed conflict (1980-2000). Sexual assault became a repeated and systematic practice throughout the entire time the military base was operational (1984-1998). In 2016, nine women started legal proceedings to demand justice and reparations for the crimes committed against them. The aim of this article is to focus on the construction of the image of the perpetrators of sexual assaults in the military during the armed conflict, paying particular attention to Manta. To achieve this, the opinions of six of the nine rape survivors have been analyzed from conversations taking place over the two years of the field research. Also, this article will analyze how an image of the soldiers as ‘innocent' and ‘decent’ men has been constructed by the defendants. For this, the author analyzes their ethnographic field notes realized during the trial. The analysis of the conduct of both the soldiers and their lawyers during the hearings allows to observe the construction of a story of innocence that attaches to the triumphalist memoria salvadora that exists in Peru.« (Source: Women's History Review)

Wikipedia: History of the Americas: History of Peru | Sex and the law: Rape / Wartime sexual violence | War: Internal conflict in Peru