WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 84-Page Amnesty
International Report:
COLOMBIA - AUTHORITIES FAIL ON
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WOMEN
& GIRL SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL
VIOLENCE - CALL FOR JUSTICE
21
September 2011
The Colombian authorities have failed to tackle the lack of justice for
women and girl survivors during the country's long-running armed conflict,
Amnesty International said in a new report today.
"Women and girls in Colombia are often treated as trophies of war. They are
raped and sexually abused by all the warring parties as a way to silence and
punish them," said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
"Since President Santos took office in 2010, the government has made clear
commitments to tackle the human rights crisis but we have yet to see real
improvements in bringing to justice those responsible for human rights abuses,
such as sexual violence against women."
Amnesty International's report, 'This is what we demand. Justice!'
Impunity for sexual violence against women in Colombia’s armed conflict,
documents how the rights of survivors of sexual violence to truth, justice and
reparation continue to be denied by the authorities.
The lack of reliable official statistics, and the fear around reporting such
crimes, make it very difficult to evaluate the true scale of the problem. The
statistics available do not clearly indicate cases of sexual violence against
women and girls that may be conflict-related.
In 2010, the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science carried
out 20,142 examinations into suspected cases of sexual violence, compared to
12,732 in 2000. But only 109 of these were classified as being related to the
conflict, underlining the invisibility of such crimes.
Even when women muster the courage to report a case of rape or sexual violence,
these are rarely investigated effectively.
Barriers to justice include a historical lack of political will to combat
impunity, ineffective protection measures for witnesses and survivors, poor
gender training for judicial officials, and a lack of definitions in the
national legislation on rape as a crime under international law.
Indigenous women survivors of sexual violence suffer additional hurdles,
including a lack of translators, difficulties in travelling between remote
areas and places where they can get official assistance, and the significant
presence of combatants in the areas where they live.
"The Colombian authorities must implement an action plan to end sexual
violence, including measures to combat discrimination against women and girls
and to put a stop to the impunity which ensures that those responsible for such
crimes are not brought to justice," said Susan Lee.
Colombia’s security forces, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups have all
targetted women and girls to exploit them as sexual slaves and to effect
revenge on adversaries.
Sexual violence sows terror within communities and forces whole families to
flee their homes, allowing land to be appropriated.
Women and girls from Indigenous, Afro-descendent and peasant farmer
communities, those forcibly displaced by fighting and those living in poverty
are particular targets of sexual violence. Women human rights defenders and
their families are particular targets of threats and intimidation.
Amnesty International spoke to many rape survivors in Colombia, some of whom
sought to report the crimes to the authorities.
Carolina (not her real name) was a community leader in a town in Caldas
Department, north west Colombia. When in 2007 Carolina’s son was raped by a boy
linked to the paramilitaries, she reported the crime to the authorities.
Members of the paramilitary group tried to get her to withdraw her complaint.
When she refused, they threatened her and forced her to watch them mutilate
some of their victims. In May 2007, Carolina was kidnapped and raped by eight
paramilitaries. She subsequently discovered she was pregnant as a result of the
rape. When the paramilitary commander found out, he ordered his men to beat
her; she lost the baby.
In June 2007, the protection programme of the Office of the Attorney General
rehoused her in another town. But the threats continued and so she was
eventually relocated elsewhere. She was in the protection programme for a year,
but is no longer receiving protection.
The case continued to be investigated in Caldas Department and the prosecutor
called on Carolina to testify in the town where the crime took place and where
the perpetrators still lived.
In September 2008, and after pressure from women’s NGOs, the case was
transferred to the Human Rights Unit of the Office of the Attorney General in
Bogotá. However, the Unit has never called Carolina to testify.
In August 2010, the prosecutor was removed from the case. The new prosecutor has
apparently only recently begun to review Carolina’s case.
Amnesty International called on the Colombian authorities to develop a
comprehensive strategy - in consultation with local organizations - to ensure
effective prevention, investigation and prosecution of conflict-related
violence against women, and to provide remedies to the victims.
"The Colombian authorities must take decisive action to ensure those
responsible for crimes of sexual violence, many of which are either war crimes
or crimes against humanity, are brought to justice. If the authorities
continue to fail in doing so, the International Criminal Court should step
in."