REDRESS - Breaking the Silence: Sexual Violence in Social Protests Across Latin America

Since May 2024, the Academy on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) and REDRESS have partnered to implement the project “Sexual Violence in the Context of Social Protest in Latin America.” The project aims to support the ongoing advocacy and litigation efforts of the Latin American Network for Gender-Based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG) regarding sexual violence perpetrated during social protests—an under-addressed issue that suffers from insufficient documentation, limited visibility, and minimal development within both international and domestic human rights bodies. The ultimate goal is to ensure the effective protection of victims’ human rights, advance pending national and international litigation, and promote institutional guarantees of Non-repetition.

TOPIC AND BACKGROUND

As part of the project, AUWCL, REDRESS, and ReLeG prepared a report mapping cases reflecting the intersection between protest, torture, and sexual violence in Latin America. The report draws from recent civil demonstrations across several countries in the region—including Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Venezuela. In all these contexts, individuals reported not only the disproportionate use of force as a means to suppress protests, but also episodes of unlawful detention and acts of sexual violence perpetrated by state agents.

The findings of the mapping report were deeply alarming: Sexual and gender-based violence in protest contexts across Latin America is not incidental or isolated, but rather a deliberate tool of political and social repression. Security forces have systematically used such violence to intimidate, punish, and silence women, girls, gender- diverse individuals, and Indigenous communities, reflecting deeply entrenched structural discrimination. In many cases, this violence meets the threshold of torture or ill-treatment under international human rights law.

Despite existing legal standards, there is a lack of clear operational protocols and differentiated approaches that consider gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. This gap enables impunity and perpetuates these abuses, undermining victims' rights and sending a tacit message of tolerance by States in the Americas.

To address this, the mapping report calls for recognizing such violence as a form of torture and political repression, ensuring justice, and adopting intersectional data collection and analysis to account for diverse identities. Ultimately, tackling this issue is crucial in order to safeguard democratic participation and build more inclusive and equitable societies.

OBJECTIVES

Present key findings from the regional mapping report to highlight how sexual violence in the context of social protest remains an overlooked and under-documented issue in Latin America—and globally. The event aims to spark interest in replicating similar analyses in other regions, exploring the intersection of torture and protest in comparative contexts, with Latin American contexts as a reference.

Raise awareness of the urgent need for greater recognition, funding, and coordinated action to address this issue, emphasizing the role of international bodies, human rights NGOs, organized civil society, and academic institutions in supporting victims and promoting accountability.

Provide a concrete example of pending international litigation that offers unique opportunities for the development of standards and effective protection of human rights victims – We will feature key actors involved in the landmark case Women Victims of Sexual Torture in Atenco v. Mexico and showcase the importance of promoting a more proactive approach for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Promote a broader legal understanding of torture under criminal law, showing how it can occur outside of detention and interrogation contexts. Using the example of Chile, we will explore the gap between progressive legal frameworks and their implementation, and how rethinking legal standards can better reflect the realities of gender-based torture in protest contexts.

Languages spoken: English & Spanish
Interpretation available: EN / ES