On the 11th December, the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled that a woman who was forcibly recruited by the FARC at 14 years old is to be included in the Victims’ Registry (RUV). Helena (a pseudonym) was forced to use contraception and to undergo an abortion while she was in the ranks of the rebel group and continues to suffer physical and psychological problems. Her inclusion in the RUV means that she will have access to the public health system, and to the comprehensive reparations included in the 2011 Victims’ Law.
Her case was brought before the Court by Women’s Link Worldwide, a strategic litigation organization. In October, the same organisation brought a report including 35 similar stories before the JEP, Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace.
This month’s ruling goes beyond this individual case, however. In practice, it means that the Court recognises that the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls inside the ranks of the FARC were systematically violated, and that this is a serious human rights violation. These women, even though they belonged to an armed rebel group, can now also be considered victims of the conflict.
It is worth noting that in Colombia, the word “victim” does not necessarily imply a lack of agency, or a state of constant vulnerability. Rather, it is a term that reflects a political identity around which victims have mobilised to denounce violence and demand their rights to truth, justice, and reparations.
Sexual violence within the ranks of the FARC
The officially registered number of civilian victims of sexual violence during the Colombian conflict is 25,295.
The question of sexual and reproductive violence within the ranks of the FARC is an open secret within Colombia, which is largely still hidden. Many women — some of whom were forcibly recruited as minors — were subjects of regular sexual abuse. Some of them are starting to speak out.
Many of the women who fell pregnant were forced to abort. In 2017, El Enfermero (‘The Nurse’) was extradited from Colombia, where he continues to await trial. He is alleged to have committed over five hundred forced abortions on women within the guerrilla.
In recent years, the Corporation ‘Rosa Blanca’ has given an important push to the debate about sexual violence within the ranks of the FARC. This corporation, formed by women who were forcibly recruited as minors and suffered sexual violence within the group, has been outspoken in denouncing these abuses.
Most women who are still part of the FARC political party, however, vehemently deny such allegations. FARC senator Victoria Sandino has repeatedly denied that sexual violence among the ranks was systematic, while both men and women who are currently incorporating themselves into civilian life at the local level frequently ask: how could women have been sexually victimised if they were carrying guns?
Print
Julia Zulver Sanne Weber | Radio Free (2020-01-09T23:00:00+00:00) Colombian Court Recognises Victims of Sexual Violence Within Ranks of the FARC. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/01/09/colombian-court-recognises-victims-of-sexual-violence-within-ranks-of-the-farc/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.