Peruvian former soldiers convicted of rape four decades ago – rare legal victory

In June, ten retired Peruvian soldiers were found guilty of raping nine women while serving at the Manta and Vilca military bases in the Andes during the armed conflict in the 1980s. The men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 12 years. They were accused of crimes against “morality” and “sexual freedom” under the Peruvian penal code, and crimes against humanity under international criminal law.

This is a historic ruling both for Peru and for the world. It shows that it is possible to convict perpetrators of systematic sexual violence in conflict zones. And it also shows that national courts have the means and wisdom to enforce accountability, even in the current context of high levels of corruption and political interference in the judiciary.

The rapes took place at the height of the government’s fight against a Maoist rebel group called the Shining Path. The rebels were active mainly in poor and rural areas of Peru, and local villagers were often involved in the violence.

The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 2001 under a transitional government to investigate human rights violations committed during the conflict. In its final report in 2003, the TRC concluded that sexual violence by the Peruvian military was widespread and particularly systematic. However, to date, no former soldier has been prosecuted for sexual violence.

Testimony before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and subsequent investigations show that although sexual violence was not explicitly part of policy, it was perpetrated by violent men whose actions were tolerated and often even encouraged by superiors in the military hierarchy.

Research in Peru and the Democratic Republic of Congo shows that much of the sexual violence that occurs during conflict is facilitated by gendered patterns of power and myths about men’s need and right to sex and women’s supposed availability to provide sex. There is also evidence that sexual violence is used as a means of bonding between men during wartime.

My own research project with Peruvian ex-combatants in 2023 showed the intertwining of ideas about sex and violence among former soldiers, and how the military as an institution violently shaped young men to commit atrocities.

The latest ruling reflects this. In their verdict, the judges carefully explained why they considered the acts to be crimes against humanity. And they condemned both the direct perpetrators and the commander of the military base in question.

This historic ruling came quite unexpectedly. The process was marked by controversy and was certainly not an example of well-implemented transformative gender justice.

The case, known as Manta and Vilcaprogressed very slowly. It also showed signs of bias against the plaintiffs, who are all indigenous Quechua-speaking women from the rural Andes. And the case was mistried in 2018 after one of the judges was involved in a political corruption scandal, and had to be retried in 2019.

Only now, 40 years after the crimes and 21 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission first admitted the case for prosecution, has the trial been concluded. The victims were trapped in these lengthy and difficult proceedings for far too long.

Nevertheless, the conviction must be seen as a victory for the women raped and the human rights activists who have patiently worked towards this outcome. Pursuing justice for conflict-related sexual violence remains difficult around the world, despite its widespread use and the accumulation of much knowledge about its application and practice in conflicts around the world.

In addition, Peru’s indigenous population has long been ignored and neglected by the state. This is especially true in the Quechua-speaking highlands, where people have often been viewed as “terrorists” since the conflict.

Racist and sexist prejudices persist to this day and were reflected in the questioning of some of the defense lawyers and in the reaction of some Peruvian media. Therefore, the fact that the judges in this trial listened to the testimony of the nine women and believed them, which they repeated when the verdict was announced, should not be underestimated.

Preventing accountability

Unfortunately, this decision came 12 days before a congressional committee passed an “Impunity Law” that would grant amnesty to all Peruvians who committed human rights violations before July 1, 2002.

As a result, no further cases of serious human rights violations committed during the conflict can be brought to justice. Prosecutions for crimes such as rape, enforced disappearances, mass murder, forced sterilization and torture were already limited and very complicated. But this amnesty will make this impossible.

The law is the result of a corrupt government that has little legitimacy. It is headed by an unelected president named Dina Boluarte, who currently has an approval rating of only 8%. And its congress includes several former military personnel and many “Fujimoristas” who continue to support the political grouping around former President Alberto Fujimori and his daughter Keiko.

Fujimori, who ruled Peru with an iron fist in the 1990s, was convicted of corruption and human rights abuses in 2009. He was sentenced to life in prison but was released in December 2023 after a ruling by the country’s highest court granted him a humanitarian pardon.

The amnesty law also means that those convicted in recent years can request their release, including the ten who were imprisoned for rape. However, if my sources are correct, a group of judges and prosecutors in Peru are preparing a sustained rejection of the new law. The fight for justice in Peru is not over yet.