From Bellagio to ReLeG: a story that unites us in our struggle against sexual and gender-based violence

Written by Susana SáCouto and Claudia Martin*

The process of organizing a network for gender-based violence strategic litigation in Latin America began with our interest in exploring how national jurisdictions had dealt with reports of rape and other forms of sexual violence in several countries in the region that had faced situations of widespread violence or conflict. We were aware of the progress made internationally – especially by the Inter-American human rights system, which had rendered decisions in emblematic cases and established standards to apply the prohibition against torture to gender-based violence, and by international criminal courts, which had recognized acts of sexual violence as war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. However, other than the anecdotal information provided by our colleagues in the region regarding efforts made to take these types of cases to court, no initiative had been undertaken either to collect information on the status of these cases or to determine the obstacles that organizations representing victims faced or continue to face in seeking justice and reparations. Furthermore, we knew that, but for a few exceptions, most of the emblematic cases on sexual violence in the region were still at the investigation stage or had not been prosecuted, and the perpetrators continued to enjoy impunity.

Due to the absence of information about domestic prosecutions, we organized a first meeting in March 2017 at the Bellagio Center, in Italy, financed by the Rockefeller Foundation. Colleagues from six jurisdictions, (Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru) participated in this meeting. We selected these jurisdictions based on the knowledge we had of the specific circumstances in these countries and on the professional relationships that we had developed over the years with leading organizations litigating these cases. However, we were aware of the fact that cases of a similar nature in contexts of political violence existed in all the countries in the region. This meeting was crucial to learn about the efforts made in the selected countries and to identify challenges and best practices that could be shared among the practitioners from various jurisdictions who are working to eradicate the sexual violence that has characterized situations of armed conflict and other situations of general violence and repression in Latin America. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the confirmation that, despite all the difficulties faced by those representing sexual violence victims in our region, progress had been made and, above all, much had been learned. After witnessing the effort and creativity shown by civil society organizations, activists, judges, prosecutors and other key government officials in Latin America, it was especially clear to us that it is possible to make progress towards achieving justice in these cases.

The meeting resulted in the creation of a network of experts, which has served as an exchange platform for members to collaborate in the strategic litigation of cases, to promote gender equality, to raise awareness of the need to demand gender parity, and to fight against impunity. During the next three years, some important steps were taken. Landmark cases, such as the Sepur Zarco case in Guatemala, started to change the narrative about the use and role of sexual violence during armed conflicts in certain countries. In our roles at the University, we started to provide support for these legal proceedings at the national level. In addition to filing a series of amicus curiae briefs in the Sepur Zarco case – on the evolution of international case law in relation to sexual violence and reparations – we drafted an amicus curiae brief to urge the national court to investigate sexual violence as an independent crime in the El Mozote Massacre case in El Salvador and another brief advocating for the criminal proceedings to remain open in the Forced Sterilizations case in Peru. We also filed an expert report before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights stressing the States’ obligation to investigate the responsibility of individuals in positions of authority for acts of sexual torture in the case Women Victims of Sexual Torture in Atenco. Other members of the network, depending on their role and position, continued doing extraordinary work litigating cases at the local and international levels, conducting investigations as prosecutors, acting as experts, and teaching or developing and implementing public policies in state institutions.

At the same time, we saw that many colleagues continued to face a series of obstacles in the investigation, charging and/or prosecution of these crimes. These challenges include the perpetuation of stereotypes and misconceptions in relation to sexual and gender-based violence throughout the different stages of criminal proceedings, especially the idea that acts of sexual violence are isolated and disconnected from other forms of violence that have been perpetrated against certain communities. This phenomenon was reflected in, for example, the Manta and Vilca case in Peru and the Maya Achi Sexual Violence case in Guatemala, in which the judges exposed the plaintiffs to re-victimization during their testimonies by questioning the veracity of their statements and allowing members of the armed forces to testify about the plaintiffs’ moral character and reputation. Although in both cases, the victims’ legal representatives were able to secure the recusal of the judges for lack of impartiality, this caused additional delays in the proceedings and undermined the trust that the plaintiffs had in the justice system.

In October 2020, we joined forces with colleagues from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University to organize our first Online Workshop on Gender-based Strategic Litigation in Latin America, during which we encouraged the exchange among peers from the region of experiences, challenges and lessons learned, and discussed the need to formalize the existing network of litigators, judicial actors, academics and activists from the region. The Latin American Network for Gender-based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG by its acronym in Spanish) was thus created. Daniela Kravetz and Dalila Seoane joined us as part of the network’s coordination team to give shape and content to this new project, and we started working on the creation of this website. We hope that this website helps us to further the working areas of ReLeG.

The discussions we have had with our colleagues and the members of ReLeG have led to a series of observations and conclusions. To name a few, we have seen that many times sexual violence cases require not only the perseverance and determination of prosecutors and victims’ representatives, but also additional legal resources and support, be it from civil society or from international organizations. Moreover, these exchanges have shown the importance of reflecting on our own strategies to assess whether they can be improved and how we can replicate positive litigation experiences. For example, we have seen that, in one of the cases, the litigation strategy evolved from describing the acts of forced contraception and forced abortion as forms of sexual violence (for strategic reasons, since national and international jurisprudence on sexual violence was more developed than that on reproductive violence) to describing this conduct as a distinct violation affecting reproductive rights, thus placing greater emphasis on the violation of the reproductive autonomy of victims.

Despite the efforts of ReLeG and its members, there is still much to do in the Latin America region to ensure that sexual and gender-based violence crimes are prosecuted and recognized as distinct crimes, as well as to eradicate gender-based violence. We are aware that impunity for past abuses is directly linked with present-day gender-based violence, which can take different forms and be perpetrated by the same or new actors in various contexts, such as the political repression of demonstrations against the extraction of natural resources or abuses in the contexts of imprisonment, mass detention or migration. We believe that achieving justice for past abuses of sexual and gender-based violence is essential to building a culture that respects gender equality and can contribute to eliminating stereotypes that have affected the exercise of the right to a dignified life for the victims. Changing the law, judicial practices and the patriarchal culture surrounding the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence remains the central challenge. It is also essential for ReLeG to engage additional members from other countries in the region in these debates and for the network to examine these newer forms of sexual and gender-based violence, in order for us to have a broader picture of this phenomenon in Latin America.  

We hope that the workshops we have organized and the initiatives we have launched will be the beginning of and the basis for wider discussions on how to consolidate progress. Undoubtedly, due to the interplay between national and international jurisdictions, progress has been made towards redefining the notion of gender-based violence, and towards developing evidence standards that consider the central role of the testimonies of victims and the context in which the crimes happened. Progress has also been made regarding defining reparations in a manner that addresses the structural discrimination underpinning gender-based violence. At the same time, we cannot deny that there are currently setbacks in the region, especially regarding sexual and reproductive rights. Consequently, we are convinced that the work we started in Bellagio and that continues with ReLeG will allow us to collaborate more effectively to improve legal proceedings and legal frameworks, as well as to strengthen our ability to persuade judicial authorities about the importance of prosecuting acts of sexual and gender-based violence in our region and preventing their recurrence. Members of ReLeG certainly have the passion, commitment and dedication to achieve this!

*Susana SáCouto is the Director of the War Crimes Research Office at the American University. Claudia Martin is the Co-Director of the Academy for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the American University. Both are coordinators of ReLeG.

The opinions expressed in this blog are the sole responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of all members of ReLeG.

Article translated by Carolina Rodríguez, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina.