Share

Share this

Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Tweet Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile

Photo: Josean Rivera

The Lesbian Group Breaking the Silence (RS) is familiar with at least six testimonies of lesbian women who were assaulted, sexually tortured, or illegally detained in Chile during the ten days of the State of Emergency decreed on October 18 by President Sebastián Piñera.

Acts of humiliation related to gender expression, mockery accompanied by extortion, threats of corrective rape or even death, perpetrated by members of the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement or by family members or individuals linked to these state agents, are among the main characteristics of these complaints collected by RS, after setting up a telephone hotline to support and guide vulnerable women. Some cases were referred to the Association of Feminist Lawyers (Abofem).

[READ ALSO: Emilia Schneider, trans student leader, booked by Chilean police ]

The cases are compiled in a report that RS delivered over the weekend to the technical mission sent to Chile by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, following a meeting attended by RS and representatives from 200 other organizations. This mission will remain in the country until November 22, examining allegations of human rights violations that occurred during the intense protests that erupted nearly three weeks ago and show no signs of abating.  

Nicole Rojas, head of the research department at RS, explained to Presentes that most of the complaints are for attacks based on gender expression. In cases of threats of corrective rape, a weapon or baton is always involved. “That’s an aggravating factor because it relates to a construction of power around the phallus and how it intrudes upon the bodies of our female colleagues,” she observes.

[READ ALSO: Lesbian couple reports beating by military personnel in Chile ]

The attacks occurred in various locations throughout the Metropolitan Region and in other cities across the country. For security reasons, the report omitted the names of the victims, who have so far declined to speak to the press.

Wounded by pellets for marching with an LGBTQ+ flag

October 18: During a demonstration in Santiago, a young lesbian woman reported to RS that she was shot at with pellets while marching, simply for carrying an LGBTQ+ flag. The case was referred to Abofem.

She is receiving death threats for being "sick and a faggot"

October 19: A 29-year-old lesbian, the mother of a military officer, reported harassment and verbal abuse by some members of her family. She has also received threats via Facebook and WhatsApp audio messages calling her “sick and a faggot.” This is the only case that predates the protests, Rojas explained, but the threats have intensified in recent days. The complaint was referred to Abofem to file a writ of habeas corpus.

Arrested and assaulted for gender expression

October 20: A 26-year-old lesbian woman reported being assaulted because of her gender expression. Her testimony indicates that uniformed officers mistook her for a man while she was at a demonstration. They illegally detained her and accused her of starting a fire. She was not brought before a judge until three days after her arrest, which is illegal. According to her, she was simply observing what was happening at the protest in the Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Region. She was also referred to ABOFE (a women's rights organization).

Police officers threaten to rape her so that she “stops being the way she is”

October 22: A 24-year-old lesbian was confronted by a group of police officers during a protest in Santiago. She says her masculine appearance, or "camiona" look, as they are called in Chile, drew the officers' attention. They insulted her and threatened her with "corrective" rape to make her stop being "the way she is." The young woman decided not to report her case to institutions like the National Institute for Human Rights (INDH) because she considers them "irrelevant" to the reality of the country and the routine violence that affects this community.

Arrested for marching holding hands

October 23: A lesbian couple was detained by the military after they were seen marching hand in hand. They allege that during the procedure carried out by the Carabineros (Chilean police), they were victims of sexual abuse, including forced nudity and inappropriate touching. This case, from northern Chile, has been referred to Abofem (a Chilean organization for women's rights).

Yesterday, the National Institute for Human Rights (INDH) released a report on lawsuits filed for sexual torture: in its nine-year history, the organization has filed 33 lawsuits against the Carabineros (Chilean police). Seventeen of these were filed in the last 19 days alone. 

[READ ALSO: Young gay man who reported torture and sexual abuse by Carabineros testified in court ]

Rojas recalled that RS declared an alert at the beginning of the year, given the increase in cases of violence against the LGBT community, following the beating of Carolina Torres, a young lesbian, in Pudahuel. “This time, the alert is even greater, because since the military took to the streets when the State of Emergency was declared, we knew we were in a situation where women of diverse sexual orientations, especially lesbians, could suffer violence at the hands of state agents. Unfortunately, these are the cases we know about, but we are sure there are many more that we are unaware of, because there is a lot of fear of reporting,” she told Presentes.  

Other complaints

This Wednesday, the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (Movilh) also held a meeting with the UN mission to denounce other episodes of homophobic violence committed by state agents. Rolando Jiménez, a leader of the organization, reported the case of two lesbian women attacked by soldiers and two attacks on young gay men.

Oscar Rementería, spokesperson for this organization, referred to another incident that occurred yesterday in Reñaca, a town north of Viña del Mar, where a woman was beaten with a baseball bat by local residents who tried to stop a march. “For no reason, the young woman was hit on the head, while some people yelled at her, calling her Black or a lesbian,” Rementería stated.