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Violence and Discrimination Against Women in the Armed Conflict in Colombia

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Violence and Discrimination Against Women in the Armed Conflict in Colombia ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 67 18 October 2006 Original: Spanish VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA GENERAL SECRETARITA ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES 1889 F. St. N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006 2006 Internet: http://www.cidh.org E-mail: [email protected] OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Violence and discrimination against women in the armed conflict in Colombia /Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. v. ; cm. (OEA documentos oficiales ; OEA/Ser.L) ISBN OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.67 Eng Document published thanks to the financial support of Finland. Positions herein expressed are those of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and do not reflect the views of Finland. VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN THE ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .........................................................................v I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................1 A. The on-site visit to Colombia on June of 2005....................7 B. Legal framework of the report: international norms and standards applicable to discrimination and violence against women .............................................7 II. THE ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA AND ITS IMPACT ON WOMEN ............................................................................11 A. Characteristics of the Colombian armed conflict ................11 B. Dynamics of the armed conflict that particularly affect women in Colombia..............................................15 III. MANIFESTATIONS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AGGRAVATED BY THE ARMED CONFLICT .................................16 A. Non-combatant women – daughters, sisters, mothers, partners, and wives of combatants – as direct targets or collateral victims of physical, psychological and sexual violence..............................................................17 1. The effects and consequences of violence against women on the victims.........................................21 2. Violence in figures ..............................................23 B. Forced displacement, the humanitarian crisis and women heads of household........................................................25 C. Forced and voluntary recruitment of women and girls ........33 D. The imposition of rules of conduct over women and girls ...36 IV. MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST AFRO-COLOMBIAN AND INDIGENOUS WOMEN.......................................................38 A. Afro-Colombian Women.................................................40 B. Indigenous Women ........................................................45 1. Indigenous women and their ancestral lands ..........46 iii Page 2. Indigenous women, armed conflict and sexual violence.............................................................51 3. Conclusion.........................................................52 V. THE RESPONSE OF THE COLOMBIAN STATE TO THE IMPACT OF THE ARMED CONFLICT ON WOMEN ..........................................52 A. Advances in the development of a legislative and public policy framework, and State programs to protect the rights of women ...........................................54 B. Absence of an integral State policy and of coordinated and multi-disciplinary services and programs to address the specific impact of the armed conflict on women ..........58 C. Flaws in the diagnosis and prevention of the consequences of the armed conflict on women.................62 D. Homogenous perspective and view of women as a target group benefiting from State protection and services destined to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict on them.............................................63 E. Gaps in the humanitarian assistance and support services for victims: response to forced displacement ...................65 F. Obstacles to access justice.............................................69 1. Deficiencies in the legal framework.......................69 2. Persistence of discriminatory socio-cultural patterns ............................................................72 3. Deficiencies in the investigation, judgment and sanction of acts of violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and in the creation of safe conditions for the reporting of crimes .............................................75 G. The need to protect and legitimize the work of women’s rights defenders ..............................................76 H. Perspectives of truth, justice and reparation .....................79 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................81 iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the "IACHR" or the "Inter-American Commission") has repeatedly expressed its concern over the serious impact on the human rights of men and women of the armed conflict that has affected the Republic of Colombia over four decades. The conflict has severely affected the civilian, non-combatant population, particularly groups at greater risk such as women, children, indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, social leaders and human rights defenders. The IACHR has adopted a report which addresses the impact of the armed conflict on women and the way in which it deepens and aggravates the discrimination and violence they suffer, and formulates conclusions and recommendations. 2. This report is based on the results of the on-site visit to Colombia undertaken by the former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women of the IACHR (hereinafter "Rapporteur" or "IACHR Rapporteur"), Ms. Susana Villarán, between June 20-25, 2005. The primary objective of the visit was to assess the impact of the armed conflict on Colombian women and to receive information about the legislative, policy, institutional and judicial measures taken by the State to safeguard the rights of women within this sociopolitical context. During her stay, the Rapporteur visited the cities of Bogotá, Valledupar and Quibdó, where she met State authorities, as well as a number of victims, relatives of victims, civil society organizations–including indigenous and Afro-Colombian organizations–and intergovernmental agencies working to defend and promote the rights of women. The report is also based on information gathered by other official entities and intergovernmental and non- governmental organizations. 3. Violence and discrimination affect the lives of women during times of peace and degenerate during internal armed conflicts which impact the civil population. In its report, the IACHR analyzes the discrimination and violence against women in the context of the Colombian armed conflict and the way in which the circumstances that have historically exposed women to discrimination and subjected them to social stereotypes, an inferior treatment and the civil, political, economic and social consequences of these disadvantages, are exploited and manipulated by the actors of the armed conflict. 4. Violence against women is employed as a strategy of war by the actors of the armed conflict in their struggle to control territories and communities in different areas of the country. On the basis of firsthand observations and the testimonies received, the IACHR has identified four main manifestations of violence that especially affect women within the armed conflict. First, the actors in the armed conflict employ different forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence to “wound the enemy” by dehumanizing the victim, injuring her family circle and/or spreading terror in her community, thus furthering their control of territories and resources. In these cases, women can be direct targets or collateral victims, as the result of their affective relationships as daughters, mothers, wives, partners or sisters of any of the members of the groups that participate as actors in the conflict. Second, the violence destined to cause the forced displacement of women from their territory and the consequent removal from their homes, daily lives, community and family. Third, sexual violence can be part of the forced recruitment of women, which is destined to make them render sexual services to members of the guerrilla or paramilitary forces. Fourth, the violence intended to make them a constant object of social control measures imposed by the illegal armed groups in the communities that inhabit territories these groups control. 5. The IACHR stipulates in this report that the physical, psychological and sexual violence exercised by the actors in the armed conflict against women, has the objective of wounding, terrorizing and weakening the enemy to advance in the control of territories and economic resources. Acts of physical, psychological and sexual violence purport to intimidate and punish women for having affective relationships with members of the opposing faction, for disobeying the norms imposed by the armed actors or for participating in organizations perceived as enemies. These aggressions additionally serve as a tactic to humiliate, terrorize and wound the “enemy”, whether the victim’s family nucleus or community. 6. The crimes perpetrated against women and girls during these manifestations of violence result in: (1) attacks, massacres and homicides committed against communities intended to cause their displacement; (2) homicides, acts of torture and markings against women who sustain affective relationships with supporters or combatants or because they
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