RESTORATIVE JUSTICE THROUGH UNIVERSITEIT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF VAN ENDERED AND EXUAL VIOLENCE DURING AMSTERDAM G S

THE DIRTY WAR IN ARGENTINA

Master Thesis Political Science: International Relations | Nandi V. de Haas

Master Thesis: “Restorative Justice through Acknowledgement: A Case Study of Gendered and Sexual Violence during the Dirty War in Argentina” Political Science: International Relations University of Amsterdam 1 Photo Credit: Panam Post Nandi V. de Haas 10896554 [email protected] Human Rights and Transitional Justice in Latin America Supervisor: Eva van Roekel MSc Second Reader: Dr. Robert Jan van der Veen Word count: 21.876 June 2015

1 Dubove, Adam. 2015. “Feminicidios: el feminismo consolida su agenda en Argentina”. June 5. Available at: http://es.panampost.com/adam-dubove/2015/06/05/femicidios-el-feminismo-consolidasuagenda-en- argentina/ (June 24, 2015) 1

Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 3 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ...... 6 2.1 Transitional Justice ...... 6 2.2 Gendered Violence ...... 9 2.3 Sexual Violence ...... 11 2.4 Acknowledgement ...... 14 Chapter 3: A Background on The Argentinian Dirty War ...... 17 Chapter 4: Methodology ...... 18 Chapter 5: Personal acknowledgements in testimonies: the Nunca Más Report, fictional-, and non- fictional literature ...... 20 5.1 The ‘Nunca Más Report’ by CONADEP ...... 20 5.2 Personal Testimonies of Victims and Survivors ...... 25 5.2.1 Non Fictional Personal Testimonies ...... 25 5.2.2 Fictional Personal Testimonies ...... 27 5.3 Discussion ...... 31 Chapter 6: Acknowledgement by officials: presidential statements and the written media ...... 33 6.1 1983-1989: Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín ...... 33 6.2 1989-1999: Carlos Saul Menem ...... 36 6.3 2003-2007: Nestor Kirchner ...... 39 6.4 2007-2015: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ...... 43 6.5 Discussion ...... 47 Conclusion ...... 50 Bibliography:...... 52

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Chapter 1: Introduction In this thesis the importance of gender, gendered violence and sexual violence against women in relation to transitional justice, specifically acknowledgement, will be discussed. These types of violence can be seen as a reinforcement of existing gender roles, especially in a patriarchic society such as Argentina (Sideris 2001, 143 ; Colombini 2001, 71, 169). The specific case that will be used is the aftermath of the ‘Dirty War’ in Argentina (1974-1983). During the Dirty War in Argentina, the military junta waged a war against ‘subversion’ in which between 8.000 and 30.000 people disappeared. Women have played an essential role during this time through women’s organizations, but also through guerilla movements. Additionally, about 30% of the people who were disappeared and held in detention centers by the government were female (CONADEP 1986, 285). Stories about women being kidnapped while pregnant or women who got pregnant during their time in detention centers and were forced to give up their children are well-known, as well as the overall assumption that sexual violence has been present in these cases of disappearances (Sideris 2001, 147). In other words, women were also specifically targeted during the Dirty War and should therefore also be acknowledged in transitional justice mechanisms. However, transitional justice mechanism has traditionally been male-dominated in its mechanisms and often certain crimes against women are only investigated or prosecuted when they also happened to men (Bastick et al. 2001, 14 ; Zavala Guillén 2013, 52).

Traditionally, within transitional justice and other reconciliation efforts, no specific focus has been put on gender issues both during the conflict as in its aftermath, as well as more peaceful periods after. Especially sexual and gendered violence during wartime has often been overlooked in these mechanisms. However, gender issues have become increasingly more prominent in the debates about transitional justice, reconciliation and healing (McKay 2000, 561). As a result of this increasing knowledge about the importance of incorporating gender justice, focus on gendered and sexual issues has increased. In addition, it is argued that acknowledgement of wrongdoing can aid in reconciliation and healing (Clark 2009, 246 ; Govier 2000, 5). Therefore, the focus of this thesis will be on the incorporation of gendered and sexual violence in acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

As will be explained further in the theoretical framework, acknowledgement of a fact, event or experience can be beneficial for healing or reconciliation (Govier 2000, 5). Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the systematic occurrence of gendered and sexual violence against women, as it is widely known that this was a systematic manifestation during the War. Argentina, and the Dirty War, are specifically chosen as a case study to research the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence after the war is because Argentina functions as a unique case (Bryman 2012, 70) in the

3 transitional justice debate and Latin America. This is because “Argentina is the only Latin American case in which the military leadership has publicly recognized the illegitimate character of repression and systematic human rights violation it carried out during the military dictatorship” (Acuña in Elster 2006, 207). As this paper will show, the presidents after the war have acknowledged the Dirty War and disappearances elaborately. This official recognition is unique in the region and it is therefore this thesis will focus on Argentina. In order to research the acknowledgement of a specific systematic mechanism in a war, such as gendered and sexual violence in this instance, a general acknowledgement of wrongdoing or a war is necessary.

Even though this research will focus on the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence against women at that time, in no way does this suggest that sexual and gendered violence against men did not happen. At times, it has been reported even that men were in fact raped, especially with an electric prod that will be much mentioned further in this thesis. Also, this kind of rape has been suggested to be do feminize the men by taking away their dignity and treat them as women, which also shows the existing power relations between men and women in this patriarchic society where women were, and perhaps still are, seen as the lesser sex. Sexual violence was systematically used against both sexes to undermine their position and to try and break them into giving information. At times however, it was an individual deciding to take advantage of the situation to use this violence to excess for his own purposes, as will be discussed in the results section. But, as women have been specifically targeted because of their gender, they constituted about 30% of the disappeared and the position of women in transitional justice has been systematically overlooked; the focus in this thesis will be on women’s experiences and the acknowledgement thereof.

So, this thesis will look at in what women have been targeted during the Dirty War based on their gender, so gendered and sexual violence, and in what way this has been acknowledged. The focus will be on government statements by looking at how presidents after the Dirty War have acknowledged gendered and sexual violence. Also, transitional justice will be analyzed through a study of academic literature as well as the ‘Nunca Más’ report written by truth commission and used as a base for the trial against the military junta. In addition written media and personal testimonies in literature will be used as main and the most relevant sources. Finally, the written media will be analyzed. These specific sources were selected because they each represent a sample of a population group with different characteristics of government, media and victims and survivors.

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The aim of this thesis is to provide an understanding on the relationship of gender, acknowledgement and transitional justice in Argentina after the Dirty War. It will show how, even after increased knowledge on the importance of gender justice, gendered and sexual violence is still not incorporated into this transitional justice mechanism in the Argentinian case. The thesis seeks to unravel the relationship between gender and acknowledgement specifically, but does not seek to analyze the entire complex phenomena of transitional justice or all post-conflict situations. Rather, through the focus on this transitional justice element in the case of post-Dirty War Argentina a more specific contribution to the understanding of acknowledgement can be made. Also, the thesis aims to raise awareness on the importance of gender justice by showing how these issues are still not addressed properly.

The thesis will start with a theoretical framework outlining the debates on transitional justice, acknowledgement, gender, and gendered and sexual violence. Then the background of the case- study and an overview of the methodology will be given. As mentioned, the case used to research the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence is Argentina. Then the results of the analysis of the abovementioned sources will be given, in followed by a discussion of these findings in relation to the theoretical framework and finally a conclusion will be drawn. So the thesis outline is as followed, Chapter 2 will discuss the theoretical framework, Chapter 3 and 4 will comprise of the background of the case study and the methodology, respectively. Then the empirical chapter will discuss the acknowledgment in personal testimonies, Chapter 5, and acknowledgement in official sources, Chapter 6. Finally, a conclusion will be given.

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Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework Traditionally in transitional justice, gender has not been incorporated or has not been seen as a separate war crime. This chapter will therefore focus on unraveling gender in relation to transitional justice as well as elaborate on the concepts gendered and sexual violence. Finally, the relevance of acknowledgement to transitional justice and gender will be clarified. Once again, the focus on these issues will provide an insight into the workings of transitional justice, which has generally been male- oriented, as well as acknowledgement. More specifically the acknowledgment of gender and gendered violence aimed at women during conflict situations. It has often been recognized that war affects women differently than men (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 56). Therefore, different transitional justice mechanisms should be adopted, for example it is argued that gender justice should be incorporated to ensure a more balanced approach to transitional justice (McKay 200, 567). Additionally, acknowledgment can lead to healing and reconciliation (Govier 2000, 5) and is therefore important to incorporate into transitional justice mechanisms.

2.1 Transitional Justice

As discussed, this thesis will focus on the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence against women during the Dirty War in Argentina. Acknowledgement is a form of restorative justice, which will be explained below. Traditionally, gender, gendered violence and gender justice have not been incorporated into transitional justice mechanisms (Bastick et al. 2004).

Transitional justice as a concept has become more prominent in both policy as well as academic debates after the Second World War (1939-1945). Since that time, conflict has become increasingly more intrastate rather than interstate. This has led to various discussions on how to deal with the aftermath of these conflicts and give a sense of justice or healing to the victims and survivors2 of such conflicts as well as attempt to reconcile the nation and society as a whole. One way to deal with these issues is thus transitional justice, which is a set of mechanisms that functions as “an approach to achieving justice in times of transition from conflict and/or state repression” (ICTJ, 2014). The goal of transitional justice is to create “sociopolitical conditions that will prevent the recurrence of conflict” (Wierzynska 2004, 1939). Among the various possibilities are prosecuting the perpetrators, establishment of truth commissions, reparation programs, reforming the government, the civil service and the judiciary, and institution of symbolic measures to remind the population that the horrors are not taken lightly and will not be forgotten (United Nations, 2008).

2 In the Argentinian case, the ex-disappeared may identify themselves as either a ‘victim’, ‘survivor’ or perhaps both, this thesis will use both terms to describe people who have been disappeared and reappeared as “the journey from ‘victim’ to the status of ‘survivor’ is long and complex (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 86). Of course, when referring to a person who is still disappeared the term ‘victim’ will be used. 6

Additionally within transitional justice, a distinction is made between restorative justice and retributive justice. Lambourne defines retributive and restorative justice as follows, “[r]etributive justice may be defined as justice that involves punishment of the wrongdoer. It is generally associated with legal trials in the western legal justice system. Restorative justice, by contrast, may be defined as justice that restores communities or relationships. It is regarded as an alternative form of justice outside the formal judicial court system, at least according to western legal practice” (2009, 3). In other words, retributive justice is aimed more at the crime, the truth, the perpetrator and punishment itself whereas restorative justice focusses on the victim, closure and symbolic actions as well (Clark 2008, 333). The main focus of this thesis will be on restorative justice because acknowledgement of wrongdoing is in itself a restorative justice mechanisms as restorative justice includes “a variety of different practices, including apologies, restitution, and acknowledgements of harm and injury, as well as to other efforts to provide healing and reintegration of offenders into their communities, with or without additional punishment … Restorative justice is designed to remove negative stigmatization of the individual and replace it with recognition of the wrongfulness of an act, with shaming of the act, and with reintegration of the person” (Menkel-Meadow 2007, 2- 5). In essence, it is argued that the ultimate aim of this kind of justice is “reconciliation and restoring social harmony” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 112). Consequently, the ultimate goal of acknowledgement as restorative justice mechanism is healing and reconciliation.

However, transitional justice mechanisms have often been “criticised for failing to take into account the ways in which gender dynamics influence how conflict is experienced by people, and for ignoring women’s specific justice needs” (Bastick et al. 2001, 14). It has traditionally been considered as a male-dominated system for dealing with justice where “crimes against women were only investigated and prosecuted when they were also perpetrated against men” (Zavala Guillén 2013, 52). Recently, there has been more insight and attention considering justice incorporating gender (McKay 2000, 561), so it could be expected that incorporation of gender into transitional justice mechanisms could be or become more present. For example, gendered and sexual violence have been incorporated specifically in the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Balardini et al. 2011, 184)

It is argued that “[t]ransitional justice aims to reveal the multilayered causes for violence, heal the wounds caused by this violence, and create systems to stop future human rights abuses” (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 23). As a result of transitional justice, especially truth commissions and legal trials, truth about what happened during the time of conflict became widely known and documented. However, in contrast with this increased knowledge and documentation, hardly any have taken

7 gendered and sexual violence against women, or the experiences of women in general during wartime, into account; except the the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Henry 2009, 115 ; Balardini et al. 2011, 184). Taking women, and gendered issues generally, into account in these transitional justice mechanisms and other reconciliation efforts would actually be beneficial to these processes. Taking gender issues into account would unravel “some of the ‘small conflicts’ that lie beneath the main conflict and which need to be addressed in order to create a sustainable peace and democratic society” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 13), for example gender inequality or the stigmatization on sexual violence. One of the ways in which gender can be taken into account in transitional justice is through gender justice.

Gender justice is concerned with “legal processes that are equitable, not privileged by and for men, and which acknowledge ways in which women uniquely experience harm” seen in “the context of armed conflict and its aftermath” (McKay 2000, 561). This type of justice and therefore the incorporation of gender into any justice mechanism is often disregarded within a patriarchal system that focuses on reconciliation by favoring male-dominated mechanisms and interests (McKay 2000, 561). Many advocates of gender justice, including female survivors of conflict situations and women’s rights’ activists, argue that reconciliation and justice can only be achieved if gender issues and gender justice are incorporated (McKay 2000, 562). Also, it is argued that the recognition of violence against women and its incorporation into justice mechanisms is “a necessary precursor to reconciliation” (Brunet & Rousseau 1996, 28 quoted in McKay 2000, 567). The argument for gender justice shows how reconciliation could be better achieved if gender issues would be incorporated into transitional justice and thus into acknowledgement.

Gender itself is a large and contested concept, however it is often best defined as “a category that was developed to explore what counts as ‘woman’ and as ‘man’ “ (Squires 1999, 54). This definition implies that gender is more than just the biological sex of a person; “gender is socially constructed” (Squires 1999, 61); “gender is a socially constructed category in which the performance of gender norms … is what gives meaning to the categories of the “feminine” and “masculine” (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 3). Therefore, gender differences are defined as “the socially constructed roles played by women and men that are ascribed to them on the basis of their sex” (United Nations quoted in Skjelsbaek & Smith 2001b, 8). In this sense, masculinity is often socially constructed as “what gives power” and femininity as “void of power” (Skjelsbaek 2001a, 71). In the context of this thesis, this means that gendered and sexual violence directed at women can at times be seen as a reinforcement of the division between men and women and within a patriarchic society such as Argentina perhaps

8 also a reassertion of the dominance of men over women, or masculinity over femininity (Sideris 2001, 143 ; Colombini 2001, 71 & 169).

The reassertion of dominance or expression of culturally defined traits of ‘manhood’ generally become most present in times at which these factors are threatened and men can feel they need to re-establish the existing norms on gender relations (Sideris 2001, 143, 151). During the Dirty War there were two sides of being a women, on the one hand women were seen by the government as apolitical and irrelevant to political life (Squires 1999, 1, 10) and were therefore one of the few social groups that were allowed to organize and take collective action, such as the Madres de Plaza de Mayo who were mothers that organized themselves to find out what happened to their disappeared children and subsequently protested every week to raise awareness for this issue; although they were continuously mocked and not taken seriously by the Military Junta. On the other hand, however, women that were seen as ideologically different were specifically targeted by means of sexual and gendered violence and kidnapping. In the Latin American societies, gender has traditionally played a role in the formulation of an individual identity and a person’s place within the society. Gender was the “fundamental category of social organization and a major means by which social relations and inequality [were] structured”. (Molyneux 2000, 38).

2.2 Gendered Violence

Gendered violence is directly linked to gender and the socially constructed roles and distribution of rights and responsibilities. Gender based violence, or gendered violence, and more specifically gendered violence aimed at women has traditionally always played been present in society and even more so in wartime. Gendered violence in essence is “misogynist violence against women for being women situated in relationships marked by gender inequality: oppression exclusion, subordination, discrimination, exploitation, and marginalization. Women are the victims of threats, assaults, mistreatment, injuries, and misogynist harm. The violence may be physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and property-related, and the modalities of gender violence may be in the family, workplace, or school; in the community; in institutions; and via feminicide” (Lagarde y de los Ríos 2010 xxii). To emphasize, gendered violence is thus not just sexual violence, as is often portrayed in debates on these issues, but included other kinds of violence based on gender as well (Franke 2005, 822). During the War, “even in torture, the gender hierarchy was reproduced” (Molyneux 2000, 62). Women were sexually abused as an expression of misogyny and men were sexually abused to feminize and therefore humiliate them.

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Overall, gender relations have changed over the last decades. Especially within Latin America, society has been characterized for a long time by a patriarchal system in which males take a leading role both outside and within the home. Some have argued that the transition from authoritarian regimes to more democratic regimes have led to a comparable shift within households and within society especially the workforce (Waylen 1994, 337). Both genders have been subject to overgeneralization and pressure to conform to certain norms and expected patterns of behaviour (Chant 2002, 556). This overgeneralization may have led to this one-sided approach to transitional justice that do not take specific violations against women into account, as discussed in chapter 2.1. In transitional justice efforts the mechanism that is often employed is a truth commission whose aim is to find out what exactly happened and to whom. There have only been three efforts that were specifically targeted at women and women have admitted at times that the general truth commission was not accessible to them (Sideris 2001, 57). Also, it could be expected that as a result of this relatively high mobilization of women and presence women’s organisations, female specific violence during the Dirty War would be an issue open for debate and action. However, gendered and sexual violence is in most societies, including in Latin America, often still a taboo (Zavala Guillén 2013, 58). Additionally, many victims have not survived the violence inflicted upon them so it is hard to specify what happened. (Treacy 1996, 131).

Women were indeed treated differently in the Dirty War as for example by taking babies away from their disappeared mothers or by sexual abuse. However, when dealing with past atrocities, gender is often left out or has a tendency to focus on the absence of gender or on male perpetrators and victims (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010,25). However, “[t]his removal of gender from all references to prisoners obscures the number of women participating in political activities of all sorts, including female members of guerrilla groups. Moreover the de-gendering of prisoners makes unthinkable the possibility that prison could be a gendered space where male guards treat men and women in different ways” (Treacy 1996, 130-131). So as Treacy argues, the generalization of suffering and the lack of division between male and female victims overlooks the possibility that men and women were treated differently and have suffered differently.

Also, by extension, this would suggest that an inability to differentiate between male and female suffering within transitional justice mechanisms would also lead to inadequate mechanisms to deal with the crimes committed. Gender violence has traditionally not been viewed as a separate category of crime but rather as an integral part of war (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 1). A lack of differentiation between violence targeted at women or men specifically, could also lead to feelings that those kinds of torture or violence are not important even though they might have a completely different impact on the victim than other kinds of torture. Therefore, it is important to analyze

10 whether a division is actually made between men and women in the acknowledgement of past wrongdoing.

2.3 Sexual Violence

Gendered violence targeted at women can be expressed through sexual violence. Sexual violence is often perceived as ‘rape’ (Skjelsbaek 2001a, 70), however the term is far more multifaceted than that; “[t]he term ’sexual violence’ includes sexual threat, assault, interference, exploitation, humiliation, molestation, incest, involuntary prostitution, torture, insertion of objects into genital openings and attempted rape, including statutory rape, carried out against on women and girls or men and boys” (Colombini 2002, 167). Sexual violence can be seen as an integral part of war, as an element of male communication, as a way of reaffirming masculinity, as a way of destroying the culture of the opponent, and as misogyny (Ruth Seifert in Skjelsbaek 2001a, 79-80).

Sexual violence has at times been a taboo to consider in transitional justice and human rights processes (Zavala Guillén 2013, 58). Also, in the case of transitional justice after the Dirty War in Argentina, “when the dictatorship had just come to an end, they believed the priority was to find out what had happened to the victims of forced disappearance. Many also felt the need to conceal from their families the most shocking and private details of the horror they had experienced.”3 In addition, “[t]he scale and range of the violence in general and the specific brutality and severity of rape, sexual torture, and mutilation suggest high levels of misogyny and dehumanization of women” (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 7). In relation to gender justice and acknowledgement that are both beneficial to reconciliation and healing, the incorporation of gender into acknowledgement of sexual violence will illustrate and address the misogyny and dehumanization of women during the Dirty War and could provide a new framework for dealing with these issues in the post-conflict society.

Traditionally, sexual violence has often been regarded within transitional justice mechanisms as a marginal issue, as a side effect of war or even as an integral part of war (Bastick et al. 2001, 7 ; Skjelsbaek 2001a, 79 ; Farwell 2004, 389). It has been one of the crimes that is least reported (Women in the Law Project 1994, 108). However, “[s]exual violence during conflict is an act of domination, grounded in a complex web of cultural preconceptions, in particular as regards gender roles. It is used to torture and humiliate people, and to punish or humiliate an enemy group or community” (Bastick et al. 2001, 9). In addition, the consequences for victims or survivors of sexual violence, especially during wartime, are severe. They are often stigmatized and have to deal with “considerable economic, educational and socio-cultural barriers” (Bastick et al. 2001, 155, 165). In

3 Valente, Marcela. 2011. “Argentina: Shedding Light on Dictatorship’s Sex Crimes” IPS. June 28. http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/06/argentina-shedding-light-on-dictatorships-sex-crimes/ (April 25, 2015) 11 addition victims and survivors suffer serious consequences on both physical as well as mental health that also affect “the recovery of social networks and communities (Farwell 2004, 398). One of the consequences for the mental health of victims and survivors include an often described sense of shame which also generally leads to the initial underreporting of sexual and gendered violence after a conflict has ended (Women in the Law Project 1994, 109). As discussed, gender issues and sexual violence have become more incorporated into debate on justice and reconciliation. The next sections will discuss the incorporation of sexual violence into legislation and academic literature.

Sexual Violence in Legislation Sexual, and gendered, violence has been increasingly more incorporated into international legislation. Especially the aforementioned sentences issued by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the 1990s set a fundamental precedent by recognising various forms of sexual violence as crimes against humanity.4 In addition, important for the recognition of gendered and sexual violence as war crimes was the Rome Statute of 1998 establishing the International Criminal Court. In this statute it is declared in Article 7 and 8 that “[t]he Rome Statute acknowledges the seriousness of sexual violence, as capable of being an international crime for which perpetrators and their military commanders or other superiors may be held individually accountable. It recognizes rape and other forms of sexual violence by combatants in the conduct of armed conflict as war crimes. When rape and sexual violence are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population (whether during armed conflict or not), they are considered crimes against humanity, and in some cases may constitute an element of genocide” (Bastick et al. 2001, 157). Finally, Resolution 1820 of the United Nations Security Council in 2008 acknowledges “rape and other forms of sexual violence” as a war crime (United Nations 2008). These acknowledgements were beneficial to both to the debate on sexual and gendered violence as well as raising awareness.

Since sexual violence has been recognized as war crime and crime against humanity, more attention has been given to the subject. However, in addition to sexual violence being a taboo to talk about and sexual violence first mostly being incorporated into “general” torture instead of being considered a separate means of torture or violence or not being considered at all (Leatherman 2007, 54), some have also argued that in comparison to the detention or other torture, rape or other sexual violence something seemed as less relevant or secondary.5 In addition to sexual violence during war, the taboo on sexual violence within the domestic environment has also been less rigorous. Since the 1990s, “[v]iolence against women and family members is increasingly seen as a

4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 12 violations of human rights and therefore a policy problems, the family no longer being viewed as remaining outside the purview of state power and formal laws” (Hutn 2000, 197). Which might have led to a more open environment for discussing sexual violence during war because sexual violence is now recognized as a crime against a person rather than being ignored as a result of taboos or perhaps power relations.

Academic Literature on Sexual Violence during the Dirty War In the academic literature on the Dirty War in Argentina it is described in depth how sexual and gendered violence was systematically present (Taylor 1997, 3). For example, Molyneux writes that “[t]he widespread use of torture against prisoners was both eroticized an sexualized. Women were routinely raped and otherwise sexually abused in ways that expressed sadistic misogyny” (Molyneux 2000, 62). In addition, Fregoso and Bejarano report how “[g]ang rape, sexual slavery, mutilation, torture and forced pregnancy were part of the ongoing and insidious forms of terrorizing imprisoned women during the military dictatorships of Southern Cone countries such as Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay” (Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 13). Additionally, they argue that “In Argentina, ‘at the height of the military dictatorship’s Dirty War, bored junior officers who were members of torture squads would cruise the streets in the infamous Ford Falcons looking for pretty girls to sequester and take back to the camp to rape, torture, and then kill’ (Hollander 1996, 63 quoted in Fregoso & Bejarano 2010, 13). Importantly, Lewis observes that torture in the detention facilities was profound to get information quickly but often torture did not accomplish that goal (Lewis 2002, 153, 155). Also, he makes mention of the commonality of raping women during or after torture arguing how sexual violence, especially rape, against women in these detention centers was a systematic occurrence and even pregnant women were not exempt from this experience (Lewis, 2002, 152, 213).

These instances show how gendered and sexual violence was an integral part of the systematic effort to control and break the disappeared in detention centers. So, the academic literature has incorporated the use gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War in their research showing how this was a systematic feature of the effort of the repressive regime in their ‘War against Subversives’. However, the literature does not focus on the incorporation of these gendered issues into the transitional justice mechanisms installed after the war. This thesis will focus on analyzing the incorporation of these kinds of violence into one particular transitional justice mechanism, namely acknowledgement, as will be explained below. The thesis will show how the use of torture is widely acknowledged whereas the gendered and sexual nature of this torture is often overlooked. It will show how the concepts of gender and sexual violence are still not incorporated into this specific transitional justice mechanisms.

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2.4 Acknowledgement In this thesis, the focus is on the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence during the Dirty War in Argentina. As mentioned in the introduction, Argentina is the only state in Latin America that has openly acknowledged wrongdoing in the past, which makes it the exception in the region (Acuña in Elster 2006, 207). Acknowledgement can have different meanings in different contexts, but is defined in this thesis as “knowledge plus a kind of marking or spelling out or admitting as significantly related to oneself, of something that is known. Thus acknowledgement requires truth” (Govier 2000, 15). Additionally, “from the point of view of the future, the acknowledgement of the facts is often more important than the simple revealing of the past … even if factual truth is established, facts do not speak for themselves. In political life, it is the interpretation that the facts are given that is most important … The crucial point is that the truth cannot have a positive effect unless it is acknowledged “ (Clark 2009, 426). In other words, acknowledgement is the spelling out of truth or facts; the way it is interpreted by the acknowledger. So, in order for the truth to influence the healing6 of an individual or reconciliation7 in a society, it has to be specifically acknowledged by spelling out the truth and, when it comes to politics, interpreted.

Within transitional, and specifically restorative, justice, acknowledgement plays an essential role. It is argued that acknowledgement has “tremendous power and an impact both on the healing of human beings wounded by past abuse and on their potential reconciliation with those who have wounded them” (Govier 2000, 5). In addition to healing and reconciliation, acknowledgement is also important for forgiveness, social trust and democracy (Quinn 2005, 8). Kaufman exemplifies this by referring to Sadat’s acknowledgement of the suffering of Jews in the past, which was essential in creating a more tolerant relationship between Egypt and Israel and eventually made the 1978 Camp David Accords possible (Kaufman 2006, 209). In this case, the acknowledgement of an occurrence, suffering in this case, enhanced the relationship with both parties. In relation to the focus of this thesis, one could

6 Healing is defined in this thesis as: “as any strategy, process or activity that improves the psychological health of individuals following extensive violent conflict. Strategies, processes or activities aimed at rehabilitating and reconstructing local and national communities more broadly are also integrally linked to this process. As such, healing is not only about assisting individuals to address their psychological health needs in an isolated way, but is dependent upon and integrally linked to repairing and rebuilding communities and the social context. This implies restoring a normalized everyday life that can recreate and confirm people’s sense of being and belonging” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 77) 7 Reconciliation is defined in this thesis as: “Ideally reconciliation prevents, once and for all, the use of the past as the seed of renewed conflict. It consolidates peace, breaks the cycle of violence and strengthens newly established or reintroduced democratic institutions. As a backward-looking operation, reconciliation brings about the personal healing of survivors, the reparation of past injustices, the building or rebuilding of non- violent relationships between individuals and communities, and the acceptance by the former parties to a conflict of a common vision and understanding of the past. In its forward-looking dimension, reconciliation means enabling victims and perpetrators to get on with life and, at the level of society, the establishment of a civilized political dialogue and an adequate sharing of power” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 19). 14 argue that the acknowledgement of the occurrence of sexual violence would lead to healing, forgiveness, and perhaps an increase in the social trust of victims, survivors and their relatives, as argued by Quinn (2005). Forgiveness becomes possible through acknowledgement of the crimes committed, it is “a central element of the theological ideals of restorative justice, [and] is essential to a victim's healing process. Without forgiveness, bitterness and a desire for vengeance often hold a person captive, preventing that person from healing and thus moving on, out of the cycle of violence” (Niebur Eisnaugle 2003, 231). This again emphasizes the importance of acknowledgement for the victims of a crime.

Truth commissions are one of the mechanisms that provide “public acknowledgement of victim’s suffering” (Kaufman 2006, 211-212). They are designed to uncover the truth and acknowledge it by means of for example statement or report. As Govier argues by using the example of South African’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which primary focus was the acknowledgement of past wrongdoings, that “[f]or victims of serious wrongdoing, to receive acknowledgement is soothing, healing and supportive. It contributes to their restoration and healing which are necessary for their full functioning in society” (Govier 2000, 20). Resulting from this argument that acknowledgement will lead to forgiveness, healing, reconciliation and social trust comes the focus of this thesis. During the Dirty Was the disappeared people were repeatedly tortured and as was widely revealed with the publishing of the ‘Nunca Más’ report by the truth commission, in Spanish in 1984 and English 1986. However, as argued, sexual violence was, and perhaps still often is, a taboo to discuss publicly (Zavala Guillén 2013, 58). Experiencing sexual and gendered violence is no less relevant than torture and it is therefore important to be treated equally with other victims of torture, thus victims of gendered and sexual violence also need acknowledgement and efforts for healing (Bastick et al. 2001, 162). Therefore, the focus will be on how far and in what way this kind of violence of torture has been acknowledged by various parties through time since the end of the Dirty War in 1983. Women who have experienced gendered and sexual violence during wartime are often subjected to “social stigmatization and marginalization” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 13). It is therefore important that these experiences are acknowledged to give credibility to their experiences, as gendered and sexual violence are often downplayed in patriarchal and male-dominated societies (McKay 2000, 562).

However, by acknowledging this violence this stigmatization and marginalization which often comes with a sense of shame for the women who have experienced it, can be “transformed into political dignity” (McKay 2000, 564). As will be discussed in Chapter 5 and 6, the Argentinian case has shown no ‘transformation into political dignity’. At the end of the Dirty War, gendered and sexual violence was briefly acknowledged in the report of the truth commission, ‘Nunca Más’ and by President

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Alfonsín, but then was hardly ever mentioned or acknowledged again. This shows how gendered and sexual violence are still downplayed in the Argentinian experience; the focus is more on acknowledging torture in general. This shows the point that Zavala Guillén makes that “crimes against women were only investigated and prosecuted when they were also perpetrated against men” (2013, 52).

In the next section, the context of the case study on which this thesis is focused will be discussed to get a better understanding on the circumstances in which the gendered, sexual violence took place during the Dirty War in Argentina.

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Chapter 3: A Background on The Argentinian Dirty War In 1974 the popular and populist president Perón passed away and his wife and vice-president assumed presidency. The two years in which she ruled were marked by economic decline , chaos and increasing political violence. As a result, the military ousted her in a military coup in 1976 (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 395). This event marks the beginning of the Dirty War that is the focus of this thesis. Even before the military assumed power, political opponents were punished under the emergency decrees (Lewis 2002, 220). Since the military coup “[t]he persecution of political dissidents – which began at least two years before the coup – was institutionalized and expanded to create a systematic killing machine” (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 395). The “degree of cruelty and indifference to human life shown by the military and its supporters” (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 395) is still difficult to grasp. The military justified what they called ‘the War on Subversion’ by arguing that “organized repression as absolutely necessary to put an end to guerilla activity and defended state violence as the only means of guaranteeing political stability” (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 395).

During the Dirty War, the government took various measures to control the population, for example political activists, journalists, students, union leaders, writers and other disappeared, there was censorship, and institutions such as universities came under government control (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 395). It is estimated that between 8000 and 30.000 people were killed, of which most were ‘desaparecidos’ (disappeared), a term used by the government to describe the people who were kidnapped. The people who have survived these disappearances, the reappeared, have given horrible accounts of their kidnapping, confinement and torture (Nouzeilles & Montaldo 2002, 440). This is where the focus on this research will be. It is widely known now that many people disappeared at the hands of the government and that they were held hostage and being tortured for information about other undesirable individuals. However, as discussed earlier in this thesis, in war it is often so that women are being specifically targeted or targeted differently on the basis of their gender. Especially, gendered and sexual violence has been a specific way to torture or punish women in war circumstances. It is important to know and acknowledge to aid individual healing and national reconciliation. In the next section, the methodology to research the acknowledgement of gendered, sexual violence during this Dirty War will be described.

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Chapter 4: Methodology This thesis will, as discussed, focus on the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence against women during the Dirty War in Argentina and in what way this acknowledgement has changed since the end of the Dirty War in 1983 up to the present. To do this, content and discourse analysis on gendered and sexual violence within presidential statements, the written media and victim testimonies both formal, by looking at the ‘Nunca Más’ report, and informal, by analyzing literature written by survivors will be used. Finally, process tracing will be used to determine how the acknowledgement and treatment of sexual violence has changed over time since the end of the Dirty War, during the initial transitional justice mechanisms, up to the present.

Content analysis is “a research technique for the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication” (Berelson quoted in Bryman 2012, 289). The main question this thesis seeks to answer is whether sexual violence has been acknowledged since the end of the Dirty War up till the present and thus whether sexual violence is also mentioned at all and if so in what way. Content analysis in this context is a useful tool to firstly determine whether sexual violence has been mentioned at certain points over time. The use of phrases such as ‘sexual violence’, ‘rape’, or ‘violence against women’ and its frequency will provide a clear, objective insight (Bryman 2012, 304) into whether these occurrences have been mentioned at all, whether by presidents, the media, or victims and survivors.

Continuing from this objective acknowledgement of such injustices, an analysis of discourse might prove insightful to further analyze the acknowledgement and incorporation of gendered and sexual violence in addition to content analysis. For Foucault, discourse is “a term that denoted the way in which a particular set of linguistic categories relating to an object and the ways of depicting it frame the way we comprehend that topic” (Bryman 2012, 528). Discourse analysis has no clearly defined version or conceptualization. However this thesis will focus on discourse analysis as an “approach to the analysis of talk and other forms of discourse that emphasizes the ways in which versions of reality are accomplished through language” (Bryman 2012, 711). In this instance, acknowledgement is also the interpretation of truth (Clark 2009, 426) and this can be more thoroughly analyzed by utilizing discourse analysis. In the context of this research thesis discourse analysis entails analyzing certain key texts that have acknowledged the Dirty War or torture for example, and determine whether these texts also incorporate gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War. In addition to an analysis of how language creates versions of reality, “discourse analysis looks at the way language is used and manipulated in politics” (Babb 2012, 354). So, by looking at acknowledgement of sexual violence in the Dirty War, one might expect certain claims officials make about how sexual

18 violence did or did not happen, and who is to blame for certain acts of violence. By looking at what discourses are used to describe these processes, it will determine how gendered sexual violence is viewed by the presidents, the media or victims and survivors.

In this thesis, content and discourse analysis are used as a mixed method to analyze the process of acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War in Argentina, which entails a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to answer the research question. In order to further analyze the acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence over time and its link to transitional justice and reconciliation, in addition to content and discourse analysis, process tracing will be employed as a method. Applying process tracing entails “finding evidence of specific causal links at the micro-level between independent and dependent variables” (Babb 2012, 421), this evidence is usually found in a case-study (Babb 2012, 99). In this thesis, firstly the change in discourse on sexual violence will be analyzed to determine a change in acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, this thesis will use a combination quantitative and qualitative methods, more specifically content and discourse analysis in order to determine a link between variables through the method of process tracing. This mixed method approach has the benefit of looking both objective occurrence of sexual violence acknowledgement as well as the meaning of those acknowledgements, or the lack thereof, rather than focusing purely on quantitative or qualitative data.

This thesis will focus on four categories of sources to determine whether gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War has been acknowledged in its aftermath. These categories will be: presidential statements to represent the different governments in office after the war, transitional justice by analyzing the ‘Nunca Más’ report of the truth commission, personal testimonies in literature and the written media. To look at the progress of acknowledgement the whole period since the end of the Dirty War in 1983 will be taken into account

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Chapter 5: Personal acknowledgements in testimonies: the Nunca Más Report, fictional-, and non-fictional literature This chapter focusses on the analysis of the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence in the testimonies made by victims or survivors, and at times family members. At the center of this analysis are the ‘Nunca Más’ report produced by the truth commission ‘Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas’ (henceforth referred to as CONADEP) and more personal testimonies made outside the realm of official transitional justice mechanisms. The focus here is on written testimonies of both fictional and non-fictional content. Firstly, the chapter will discuss the ‘Nunca Más’ report as it was the first document in which the atrocities of the War were made public. From thereon, it could be assumed that the facts that happened in the war are ‘known’. As shown in chapter 2, facts that are known are not enough, it is necessary for them to be spelled out more specifically in order for the victims to be able to heal. Chapter 6 will deal with the official acknowledgement of these now ‘known’ facts in presidential statements and the written media. After the analysis of how sexual and gendered violence is acknowledged in the ‘Nunca Más’ report, the focus will be on other non-fictional sources by analyzing two non-fictional, testimonial books. The first is ‘Nosotras, Presas Politicas’, which is a combined testimony of 112 women who were detained in detention centers during the Dirty War. The second book is ‘Sueños sobrevivientes de una montonera’ written by an ex-montonera who was also detained. Then, the chapter will discuss three fictional books written by ex-dissapeared who wrote these books to deal with their experience and to let what happened to them be known to a larger public. The books that will be discussed are ‘Little School’ by Alicia Partnoy, ’Steps under Water’ by Alicia Kozameh, and finally ‘A Single Numberless Death’ by Nora Strejilevich.

5.1 The ‘Nunca Más Report’ by CONADEP The ‘Nunca Más’ report will serve as representation of the transitional justice mechanisms installed in Argentina after the Dirty War. The transitional justice mechanisms installed initially were the truth commission (CONDADEP) and the legal trials. The ‘Nunca Más’ report is the end-product of the truth commission after it had heard the testimonies and investigated the happenings during the Dirty War. Additionally, on this report the subsequent trial against the Military Junta were based. However, the truth commission is not a replacement of legal trials but merely a different transitional justice mechanism (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 123). The truth commissions are for finding out the truth and the legal trials are for bringing justice based on the truth. However, in this thesis the focus is on the testimonies given within the transitional justice mechanisms and the main testimonies will likely overlap so the ‘Nunca Más’ report will function as a representation of both these transitional justice mechanisms with regard to the testimonies given (Barkoukis 2011).

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Early truth commissions have been critizided for no investigating or reporting on gendered and sexual violence (Bastick et al. 2001, 158). However, these forms of violence or torture have deep effects on the victims. It was, as all other forms of torture, considered a good way to break the victims (or “subversives”). In addition, it appears that some women were merely abducted or held because they were pregnant in order to give or sell the babies to members of the armed forces who were unable to have children. This is a kind gendered violence because they were being kept primarily on the grounds that they were able to be pregnant and give birth. So in this section, the way that these kinds of violence and torture were acknowledged by the Argentinian truth commission and described in the Nunca Más report will be analysed. This section will include some observations from the report that acknowledge the use of sexual and gendered violence against the women that were being detained in these centers. Overall, the acknowledgement of gendered violence constitutes three parts in this report; sexual violence and torture, detainment of pregnant women, and humiliation.

Sexual Violence There are several acknowledgements of sexual violence in the Nunca Más report. Several testimonies quoted in the chapter about ‘Torture’ (20-51) mention rape by objects or genital mutilation. Even though these testimonies come from both men and women, the horrors described in the individual accounts that are included in the report are “typical of all of them”(CONADEP 1986, 20). It can be assumed that these practices were therefore applied to most of the disappeared that went through the detention centers and other facilities used in the operations. In general “torture was an important element in the methodology of repression” (CONADEP 1986, 20). It is acknowledged by the report that

“[t]hose in power from the very beginning of their administration award[ed] themselves special authority to plan a complete system of illicit acts. … the criminal events which took place cannot be considered ‘excesses’ or chance occurrences, undesired by their authors. On the contrary, … they were from the beginning created a part of a network of crime with no historical precedent; this network was based on the assumption that the responsibility for planning and performing these illegal acts lay with the consciences of those who carried them out, and whose actions were checked by no judicial or legal constraint or consideration” (CONADEP 1986, 235), and judging from the accounts in this report, sexual torture or violence was one of the methods indeed systematically used. One former member of the Gendarmería (armed border police used in rural areas), Antonio Cruz, testifies how prisoners were tortured using the wires of a telephone that would produce an electric current: “Women were interrogated in the same manner. They were stripped naked, laid down on the bed, and the torture session would begin. With women, they would insert the wire in the vagina and then apply it to the breasts, which caused great pain. Many of them

21 would menstruate mid-torture. With them they only used the telephone, no other device.” (CONADEP 1986, 37).

Though not all testimonies given by women mention specific sexual violence, most report extensive torture in the most horrific ways. It can be assumed that most of the torture included sexual violence since, as mentioned above, the selected and elaborately described cases are typical of other cases (CONDADEP 1986, 20). Especially in cases of use of the electric prod on various parts of the body, particularly the sensitive areas, that is mentioned in most cases by both men and women. Several testimonies account how it was applied to the most sensitive parts of the female body; as Lidia Esther Biscarte recalls specifically. She describes how they used an electric prod on her, especially on her vagina, anus, mouth and armpits and then someone twisted her nipples which was extremely painful since they also used an electric prod on her breasts before (CONDADEP 1986, 43). This twisting of the nipples can be seen as an act of violence specifically targeted at the female body, in addition to the use of an electric prod on these sensitive areas. The twisting of the nipples shows an extra sadistic dimension of the gendered violence against women in these detention centers.

Another woman who wanted to remain anonymous, C.G.F., was raped with objects such as a police truncheon during her captivity and was then promised released if she had sexual relations with the man who would then release her; “I carried out his demands under threat of death, so I felt and consider myself to have been raped” (CONADEP 1986, 46). Also, she mentions how women were called to look after other women after they came out of the same interrogation rooms as where she was interrogation while sexually tortured. This case shows how women were treated differently; a man would assumable not ask another man to perform sexual favors in exchange for release. Also, men were not asked to look after each other in this way after they had been tortured. In addition to these two testimonies, the report acknowledges the testimony of A.N. who recalls how “one night a man came to her cell. He tied her up and beat her, then raped her amid threats, forbidding her to tell anybody what happened. After that he took her to the bathroom to get cleaned up”. Another women, N.B.B., reports how her she was repeatedly raped so many times that it “made her hemorrhage” (CONDADEP 1986, 65). In addition to sexual violence, women also had to endure other forms of torture such as ‘the machine’, which could cause a spontaneous menstruation. Also, the conditions in which women were kept and the constant violations and attacks on their body caused “their menstrual cycles [to be] interrupted” (CONADEP 1986, 65).

Accounts of rape and sexual violence are not limited to the ‘Torture’ chapter of the report. Most in- depth description of the kind of torture women were subjected to are described in this section as in accordance with the traditional classification of sexual and gendered violence as torture but not as a

22 separate crime or violation (Zavala Guillén 2013, 60). But, accounts of sexual violence, mutilation and rape also occur sparingly in testimonies in other sections. For example, the testimony of G. de V. in the part on a specific secret detention center, Chaco, within the jurisdiction of the 2nd Army Corps, who states that “they stripped and subjected me to tortures consisting of ‘the electric prod’ treatment and blows for a period of forty-eight hours, in front of my son… I was likewise raped and beaten on the soles of my feet with a hammer for a period of three hours” (CONADEP 1986, 174). Throughout the report references to the kind of gendered violence women were subjected to are described. So, sexual violence or gendered violence is acknowledged in the ‘Nunca Más’ report several times, but unfortunately no specific section is dedicated on women and their experiences in the detention centers.

Pregnant women In addition to sexual violence on the basis of being a women, women being held on the grounds of reproductive ability and some women were tortured with regards to their role as a wife and a mother as well. To this form of gendered violence, a whole chapter is dedicated ‘Children and pregnant women who disappeared’ (CONADEP 1986, 286-320). For example, Elana Alfaro “was made to watch as they tortured [her] husband, another prisoner, Irma Beatriz Márquez, was forced to watch the torture of her twelve-year-old son, Pablo” (CONADEP 1986, 159). In most cases of the pregnant women, especially those who gave birth in the Campo del Mayo Hospital, it is acknowledged that “in most cases it can be presumed that the births were speeded up and performed by means of a Caesarean section” (CONADEP 1986, 295). Both these procedures can be dangerous for the women giving birth as well as the baby. Throughout the report on pregnant women it becomes clear that pregnant women were not omitted in torture and sexual violence. The case of Gladys de H. is specifically mentioned, she was “tortured in spite of being six months pregnant. Of all types of torture, she suffered the worst imaginable. She was raped, given electric shocks, systematically beaten and, as soon as she had slightly recovered, she was again given the same treatment” (CONADEP 1986, 305). These tortures have affected her and her son in later life who has had health problems as a result of the torture his mother endured while pregnant during her imprisonment. This shows how badly women were treated even if they were pregnant. The report acknowledges that torture took place during the detention of pregnant women, but only elaborates on it in in the case of Gladys de H..

Humiliation Humiliation was also part of the treatment women received at the detention centers. Certain kinds of torture such as sexual torture is also partly aimed at the humiliation of women, especially when it happens in front of other guards. In general, “the women were obliged to use the bathroom in front

23 of the guards and constantly subjected to manhandling and rape” (CONADEP 1986, 143) and there have also been instances where “there were cases where the women were made to clean by hand the urinals in the men’s toilets” (CONADEP 1986, 66). The report stresses that the practices in these detention facilities, which thus include humiliation, rape and other forms of sexual torture and violence, “was not just a question of some ‘excesses’, if that means aberrant acts, being committed. These atrocities were common practice; the normal methods used daily during the repression” (CONADEP 1986, 448).

Summary In general however, most accounts in the report are of men that have been held and tortured in clandestine detention centers. This could be a representation of the power relations of men and women in Argentine, especially still in the 1980s. Specifically, sexual violence at that time was still a taboo so women telling their stories including accounts of rape and sexual mutilation or specific violence against them based on their femininity might not have been deemed appropriate. In the 50.000 pages that the original report entails there are assumedly many accounts, but the commission then chose not to include them in the report and subsequent book that has been made available to the wider public. So, even though this report is indeed spelling out and acknowledging wrongdoing during the Dirty War, sexual and gendered violence is not a main focus. As will be discussed later, primarily in Chapter 6, the ‘Nunca Más’ report has actually acknowledged sexual and gendered violence often compared to the other sources analysed in this thesis.

Not only were people physically tortured, which includes sexual torture such as rape and mutilation, but also emotionally and mentally such as being blindfolded all the time and facing mock executions. All kinds of torture are of course equally horrible. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see how there is not a specific section on the treatment of women because it does appear to be different than the treatment men received. Especially considering the way in which women were supposed to take care of each other after one of the women experienced sexual violence because men were not supposed to look after each other after they were tortured. As shown, traditionally truth commissions and other transitional justice mechanisms have not included sexual and gendered violence in their work. On the one hand, this could also be argued for CONADEP and the ‘Nunca Más’ report as there is no specific section on women and sexual violence. On the other hand, throughout the report sexual violence is acknowledged throughout testimonies of victims and survivors, however this is mostly included in the ‘Torture’ chapter accordingly with the general view at that time that sexual and gendered violence was an integral part of this. Finally, Section 5.3 will elaborate on possible explanations of this lack of acknowledgement.

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5.2 Personal Testimonies of Victims and Survivors There are several kinds of personal testimonies given by victims and survivors after the Dirty War. There are those that were made in ‘el Juicio’ [the Junta Trials] or given to CONADEP, but also those that are made more privately. Some women have made it their life’s work to let the world know what has happened or keep fighting to try and get knowledge of what happened to their loved ones and where they might be, dead or alive. A famous example of these kind of women are the Abuelas and Madres de Plaza de Mayo [Grandmothers and Mothers of the Plaza the Mayo]. Another way in which women have dealt with what happened to them is writing what happened to them down; either as a way of memory that what happened may not be forgotten or as a way of trying to come to terms with the past. This has been done in a more fictional way where stories have been written down about fictional persons but with experiences that were the writers own. Also, this has been done in a more non-fictional sense where the story is an account of what happened to them more similar to a testimony as perhaps during ‘el Juicio’ or the ‘Nunca Más’ report. It is this last type of testimonies, the ones who were written down independently, that this part of the thesis will analyze.

5.2.1 Non Fictional Personal Testimonies

Nosotras, Presas Politicas “En estas páginas contamos nuestra experiencia como presas políticas en la cárceles de país durante el período contenido entre los años 1974 y 1983” [These pages contain our experience as political prisoners in the jails of the country during the period between 1974 and 1983] (Beguan 2006, 21)

The use of sexual violence or torture is not elaborately discussed in the testimonies of the women in this book. The testimonies focus more on the general day to day life in these detention centers and the description of these centers. On torture in general, some women elaborate a bit more. For instance, Graciela Bofelli says with regard to the detention facility in which she was held:

“las condiciones eran las de un campo de reclusión en el que se realizaban torturas. Éstas consistían en golpes, submarino, picana, simulacro de fusilamiento, y se oían los grito de los compañeros por la noche” [the conditions were those of a prison camp in which torture took place. These consisted of beatings, submarine, prod, mock execution, and the cries of the compañeros were heard at night] (Beguan 2006, 133).

In addition, a few of the women made mention of gendered violence by specifying how they were forced to be naked at times. For example Liliana Forchetti describes: “nos hacen desnudar: de nuevo la violación de la intimidad, como para recordarnos nuestro estado de indefensión y en manos de quién estaba el poder” [They make us undress: again the violation of privacy, as if to remind our defenseless and in whose hands was the power] (Beguan 2006, 163).

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Throughout the text, a lot of emphasis is on the other women that the woman of the testimony shared their cell or facility with. The red thread through this book is the solidarity of the women and the support they found in one another. The use of words in this instance is also quite interesting, when they refer to the other women, whether they knew them or not, in their detention facility they use the word compañera which means companion or even girlfriend, emphasizing again solidarity and the collective experience they shared during their detention.

Even though this might seem less relevant for the analysis of the acknowledgement of sexual violence in these testimonies; it is an interesting phenomena that becomes clear when analyzing these texts. The focus of these testimonies is on the collective suffering rather than the individual experiences, especially when it comes to the collective experience of being detained or disappeared. The individual suffering and specific experiences is mention very briefly after which the woman returns back to the collective issues. Of the 112 women, all held in Villa Devoto, that have collaborated for this book, only a few make specific mention of the use of sexual violence in various matters. For example, Edelveïs Gallegos recalls how one night

“un sábado, pasadas las diez, cuando ya me había acostado, entró en mi celda un oficial de gendarmería con un soldado, llegó con la celadora. aún hoy, si me lo propongo, veo enfrente de mí la cara de ese hombre cuando me despertó. ... el oficial me requisó delante de la celadora. Pude sentir el olor a alcohol de su aliento cuando metió su mano dentro de mis blusa y me tocó los senos.” [Saturday, just after ten o'clock, when I was in bed, he entered my cell one gendarmerie officer with a soldier, came with the guard. still, if I put my mind, I see before me the man's face when I woke up. ... The officer seized me in front of the guard. I could smell alcohol on his breath when he put his hand inside my blouse and touched my breasts] (Beguan 2006, 139).

However, most women focus on their collective experiences rather than the specific torture they individually endured. For instance, Liliana Forchetti tells how they were repeatedly violated (Beguan 2006, 160). So, a recollection on what all women in the detention facility endured. Another example of an acknowledgement of an individual experience include, Stella remembers the repeated use of the electric prod on her body: “luego vino la picana eléctrica: la sentía en todo el cuerpo, desde los pies hasta el cuero cabelludo ... esta segunda vez fue aplicada mayormente en los senos, el ombligo, la vagina y la boca” [Then came the electric shocks: the feeling throughout the body, from the feet to the scalp ... the second time was applied mainly in the breasts, navel, vagina and mouth] (Beguan 2006, 36). There are relatively few references to such horrific occurrences in the book, even though the book dates 2006 and the use of sexual violence against women in these facilities was then well known. One explanation that comes to mind is that these women may not find sexual and gendered violence the most important experiences to spell out but prefer to focus on the compassion, solidarity and support they found in the other women that were in the same situation as them.

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Sueños Sobrevivientes de una Montonera The second non-fiction book discussed in this section will be ‘Sueños sobrevivientes de una montonera’ [Dreams of a Surviving Montonera] by Susana Jorgelina Ramus, published in 2000. She is the sister of one of the founders of the Monteneros, Gustavo Ramus, and was imprisoned in 1977. She has reported being raped three times while in captivity, one by a student officer who had told her that she would clean toilets and then took her to a small room to rape her.8 In her book she describes this situation as follows:

“el sábado siguiente un guardia me mostró muy amable conmigo. me dijo que podía llevarme a limpiar el baño y entonces me sacaría las esposas y los grillos por un rato. me pareció una buena idea y no pensé que tendría que haces algo a cambio, después de todo, no era para tanto. cuando iba hacia el baño me hizo entrar en una habitacion. me sacó los grillos, las esposas y los anteojitos. me dijo que no tenía gritar. me desvistió, me dijo que le gustaba mucho y sin más trámite me violó y me tapó la boca por si se me ocurría gritar a pesar de sus advertencias. despues me dejó otra vez en mi cucheta, con grillos, esposas y anteojitos” [Saturday following a guard showed me very kind to me. he said he could take me to clean the bathroom and then I would take the handcuffs and shackles for a while. it seemed like a good idea and did not think I'd have to do something to change, after all, was not that great. when he went to the bathroom made me go into a room. I pulled the chains, the handcuffs and blindfold. He had told me not to scream. He undressed me, told me that he liked without further ado raped me and covered my mouth if I was going to scream despite his warnings. after I left over in my bunk, with chains, handcuffs and blindfold] (Jorgelina Ramus 2000, 43).

This testimony of a survivor of detainment does elaborate into detail on being subjected to sexual violence. Both in her biography as well as in other instances like reported in the above cited article. This book therefore differs from the analyzed book above in various aspects. Since this book is in the first place a book about individual experience, whereas ‘Nosotras, Presas Politicas’ is a book more focused on the collective suffering of the women in the detention centers. Also, this book describes in much detail the horrors and torture to which this person, and thus assumedly the other women in the same detention center as well, was subjected.

5.2.2 Fictional Personal Testimonies The testimonies that will be analyzed are ‘the Little School’ by Alicia Partnoy (1986, Spanish in 2006), ‘Steps under Water by Alicia Kozameh (1996, Spanish in 1987), and ‘a Single Numberless Death’ by Nora Strejilevich (2002, Spanish in 1997). These particular stories were selected because they are were written by women who were held in different clandestine detention centers. Therefore the descriptions of their experiences are different, especially the descriptions of daily life in these centers. Also they were written at different points in time. What the authors have in common is that they all have had to go into exile, either before writing their testimonies or because of their testimonies.

8 http://memoria.telam.com.ar/noticia/esma--jorgelina-ramus-amplio-declaracion_n2913 27

La Escualita One of those books that is quite known is ‘the Little School’ [La Escualita] by Alicia Partnoy in which includes the experiences of herself and experiences of her fellow prisoners in twenty different stories. Alicia Partnoy have been imprisoned for two-and-a-half years from January 22, 1977 in ‘La Escualita’ and ‘Villa Floresta’. As mentioned above, this is one of those texts in which contains elements of tale-telling or invention (Edurne Portela 2009, 54). However, that does not mean that the descriptions in this book did not actually happen. Although the book does not give specific accounts of individual torture or violence, thoughout the book you can feel “the overwhelming presence of violence and death at the concentration camp” (Edurne Portela 2009, 68).

Alicia describes one situation in which she was forced to hit a fellow prisoner, or be hit herself. She pretended to hit him but not hard enough to the guards liking and received twelve blows from the guard (Partnoy 1986, 32). Also, she recalls how she “couldn’t stand the guards hands’ molesting [her] when [she] walked by” (Partnoy 1986, 32). Overall, “[t]he atmosphere of violence was constant” (Partnoy 1986, 15). In any given situation, prisoners would receive blows.

Throughout the book, she makes several remarks on torture. That it happened, for example, when it is implied she saw her husband get tortured even though it is not specifically described (Partnoy 1986, 27), or when she had to completely underdress when receiving blows after talking with her cellmate (71-73). When describing the room she was first detained in, she mentions the location of a ‘torture room’ that was next to the patio she saw (Partnoy 1986, 14).In addition, in the appendix ‘Cases of the Disappeared at the Little School’, a list of people who were detained with her is given and in almost each of these cases she describes that these individuals were tortures (Partnoy 1986, 123-131). However, she does not go into a lot of detail about the methods used; usually referring to the electric prod. Finally, in the appendix ‘Descriptions of the Guards at the Little School’ she writes: “[a]ll the guards were in charge of daily physical and psychological torture consisting of the on-going mistreatment and humiliation of the prisoners” (Partnoy 1986, 133). This demonstrates how the practices describes in this books were a part of a daily routine.

Considering sexual violence, she makes one specific remark about this. She describes how “the guard sat down beside my bed and put a knife to my neck to force me to kiss him” (Partnoy 1986, 98). Also, in the chapter called ‘Ruth’s Father’, Ruth is Alicia’s daughter, a mention of sexual violence is made. In this case it happened to a man, describing how he cannot sleep thinking about “the electric prod on my genitals” (Partnoy 1986, 93). Considering other sources, it can be expected that these kinds of instances happened on more occasions and perhaps even worse.

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Overall, the book focusses on the daily life in these detention centers, the people she shared her cell with and the connection she felt to her fellow prisoners. Throughout her story the presence of violence in these centers is striking. If a blindfold was not tight enough, if a prisoner asked water from the wrong guard or at the wrong time, or when prisoners were caught talking; all these instances could result in severe beatings.

Pasos Bajo el Agua Another famous personal testimony is that of Alicia Kozameh in her novel ‘Steps Under Water’ [Pasos Bajo el Agua], which was one of the first autobiographical novels about the suffering of a women detained during the Dirty War. This book is an example of a case of both a way of telling what happened and a means of healing for the author (Edurne Portela 2009, 91). Also, the book has a fictional character and Alicia Kozameh also specifically mentions that the book is a fiction based on real events of her and her fellow compañeras, while being detained (Kozameh 1996, Preface). Alicia Kozameh was imprisoned on September 24, 1975 in the police headquarters in Rosario. She was later transferred to a detention center called Villa Devoto and released under probation on December 24, 1978. The book tells the story of ‘Sara’, who is a combination of Kozameh and fellow female prisoners (Edurne Portela 2009, 93). So, as mentioned in the introduction this is one of those book that tells the story of the author, and other, by the means of a fictional character.

One gendered problem that becomes clear throughout the book is that there was limited space for women and they were therefore in very crowded conditions (Edurne Portela 2009, 102). For example, on part describes how two cells and their ‘kitchen’ were closed after their ward searched, making their ward even smaller (Kozameh 1996, 30-36) Also, a whole chapter (Kozameh 1996, 99- 110) is dedicated to gendered violence expressed in how babies were taken away from their mother without them knowing where the children were taken. This chapter is called ‘As in War: In War’ and tells about how the prisoners have set up their own guards for the nights to monitor the children and “to see to it they don’t try to take the kids away from us in the middle of the night” (Kozameh 1996, 102). As for sexual violence, this is not specifically mentioned in the book. It does, however, become clear that these women endured a lot of struggle. The theme that is also very prevalent in this book is the solidarity and collective suffering these women feel. When released, Sara has a problem with Elsa, a character in the book who is her best friend from when they were in prison, because Sara is in love with Elsa’s husband. However, she would rather give up love than the friendship with Elsa because of what they have been through together (Kozameh 1996, 50-71).

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Una Sola Muerte Numerosa A third book of interest in this analysis is ‘a Single Numberless Death’ [Una Sola Muerte Numerosa] by Nora Strejilevich. The book was first published in Spanish in 1997 and in English in 2002. The book is both “fictional and documentary. It is fictional in that it attempts to tell a story that is not that of a specific historical individual but rather that of individuals who are figures of an entire national social and political experience. It is documentary in that it is driven by specifically systemized information now widely available” (Strejilevich 2002, x).

Nora Strejilevich was disappeared in 1977 as well as her brother, his girlfriend, and her two cousins. She was held in ‘Club Atlético’ (Edurne Portela 2009, 129). The book describes how the narrator, Nora, remembers how she was tortured with the infamous electric prod after her kidnapping “the loathing for that sharp tip that explodes on contact with the skin, vibrating and hurting and cutting and piercing and destroying brain, teeth, gums, ears, breasts, eyelids, ovaries, nails and the soles of the feet. My head, my ears, my teeth, my vagina, my scalp, the pores of my skin give off a burnt smell” (Strejilevich 2002, 23). The narrator acknowledges the sexual mutilation of reproductive organs such as the vagina and ovaries in addition to other sensitive body parts. Edurne Portela points out how Strejilevich emphasizes the collective suffering that women endured during the repression and “suggests the idea of sexual abuse being part of every woman’s torture ritual and emphasizes the fact that rape was a typical practice carried out by the repressive forces” (2009, 135-136).

What was striking in the analysis of Edurne Portela was the description of how “[t]hrough the transcription of the terrible story of Diana, Strejilevich takes the opportunity to emphasize the criminal, misogynist, hyper nationalist, and cowardly nature of the repressors” (Edurne Portela 2009, 136). The story of Diana is as follows, “the terrified young woman, her eyes covered, was conscientiously raped by each one of them. Two hours apiece. While two slept the third one raped her … when they got hungry they went down for pizza an Cokes. And back upstairs for more” (Strejilevich 2002, 87). This is a very detailed description of what happened to another woman held in captivity. On sexual violence experiences by herself, not much detail is given even though it is implied to have been a common practice. On aspect of sexual violence, sexual torture, is acknowledged by referring to the use of the electrical prod on various body parts including her vagina, breasts, and ovaries. It appears this is a book most focused on the healing of the writer. Moments of youth, captivity, freedom and imagination are described intertwined. It is a very detailed account of her experiences, elaborating on details of rooms and spaces, but also of feelings in a metaphorical way.

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5.3 Discussion This analysis has shown how gendered and sexual violence is not specifically acknowledged in discussed literature. Whereas some focus on the collective, others focus on the individual, and whereas some focus more on the day to day life that took place outside the moments of torture, other testimonies focus more on the torture as well. In comparison, the ‘Nunca Más’ has acknowledged the use of sexual and gendered violence during the Dirty War the most. Even though it has no specific section on sexual and gendered violence or women; the only chapter specifically including women and gendered violence is ‘Children and pregnant women who disappeared’. At least this report incorporated these issues whereas for example in neighboring Uruguay, “women’s experiences were completely left out of historical recounting” (McKay 2000, 565).

Regarding the personal testimonies written down independently in fiction or non-fiction literature, not much emphasis is put on acknowledging gendered or sexual violence encountered during the disappearance of the authors. This lack of acknowledgement can be explained by a number of factors that include that at the time of writing of most of these personal testimonies gendered and sexual violence were still a taboo. Also, in certain societies, especially when they are patriarchic, it is at times better to remain silent on issues of sexual and gendered violence because speaking out “puts them [the women] at risk of further violence and exclusion, and that their story is vulnerable to manipulation by the media, and to wider political and social goals” (Bastick et al. 2001,158). Additionally, most of these personal testimonies show another message; they focus on solidarity, companionship and collective suffering rather than on torture or individual experiences of gendered and sexual violence.

Furthermore, it has been noted that “sexual violence was perceived by them as less serious than the suffering experienced by others in the concentration camp, for instance, disappearance and death” (Zavala Guillén 2013, 56). Moreover, even years after the initial sexual or gendered violence, giving testimony can “reawaken old wounds” (McKay 2000, 565), but can also be a source of the healing of such wounds and alleviate the symptoms that have come with the trauma for both the individual as well as the community by the acknowledgement of harm done (McKay 2000, 565, 569). Finally, women have reported finding it inappropriate to refer to sexual and gendered violence occurring systematically in the detention facilities as this would also have involved women who remain disappeared and the reappeared were concerned about the “painful consequences among their families and close friends” (Zavala Guillén 2013, 59), of both the disappeared as well as reappeared.

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Overall, it is shown that the personal testimonies in the ‘Nunca Más’ report do incorporate profound details about the specific kinds of torture. Sexual and gendered violence are widely acknowledged and also the specific position women were in in these clandestine detention centers. This gender violence against women aspect becomes especially clear in the example of how women were supposed to look after each other after torture sessions and how they were made to clean the bathrooms. Additionally, gendered violence is implicitly present in the fictional testimonies whereas the ‘Nunca Más’ report is more explicit in these instances. On the other hand, the personal testimonies written independently shy away from specific acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence or details on torture sessions during their disappearance which is striking as several victims and survivors have also given testimony in the ‘Nunca Más’ report, for example Nora Strejilevich.

This lack acknowledgement contrasts the importance of the concept in the debates on transitional justice and generally in transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions and legal trials. Whereas torture is acknowledged in both the formal as well as informal testimonies, gendered issues are left out of these interpretations of truth. This lack of acknowledgement does reaffirm the general lack of incorporation of gendered and sexual violence into transitional justice mechanisms and shows how , in the Argentinian case where wrongdoing and torture has been widely acknowledged in these testimonies, women do not refer to the gendered and sexual violence they have endured in while they were disappeared but focus on solidarity and collective suffering instead.

The next chapter will discuss the official acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence in presidential statements and written media.

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Chapter 6: Acknowledgement by officials: presidential statements and the written media This chapter will analyze if and in what way the governments after the Dirty War have acknowledged the occurrence of, whether or not systematic, sexual and gendered violence against women and torture during the Dirty War. The focus will be on four of the seven presidents that have been in office since 1983 namely Raúl Alfonsín, Carlos Menem, Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The other three presidents that have been in office, Fernando de la Rúa, Adolfo Rodriquez Saá and Eduardo Duhalde, will be left out of this analyses due to their short time in office.

This section will also discuss how written media have acknowledged the systematic use of gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War. Shortly after the War, many accounts of what had happened during the War became known when the ‘Nunca Más’ report was published (in Spanish in 1984 and then in English in 1986). In this section, it will be detailed how the media dealt with the issues of sexual and gendered violence. The focus will be on written media by analyzing newspaper articles from the 1980s, after 1983, until the 2010s. This will be analyzed in accordance with the presidents’ years the president of that section was in office.

6.1 1983-1989: Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín Dr. Raúl Alfonsín was the first president after the Dirty War that ended when Argentina lost the war for the Falkland Islands. He was the first president to be indirectly elected after the military coup of 1976. He was in office from December 10, 1983 until July 8 1989. He is known for his desire to build a democratic country on the ruins that the military junta left after the ‘War on Subversion’. Also, he is known for his interest in and emphasis on human rights. He also created the Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas (National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons) by decree no. 187/83 on December 15, 1983 (Barkoukis 2011) and therefore also issued the order for the Nunca Más report, which shows his desire for justice, truth and reconciliation.

On the other hand, he was constantly pressured by all branches of the armed forces.9 “When President Alfonsín came to office he was faced with the ‘Law of National Pacification’, which gave blanket amnesty to all military agents for the crimes committed between May 25, 1973 and June 17, 1983. This was an attempt to quell fears of prosecution when the new government came to power. Five days after coming into power, however, Alfonsín nullified this amnesty law and prosecutions of high-ranking officials ensued” (Barkoukis 2011). Then he created law 23.492 ‘Ley Punto Final’ [Full Stop Law] 1986 which imposed a limited time for filing charges and resulted in inability for some

9 Alfonsin, Raul. 2015. “Presidencia”. Available at: http://www.raulalfonsin.com/su-vida/presidencia-1983-1989 (May 15, 2015). 33 people to do so and also over haste of trials. He was also responsible law 23.521 ‘Ley de Obediencia Debida’ [Law of Due Obedience] 1987 which entailed that soldiers and other acting under orders of superiors were not be prosecuted.10 in 2005 both these laws were annulled by the supreme court. On the ‘Due Obedience law’, there have been many criticisms. One of which includes that “the principle of due obedience to the authors of ‘heinous crimes such as rape or abduction, those who overstepped repression and who obtained own benefits’ may not apply”.11 On the ‘Ley de Obediencia Debida’ Alfonsín said: “It is time to overcome the past without forgetting the past”.12

In the prologue to the ‘Nunca Más’ report written by Alfonsín he says on the disappearances:

“Desde el momento del secuestro, la víctima perdía todos los derechos; privada de toda comunicación con el mundo exterior, confinada en lugares desconocidos, sometida a suplicios infernales, ignorante de su destino mediato o inmediato, susceptible de ser arrojada al río o al mar, con bloques de cemento en sus pies, o reducida a cenizas; seres que sin embargo no eran cosas, sino que conservaban atributos de la criatura humana: la sensibilidad para el tormento, la memoria de su madre o de su hijo o de su mujer, la infinita vergüenza por la violación en público; seres no sólo poseídos por esa infinita angustia y ese supremo pavor, sino, y quizás por eso mismo, guardando en algún rincón de su alma alguna descabellada esperanza” [From the time of the kidnapping, the victim lost all rights; deprived of all communication with the outside world, confined to places unknown, subjected to infernal tortures, unknowing of their immediate fate, capable of being thrown into the river or the sea with cement blocks on his feet or burnt to ashesbeings who however were not things, but retained the human creature attributes: Sensitivity to the torment, the memory of his mother or his son or his wife, the infinite shame of rape in public; human beings that not only possessed that supreme infinite anguish and dread, but, and perhaps because of that, keeping in some corner of his soul some wild hope].13

In this instance acknowledging both the torture that took place as well as “violación en público” [rape in public] and the shame that came with it. In this case he does not specify whether the victims of this public rape were male or female but does acknowledge the occurrence of the crime. Considering the content of the report this is not very striking because multiple sections in the report refer to either sexual violence, gendered violence, or both, as shown in Chapter 5. Also considering the amount of different atrocities discussed in the report. Nevertheless, in order to achieve the objectives of acknowledgement, healing and reconciliation, it is extremely beneficial that the first

10 Congreso Nacional. 1987. “Ley 23.521 que establece la no imputabilidad de delitos cometidos por miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas y policiales, en tanto hayan actuado por obediencia debida a sus superiores”. Available at: http://archivohistorico.educ.ar/sites/default/files/IX_11.pdf (May 16, 2015). 11 Gonzáles Yuste, Juan. 1987. “El Gobierno argentino quiere promulgaruna ley de ‘pacificación nacional’”. El Pais. May 9. http://elpais.com/diario/1987/05/09/internacional/547509623_850215.html (May 15, 2015) 12 Andersen, Martin. 1987. “ ‘Dirty War’ Amnesty Proposed”. Chicago Tribune. May 14. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-05-14/news/8702050890_1_president-raul-alfonsin-human-rights- military-crisis (May 15, 2015) 13 Biblioteca Escolar de Documentos Digitales. 1984. “Prólogo del informe de la Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas, conocido como ‘Nunca Más’“. http://archivohistorico.educ.ar/sites/default/files/IX_02.pdf (May 16, 2015) 34 president after the War has acknowledged the occurrence of (systematic) rape. However, more detail or spelling out could have been even more beneficial; as specific spelling out it the most important requirement of acknowledgement in order to contribute to healing and reconciliation (Govier 2000, 15).

When going through other sources in which Alfonsín mentions the ‘Guerra Sucia’ it becomes clear that the acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence was not something he regularly referred to. He does acknowledge disappearances, systematic detainments and specifically torture. For example in his biography, published in 2004, he writes:

a pesar de dominar todo el aparato estatal, la dictadura militar se abstuvo de procesar y condenar a nadie, salvo alguna exepción marginal, mientras que mediante "acciones directas", sin juicio ni ley, hizo desaparecer a miles de personas, asesinó, torturó, encarceló y expulso del país a otros miles" [despite dominating the entire state apparatus, the military dictatorship declined to prosecute and convict anyone, except some marginal exception while using "direct action" without trial or law, they wiped out thousands of people: murdered, tortured, imprisoned and expelled thousands from the country"] (Alfonsín 2004, 33).

Thereby acknowledging many of the atrocities that took place during the Dirty War, except the systematic use of sexual and gendered violence against women specifically.

So, considering reconciliation, Alfonsín has used different strategies. On the on hand he created the truth commission and issued the ‘Nunca Más’ report, but on the other hand created two laws that limited the scope of the prosecutions; arguable as a result of pressure put on him by the armed forces. But, these prosecutions and subsequent trials are an important part of truth finding and reconciliation as well since the survivors or family members of victims are provided closure. Considering sexual violence, Alfonsín has not acknowledged this elaborately.

During Alfonsín’s time in office, during the 1980s, Argentinian written media do not provide much detail yet about the atrocities that took place during the dirty war. Newspapers in other nations, such as ‘El País’ from Spain and the ‘Semana’ weekly newspaper from Colombia do report on the ‘Guerra Sucia’. For example, the ‘Semana’ has acknowledged the systematic rape of women during the Dirty War in Argentina as early as 28-09-1987, stating that:

“Los tormentos más brutales y sutiles, la violación sistemática de las prisioneras, el saqueo de las viviendas de los secuestrados, y la degradación de los presos "recuperados", convertidos en esclavos de sus carceleros constituyen algunos de los elementos de la "guerra sucia" argentina, sistema dirigido verticalmente por los mandos de las Fuerzas Armadas” [The most brutal and subtle torture, systematic rape of women prisoners, looting of the homes of the hostages, and

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degradation of prisoners "recovered", turned into slaves of their captors are some of the elements of the "dirty war" Argentina, set vertically directed by the commanders of the armed forces].14

This acknowledgement is especially relevant because it refers specifically to a kind of sexual violence; rape. Importantly, it spells out how this violence was systematic rather than a divergent occurrence. However, profound specific acknowledgements in presidential statements and written media remain largely absent during Alfonsín’s tenure.

6.2 1989-1999: Carlos Saul Menem In July 1989 Carlos Menem succeeded Alfonsín as president. He was in office from July 1989 until December 10, 1999. He is known for his decree 2741/90 of December 29, 1990 in which the Military Junta received presidential pardons for the crimes against humanity for which they were sentenced in 1985 during el Juicio [Trial of the Juntas]. At the same time, he pardoned several guerilla leaders as well. This was all done, according to him, to further national healing and reconciliation (Barkoukis 2011).15 16 “Menem justified his actions by stating that ‘Argentina lived through a dirty war, but the war is over. The pardons will definitely close a sad and black stage of Argentina history’” (Taylor 1997, 14). This statement is in accordance with other who argue that the best path to reconciliation is not truth, memory and justice but moving on to keep the peace (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 29). The decision to pardon the Junta and several guerilla leaders led to large protests where around 50.000 people gathered in Buenos Aires.17 In 1994, Menem raised even more controversy when he basically “praised the armed forces’ fight against ‘subversion’ during the Dirty War” (Taylor 1997, 16), “but Menem has been reluctant to challenge the military or re-examine the past too closely” , in general.18 Amnesty as a strategy for reconciliation is “an officially declared and imposed forgiving and forgetting” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 109) and “more often than not obstructs the reconciliation process” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 110).

Generally, it is argued that Menem has focused more on reconciliation of Argentinian society by a policy of forgetting rather than acknowledging what happened and creating spaces for memories (Taylor 1997, 16). Some have argued that the act of memory and remembrance is not beneficial for

14 Semana. 1987. “La Guerra Sucia”. Semana. September 28. http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/la-guerra- sucia/9387-3 (May 17, 2015) 15 Menem, Carlos. 1990. “Decreto 2741 /90 firmado por Carlos Saúl Menem donde se establece el indulto a los miembros de la Junta militar que habían sido condenados por violaciones de los derechos humanos en 1985”. Available at: http://archivohistorico.educ.ar/sites/default/files/IX_18.pdf (May 18, 2015) 16 Ignacio Irigaray, Juan. 2015. “Muere el fiscal del ‘Nuremberg’ argentino”. El Mundo. February 27. http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/02/27/54f0a109268e3e0b698b458a.html (May 18, 2015) 17 Ares, Carlos. 1990. “Menem indulta a los jefes militares de la dictadura”. El Pais. December 30. http://elpais.com/diario/1990/12/30/internacional/662511615_850215.html (May 18, 2015). 18 Mann, Jonathan. 1996. “Macabre new details emerge about Argentina’s ‘dirty war’ “. CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9603/argentina.war/ (May 18, 2015) 36 reconciliation but would rather open up old wounds and threaten the peace (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 29). According to these arguments, Menem chose a path more likely to heal the nation. However, as is argued, this strategy is usually counterproductive to reconcile the nation. The strategy of forgetting rather than remembering “refuses victims the public acknowledgement of their pain … invites offenders to take the path of denial [and] deprives future generations of the opportunity to understand and learn from the past and to participate in the building of a lasting reconciliation” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 30). Remembrance and memory, expressed in for example the creation of sites of memory and memorial days are more equipped ways to ensure long lasting healing and “give a collective dimension to private pain” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 30).

In his biography,’Yo, Carlos Menem’ (1989), he acknowledges in detail in what way prisoners have been tortures, as it has also happened to him. He says, “yo, que he recibido tanto la tortura fisica como la psíquica, la picana y qué sé yo cuántas agresiones más” [I, who have received so much physical torture as well as psychic, the prod and who knows how many more attacks] (Menem 1989, 168). On the Dirty War and the Military Junta in general he writes: “[l]a Junta Militar compuesta por Videla, Massera y Agosti terminó con todos los derechos fundamentales de los ciudadanos argentinos, implantando un régimen de terror sistemático” [the military junta composed by Videla, Massera and Agosti finished with all the fundamental rights of Argentine citizens by implementing a regime of systematic terror] (Menem 1989, 165). However, on gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War he makes no mention in his biography. Considering the position of women generally since the Dirty War, Menem has acknowledged the struggle for gender equality and decreed a quote law which would lead to more female participation in the political sphere (Taylor 1997, 47). However, the specific acknowledgement of the struggle and gender-related experiences of women during the War is not present.

In the 1990s, Menem’s tenure, the written media were still not elaborate on sexual and gendered violence during the Dirty War. It was again mostly the Spanish paper ‘El Pais’ reporting on sexual violence during the Dirty War in Argentina. On the 25th of April 1995 it reports how a former member of the Gendarmería Federico Talavera gave testimony of the use of dogs during torture. He recalls “[y]o presencié torturas con perros adiestrados que sabían dónde morder y qué morder, que iban directamente a los genitales de los torturados” [I witnessed torture with trained dogs that bite and knew where to bite, which went directly to the genitals of the tortured].19 In this instance he is referring to sexual mutilation of genitals, which refers to both male and female privates. Here it is

19 Jesús Aznarez, Juan. 1995. “Un miembro de la gendarmería argentina revela uso de perros en las torturas al los detenidos”. El Pais. April 29. http://elpais.com/diario/1995/04/29/internacional/799106417_850215.html (May 18, 2015) 37 shown how these dogs were specifically trained to bite in the most sensitive of areas, in the reproductive organs. This kind of sexual violence in the form of mutilation is especially horrible and clearly not an accidental case of ‘excessive behavior’ (as described in the ‘Nunca Más’ report that these cases were also not excessive behavior but a part of a larger systematic methodology of violence, (CONADEP 1986, 448)). This is an example of the spelling out of a specific form of sexual violence expressed in sexual torture and mutilation, in this case referring to both men and women.

There have been more acknowledgements of torture in general, but not much specifically spelling out of violence against women or sexual violence. For example, articles on certain groups or individuals who have been disappeared and tortured.20 Also, most of the articles do not go into details very specifically how torture was executed but merely mention or acknowledge that it happened. It seems at this stage that the ‘Nunca Más’ report did go into detail and its publishing it was perhaps assumed that the facts were ‘known’, so no further acknowledgement or reporting was necessary. In addition, it might not always be relevant to go into detail because that might not be the message that the media wants to convene to the people. Especially in this decennia during Menem’s tenure, his policy was to “not rub salt into old wounds” (Taylor 1997, 16).

In 1998, on February 27, one high ranking member of the military actually acknowledged the use of torture during the Dirty Was. General Juan Manuel Llavar acknowledged that “durante la última dictadura militar se cometieron violaciones a los derechos humanos, como crímenes y torturas“ [during the last military dictatorship, human rights violations such as torture and crimes committed].21 Which was subsequently reported upon by Argentinian newspaper ‘La Nacion’. Even though this is a specific acknowledgement that torture was a systematic feature of the repression, it once again merely mentions the use of torture without going into detail about it and without the acknowledgement of gendered or sexual violence specifically directed at women. Overall, the 1990s

20 Gonzales, Monica. 1998. “Testimonio de una víctima de la Operación Cóndor” Clarin. November 24. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/1998/11/24/i-02901d.htm (May 19, 2015) Clarin. 1998. “La historia de uno grupo de jóvenes que no volvió más”. Clarin. September 13. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/1998/09/13/e-04101d.htm (May 19, 2015). Amato, Alberto. 1999. “Anatomía de una dictadura” Clarin. March 21. http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/zona/1999/03/21/i-00401e.htm (May 19, 2015). La Nacion. 1997. “Dividen al oficialismo los datos de la repression”. La Nacion. May 21. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/69338-dividen-al-oficialismo-los-datos-de-la-represion (May 19, 2015) La Nacion. 1998. “Las controvertidas declaraciones de astiz”. La Nacion. January 19. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/85780-las-controvertidas-declaraciones-de-astiz (May 19, 2015) La Nacion. 1997. “La Justicia inverstigara una denuncia por la repression”. La Nacion. June 4. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/70235-la-justicia-investigara-una-denuncia-por-la-represion (May 19, 2015)

21 La Nacion. 1998. “Otra critica military contra la tortura”. La Nacion. February 27. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/89073-otra-critica-militar-contra-la-tortura (May 19, 2015) 38 do not show a lot of acknowledgement of gendered and sexual violence targeted at women in presidential statements and written media either.

6.3 2003-2007: Nestor Kirchner Nestor Kirchner was in office from May 25, 2003 until December 10, 2007. He was responsible for law 25.772 that entails the annulment of the laws of ‘Due Obedience’ and ‘Full Stop’ on August 21, 2003. As mentioned before, these laws were designed by Raúl Alfonsín as a way to deal with the aftermath of the Dirty War. The ‘Due Obedience’ law ensured that members of the armed forces who acted on orders could not be prosecuted and the ‘Full Stop’ law was designed so that reports had to be filed within a certain period, limiting possibilities of victims, survivors and relatives.

Kirchner argued that “[q]ueremos que haya justicia, queremos que realmente haya una recuperación fortísima de la memoria” [we want to see justice, we really have a very strong memory recovery].22 His focus considering the Dirty War was on truth, justice and memory in order to achieve reconciliation and the healing of the nation. Especially the importance memory comes up multiple times in his speeches and other discourses. For example,

“Guardando memoria de lo que nos pasó, sin anclarnos por ello en el pasado, la búsqueda de verdad y justicia y el fin de la impunidad son unas de las más preciadas banderas de nuestra sociedad y de nuestro gobierno”. [Keeping memory of what happened to us, why not anchor ourselves in the past, the search for truth and justice and ending impunity are among the most prized flags of our society and our government]23

On the Dirty War in general he has expressed his opinion by commemorating the start of the Dirty War by saying: “el 24 de marzo de 1976 es uno de los instantes más dolorosos y más crueles que le ha tocado vivir a la historia argentina en su conjunto” [remember the March 24, 1976 is one of the most painful and cruelest moments that has lived the history Argentina as a whole]24. This quote makes clear how he views the impact the Dirty War has had and still had on the nation. In general, it becomes quite clear that he wanted the Dirty War chapter to be dealt with in a way that would achieve reconciliation through remembrance and creating events or places of memory. For example, he turned ESMA, a former detention site, into a place of memory and he removed the pictures of the former military junta from the Military School of the Nation. Also, he issued a bill that would ensure

22 CNN. 2013. “Argentina recuerda a los desaparecidos en el aniversario 37 del inicio de la dictadura”. March 24. http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/03/24/argentina-recuerda-a-los-desaparecidos-en-el-aniversario-37-del- inicio-de-la-dictadura/ (May 19, 2015) 23 Nestor Kirchner. La Asamblea Legislativa en el Congreso, delivered on March 1, 2005 at the National Congress. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/nestor-kirchner-en-la-asamblea-legislativa-en-el- congreso-2005/ 24 Nestor Kirchner. “Ordena bajar el cuadro del dictador Videla del Colegio Militar de la Nacion”, delivered on March 24, 2004. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/nestor-kirchner-ordena-bajar-el-cuadro-del- dictador-videla-del-colegio-militar-de-la-nacion/ 39 compensation and reparation for children of the disappeared. Lastly, he created ‘El Archivo Nacional de la Memoria’ [ National Memory Archive], an archive which various human rights organizations had pushed for a long time. 25 26 27 28 These kinds of memory and remembrance initiatives are particularly important for reconciliation; “[t]he healing value of symbolic acts, objects and rituals lies in the way they can help concretize a traumatic incident, serving as a focal point in the grieving process. Such symbols are most effective if they are personalized and culturally relevant. They can also have a wider community- or society level benefit, as markers to remind society of the lessons of the past which need to be carried into the future” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 85). Essential in this instance is these places of memory are both historically and emotionally relevant for them to ensure a collective consciousness of the wrongs that have been done and lead to healing and reconciliation (Chirwa 1997, 482).

The disappearance of the children that were born during the imprisonment of their mothers is considered gendered violence against women since these women were often held captive because they were pregnant or their lives were spared until their babies were born. This specific kind of gendered violence is acknowledged by Kirchner when he designed the bill that would give compensation and repairs to these children. On this issue he said:

“que tengamos todavía más de 500 chicos que no sabemos dónde están, si bien el esfuerzo de las Madres y de las Abuelas permitieron recuperar 77 chicos, hay más de 500 chicos que no sabemos dónde están. Que haya habido madres de chicos y chicas tiradas al arbitrio de la voz imperativa de asesinos que supuestamente representaban la argentinidad” [we have more than 500 children still do not know where they are, although the efforts of the Mothers and Grandmothers allowed to recover 77 children, more than 500 kids who do not know where they are. That there have been mothers of boys and girls run at the discretion of the commanding voice of murderers who supposedly represented the Argentinians”.29

In most of Kirchner’s discourses, about the Dirty War or its aftermath, there is no mention of women, sexual violence or gendered violence in particular. He does widely acknowledge the horrors of the Dirty War and the importance of memory, justice and truth in relation to reconciliation. So, even

25 Nestor Kirchner. “Museo de la Memoria en la ESMA” delivered on March 24, 2004. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/museo-de-la-memoria-nestor-kirchner-en-la-esma/ 26 Nestor Kirchner. “Discurso Kirchner al retirar los cuadros del Colegio Militar de la Nacion” deliverd March 24, 2004. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/dicurso-de-nestor-kirchner-al-retirar-los-cuadros-del-colegio- militar-de-la-nacion/ 27 Nestor Kirchner. “Proyecto de Ley de indemnización y reparación a los hijos de desaparecidos”. Delivered at March 12, 2004. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/proyecto-de-ley-de-indemnizacion-y-reparacion-a- los-hijos-de-desaparecidos/ 28 Nestor Kirchner. “Presenta el Archivo Nacional de la Memoria”. Delivered at December 16, 2003. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/nestor-kirchner-presenta-el-archivo-nacional-de-la-memoria/ 29 Nestor Kirchner. “Proyecto de Ley de indemnización y reparación a los hijos de desaparecidos”. Delivered at March 12, 2004. Available at: http://www.cfkargentina.com/proyecto-de-ley-de-indemnizacion-y-reparacion-a- los-hijos-de-desaparecidos/ 40 though this president has made many efforts to ensure remembrance for the atrocities during the Dirty War. He does not specifically acknowledged what has happened and to whom specifically, nor does he refer to the struggle of women generally during this time. He focusses more on how the nation can be healed and how the victims and survivors can be remembered rather than going into detail about the horrors. There is no specific acknowledgement of torture, sexual violence, or the position of women during the Dirty War in these clandestine detention centers. Only gendered violence is acknowledged in the way that he acknowledged the forced adoption of the children of the women who were held in these detention centers. In short, he focusses on remembrance, memory and healing rather than specifics of the Dirty War. This shows how, even though this president was very much involved in creating transitional justice efforts, both retributive as well as restorative, the focus is on general transitional justice mechanism. This rather than transitional justice focusing the needs and experiences of women during the Dirty War and creating mechanisms adjusted to deal with these specific experiences. It seems logical that a transitional justice mechanisms aimed at women who experienced sexual or gendered violence while being disappeared needs different properties than a mechanism aimed at, for example, relatives of people who are still disappeared.

Since 1998, when sexual violence has been acknowledged as a separate war crime in the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal court, one would expect that the acknowledgement of this form of violence would became more present in the written media. In the first trial of the Junta, sexual and gendered were not yet considered as a separate war crime, therefore this was not specifically included in the prosecution30. Thus, after sexual and gendered violence became recognized as a separate war crime it could have been expected that discourse on this subject would have arisen.

February 17, 2003. ‘La Nacion’ publishes an article were the ‘Due Obedience Law’ is questioned where members of the military have been acquitted on the basis of following orders and following the hierarchy thus being unable to question their superiors. This article criticizes this law by arguing that certain acts have gone beyond the orders received by superiors such as “los delitos de violación, sustracción y ocultación de menores o sustitución de su estado civil, y la apropiación extorsiva de inmuebles” [ crimes of rape, theft and concealment of minors or replacement of marital status, and changing property ownership].31 Like the acknowledgement of torture in the 1990s, this article does acknowledge ‘violación’, or rape, during the Dirty War but also does not go into detail about it. This is an important acknowledgement because it does specifically spell out that rape took place, but does

30 Valente, Marcela. 2011. “Argentina: Shedding Light on Dictatorship’s Sex Crimes” IPS. June 28. http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/06/argentina-shedding-light-on-dictatorships-sex-crimes/ (April 25, 2015) 31 Badeni, Gregorio. 2003. “Los ojos en la nuca”. La Nacion. February 17. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/474302- los-ojos-en-la-nuca). (May 20, 2015) 41 not elaborate on other crimes of sexual or gendered nature. It does not specify what kind of ‘violación’ took place. Whether it was aimed at men of women, whether it was done by a human or by equipment such as the police baton, which was mentioned several times in the ‘Nunca Más’ report, is not elaborated upon.

Also during this decade, acknowledgements of torture are present in the written media. Once again however, most simply mention the occurrence of torture. The articles are about people who have been tortured, people who have been sentenced for torturing or simply the occurrence itself.32 Not many go into detail about what exactly happened. One article (24-03-2006) about the spreading of information to the rest of Latin America goes a bit more into detail about the extent to with the torture and kidnapping was extensively systematic with a concept they refer to as ‘the Argentinian method’ saying that:

“El método argentino" fue el central del terrorismo de estado, que en los años setenta era el sistema difundido en todo el continente. La embajada de los EE.UU. decía en un cable encabezado "The tactic of disappearance"(la táctica de la desaparición): "nos seguirá resultando difícil refutar el éxito argentino en su guerra no declarada contra el terrorismo y el accionar de la guerrilla paramilitar". Era precisamente ese tipo de experiencia lo que la Argentina transferiría a Centroamérica. El método argentino, como se conoció en Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala y El Salvador era la práctica de la desaparición del opositor, la extracción de información bajo la tortura sistemática en cárceles y procedimientos clandestinos, que derivaban en que quienes los ejecutaban quedarían impunes. El "éxito" de estos procedimientos para la contrainsurgencia era su falta de límite moral y humano“ [The Argentine method" was the focus of state terrorism, which in the seventies was the system spread throughout the continent. The US embassy said in a headline "The tactic of disappearance: [w]e will remain difficult to refute the Argentine success in their undeclared against terrorism and the actions of the paramilitary guerrilla war". It was precisely that kind of experience that Argentina transferred to Central America. The Argentine method, as it was known in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, was the practice of the disappearance of the opposition, information extraction under systematic torture in prisons and clandestine procedures, and those who executed them go unpunished. The "success" of these procedures for counterinsurgency was its lack of moral and human limitations].33

This quote shows how torture is usually acknowledged in articles in the written media. It is mentioned but not elaborated upon. Also, significantly, sexual violence such as rape of sexual mutilation is again not specifically mentioned even though 30 years had passed at the time of the article and it was elaborately acknowledged in the ‘Nunca Más’ report right after the end of the War (1984).

32 Lara, Rodolfo. 2001. “Robo de bebés: Etchecolatz, preso”. Clarin. April 7. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2001/04/07/p-02001.htm (May 20, 2015) Braslavsky, Guido. 2003. “Buscan sancionar a dos militares”. Clarin. September 2. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/09/02/p-00601.htm (May 20, 2015) 33 Seoane, María. 2006. “Los secretos de la guerra sucia continental de la dictadura”. Clarin. March 24. http://old.clarin.com/suplementos/especiales/2006/03/24/l-01164353.htm (May 20, 2015) 42

Disappearance is repeatedly acknowledged in several articles. For instance in this article from 8-01- 2007 where it is acknowledged how: “ A partir de 1976, hubo miles de desapariciones realizadas desde el Estado … Quienes debían proteger a los ciudadanos, los secuestraban, torturaban, robaban sus bebés, los asesinaban y desaparecían sus cadavers” [As of 1976, there were thousands of disappearances carried out by the government … who should protect citizens, they kidnapped, they tortured, they robbed their babies, they murdered and they disappeared their bodies].34 Torture, sexual and gendered violence happened after the disappearances, as this article also implies. Nevertheless, as argued earlier, specific acknowledgement is important because it would contribute to the healing of both individual as nation (Govier 2000, 5). So, it would still be beneficial if these wrongdoing were spelled out, even that many years after it has happened.

So far, there have been acknowledgements of torture and of rape. However, the acknowledgements were very brief and merely mentioned the occurrence of the fact and did not go into detail about this. In sum, during the 2000s, sexual and gendered violence against women during the Dirty War are not elaborated upon or spelled out in acknowledgement.

6.4 2007-2015: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was the first directly elected female president of Argentina and is in office since December 10, 2007. She was re-elected in December of 2011.

On the annulment of the laws of ‘Due Obedience’ and ‘Full Stop’ that her husband, Nestor Kirchner, had accomplished she quotes in her biography: “es necesario que en nuestro país puede saberse de una vez por todas que aquellos que violan la ley y los principios básicos de la convivencia de la sociedad civilizada serán castigados” [it is necessary that our country can be known once and for all that those who violate the law and the basic principles of coexistence of civilized society will be punished] (Fernandez de Kirchner 2007, 72). This shows her similar commitment to truth, justice and memory as her means for healing and reconciliation as her husband. Also, she often stresses the importance of human rights for a democracy to function (e.g. Fernandez de Kirchner 2007, 277). On the Dirty War in general she illustrates the reason for its escalation:

“no se trató de que, de repente, un grupo de generales enloqueció y decidió, entonces, montar centros de tortura en la Argentina para perseguir compatriotas. no. esto se dio en un contexto histórico nacional y regional, porque ahora están en tras partes las torturas y los campos de detención, pero antes fue américa latina el campo de experimentación” [It was not about that, suddenly, a group of generals mad and then decided to mount torture centers in Argentina to pursue compatriots. no. this occurred in a national and regional historical context, because they are now parties after the torture and detention camps, but it was Latin America before the testing ground] (Fernandez de Kirchner 2007, 278)

34 Seonane, María. 2007. “El hilo maldito de los secuestros políticos en la historia argentina”. Clarin. January 8. http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2007/01/08/elpais/p-01001.htm (May 21, 2015) 43

In this instance, she acknowledges the existence of clandestine detention centers in which torture took place. Indirectly perhaps acknowledging all kinds of torture including sexual and gendered violence. But, not specifically spelling out that this has happened or how torture of any kind took place specifically. In this quote it becomes clear that she disagrees with the opinion one might have that the military junta suddenly decided to act the way they did, this is an issue that comes up multiple times her biography (i.e. Fernandez de Kirchner 2007, 279, 283). This reasoning about the cause or history leading to the Dirty War stands out throughout her discourse in her biography. She focuses on the how the Dirty War and its ending has facilitated the situation for a better democracy. She tries to give a positive twist, as far as that is possible, to the aftermath of the Dirty War and stresses how it has led to the development of more democracy and more human rights eventually, throughout the book.

The extent and significance of torture is specifically acknowledged:

“un crimen de lesa humanidad, tal vez de los más perversos, como la desaparición forzada, agrega a la pérdida irremediable de la vida, precedida normalmente de grandes torturas, la tortura moral y psicológica que significa para quienes lloran a la víctima la incertidumbre definitiva y eterna acerca de su destino final” [a crime against humanity, perhaps the most perverse as the forced disappearance, added to the irretrievable loss of life, usually preceded by terrible tortures, moral and psychological torture that means for grieving victim definitive uncertainty and eternal about the final destination] (Fernandez de Kirchner 2007, 340)

However, as can be seen, what kind of torture and therefore also sexual and gendered violence is not specifically acknowledged.

Recently, on the night before a protest against gendered violence, on June 4, 2015, she stressed how society today still treats women differently and how gendered violence is still an inherent part of that. She tweeted that: “estamos ante una cultura devastadora de lo femenino” [We are facing a devastating culture of femininity].35 In this way she is acknowledging that gendered violence is still very prominent in Argentinian and Latin American society today. This implies a continuity but does not specifically gendered violence in the past or during the Dirty War. Because of multiple instances in which she mentions the existence of gendered violence, more acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence during the Dirty War was expected. When she mentions the Dirty War it is more about what happened and how it came to be. She stresses then that it was not a sudden situation that arose but that it was a result of national and regional history. In addition, she emphasizes how the Dirty War, and especially the processes afterwards, have led to the democracy that Argentina has

35 La Nacion. 2015. “#Niunamenos: para Cristina, la violencia de género también es culpa de los medios”. June 3. Available at: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1798301-cristina-kirchner-se-refirio-a-la-violencia-de-genero- estamos-ante-una-cultura-devastadora-de-lo-femenino (June 6, 2015) 44 now in her opinion. Unfortunately, she has paid little attention to sexual and gendered violence during the war or more specific acknowledgements of wrongdoing during the War.

Since Fernandez de Kirchner has been in office, sexuality and especially sexual violence generally have become more discussable so it could be expected that there would be acknowledgement in the written media about this subject. Also, in 2008, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1820 on women in wartime and acknowledged sexual violence as a war crime (United Nations 2008). Therefore, an increase in acknowledgement on this subject was expected. In 2012, on the 22nd of September (and March 14 2013 again), an article appeared in ‘Clarin’ about ‘The Ghosts of a Woman Tortured during the Dictatorship’ which specifically acknowledges how rape was a part of being detained in a clandestine detention center. Even going into quite some detail compared to most articles about this subject. The woman in the article, Graciela Fainstein, describes how she was released after being disappeared for three days and found out she was pregnant but was not sure about the father of the baby.

“Me habían violado, sí, pero… no estaba segura acerca de que la penetración hubiera sido completa y mucho menos de que el semen de alguno de esos hombres hubiera entrado en mi cuerpo, tal era la conmoción, tal era el mareo” [I had been raped, yes, but ... I was not sure about that penetration would have been complete and much less than that semen from any of these men had entered my body, such was the shock, such was dizziness].36

‘Alguna de esos hombres’ [any of these men] suggests that the rape was done by multiple men and was thus not excessive behavior of one of the men but part of a systematic effort to break women in these detention facilities. In the rest of the article she describes very detailed how the sexual assault took place and the feelings that overcome her when thinking about these memories. This shows how, even after all these years, the acknowledgement of wrongdoings, particularly gendered and sexual violence, is still relevant. As many victims, survivors and relatives still struggle with their experiences both mentally as well as physically. This is one of the view articles in the written media that describes very detailed how sexual violence took place during the Dirty War. This specific article is more of a testimony of a woman who has suffered through these kinds of violence rather than a report on these occurrences. In ‘Clarin’, this is the only article that really goes into detail about the sexual violence that occurred in the detention centers during the Dirty War.

During the most recent years, the acknowledgements of torture in general have become more profound. One article (14-04-2012) discusses the shock that sparked the Argentinian nations when Jorge Rafael Videla published his book ‘Disposición’ [‘Disposal’] and admitted that “el gobierno

36 Fainstein, Graciela. 2012. “Los fantasmas de una mujer torturada en la dictadura”. Clarin. September 22. http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/fantasmas-mujer-torturada-dictadura_0_778722272.html (May 15, 2015) 45 militar asesinó a 7000 u 8000 personas y que sus cuerpos hicieron desaparecer para no provocar protestas dentro y fuera del país" [admitted that the military government killed 7,000 or 8,000 people and that their bodies made to disappear to avoid provoking protests inside and outside the country].37 Again, acknowledging the use of torture, not going into details, and not acknowledging the use of sexual and gendered violence against women. Another article (published 01-11-2012 and 02-11-2012) describes how a former colonel, Rodolfo Anibal Campos, acknowledged torture and murder and said he was proud saying that “Torturamos y asesinamos para sacar información, en cualquier guerra pasa eso” [Torture and assassinate to get information in any war happens].38

So, generally, in the written media during Fernandez de Kirchner’s tenure, there have been articles including acknowledgement considering the Dirty War and torture in general, but not specifically spelling out that sexual and gendered violence were systematically present as separate violations of women as well.

37 La Nacion. 2012. “Videla admitó el asesinato de más de 7000 desaparecidos”. La Nacion. April 14. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1464937-videla-admitio-el-asesinato-de-mas-de-7000-desaparecidos (May 17, 2015) 38 Morosi, Pablo. 2012. “Dictadura: ex subjece de la Bonaerense reconoció torturas y asesinator y dijo estar ‘orgulloso’“. La Nacion. November 1. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1522604-dictadura-ex-subjefe-de-la- bonaerense-reconocio-torturas-y-asesinatos-y-dijo-estar-orgulloso (May 12, 2015) Morosi, Pablo. 2012. “Un ex jefe policial reinvindicó la represión”. La Nacion. November 2. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1522826-un-ex-jefe-policial-reivindico-la-represion (May 12, 2015). 46

6.5 Discussion Generally, the presidents after the Dirty War have in many instances acknowledged the Dirty War itself and at times also torture. In these cases, not treading into details about the particulates of the torture such as acknowledging the systematic use sexual and gendered violence.

President: Alfsonsín Menem Kirchner Fernandez de Kirchner 1983-1989 1989-1999 2003-2007 2007-incubent Acknowle- Radical Civic Union (UCR) Justicialist Party (IPA) Justicialist Party (IPA) Justicialist Party (IPA) dgement on: Dirty War Created the Truth Pardoned military and Created various spaces of Argues that the Dirty War Commission and Junta guerilla leaders, but memory; annulled ‘Full created the space for Trials, but also ‘Full Stop’ acknowledges systematic Stop’ and ‘Due democratization; stresses and ‘Due Obedience’ laws use of terror Obedience’ laws; focus that it did not happen out on justice, memory and of nowhere reconciliation Torture Widely acknowledged i.e. in Has experienced torture Occurrence of torture is Acknowledges the intro ‘Nunca Más’ report, himself, thus acknowledges acknowledged but not disappearances and torture also several times in his the systematic use. elaborated upon. as crimes against humanity. biography Women No specific No specific No specific Has not acknowledged the during the acknowledgements. acknowledgements. acknowledgements, but disadvantaged position of Dirty War On women after the Dirty refers to pregnant women during the War, but War he acknowledges the women during the War widely acknowledged struggle for gender (see below). gendered issues and equality. violence after the Dirty War Gendered In the intro ‘Nunca Más’ No acknowledgements on Acknowledgement of the Does not refer to gendered and sexual report he acknowledges this subject. treatment of pregnant or sexual violence that Violence systematic rape, but no women in detention happened during the Dirty other references. centers and the forced War. adoption of their babies; issued reparation scheme for the children of the disappeared. Table 1. Summary of Presidential Acknowledgements

Alfonsín has contributed to the acknowledgement of wrongdoing, also considering sexual and gendered violence, by installing the truth commission and contributing to the ‘Nunca Más’ report. But, he has also done the opposite by designing the ‘Full Stop’ and ‘Due Obedience’ laws. In addition, Menem has provided some detailed acknowledgement by describing what kind of torture he suffered when he was detained. Gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War, however, is not acknowledged by him. Kirchner has contributed to the acknowledgement of wrongdoing by creating various spaces and events of memory or remembrance, but has not specifically focused on women in these instances. One exception is the attention he gives to the adoption of missing children of disappeared women and their relatives that are still looking for them. Furthermore, Fernandez de Kirchner has at several times acknowledged how gendered and sexual violence are still a problem, implying a continuation of a situation that already existed and therefore also during the Dirty War, but she does not acknowledge the specific struggle that women underwent during the Dirty War. As in Chapter 5 discussing the ‘Nunca Más’ report and the personal testimonies, this

47 struggle was very real. Sexual and gendered violence were very much present in these clandestine detention centers. As can be seen in Table 1, Alfonsín was member of the Radical Civic Union party and the three other presidents were from the Justicialist Party, which was founded by Perón in 1947. The lack of acknowledgement by these three presidents therefore becomes even more interesting as Peronists were specifically targeted during the War.

The media has also failed to provide profound details concerning gendered and sexual violence during the Dirty War. Even after the two pieces groundbreaking legislation, the Rome Statute and Resolution 1820, of respectively 1998 and 2008; acknowledgement of issues concerning gendered and sexual violence has not increased. Overall, it can be seen that official acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence against women, and specifically the systematic use of these types of violence during the disappearances of persons and in the clandestine detention centers, is lacking by governments after the Dirty War and also by the written media.

As discussed, acknowledgement is an important restorative transitional justice mechanisms to aid in healing and reconciliation. Memory and remembrance are also a contributing factor in this. As shown, especially Nestor Kirchner contributed to this factor, for example by converting former spaces of detention into spaces of memory. However, acknowledgment is still lacking considering sexual and gendered violence especially in presidential statements and written media. Particularly these kinds of official acknowledgements are important for healing and reconciliation. The impacts on both the individual as well as society of “extreme forms of violence and social disruption caused by conflict can have an effect for decades thereafter” (Bloomfield et al. 2003, 79). That is why is it important that acknowledgements are also done even many years after the end of a conflict. In the Argentinian case, it was not only important that Alfonsín would have acknowledge sexual and gendered violence it would have been just as important for example for Fernandez de Kirchner to acknowledge this.

An explanation for the lack of this official acknowledgement is the inherent nature of a state that is “in almost all cases male dominated and a masculinist construct [and] legal systems reflect this power relationship” (McKay 2000, 562). As a result, victims and survivors often have to deal with impunity which can be expressed through for example amnesty, forgetting or denial rather than acknowledgement, disclosure and rehabilitation (McKay 2000, 564). A factor that often influences impunity in Western cultures, and is also an explanation for the lack of official acknowledgement in cases of sexual and gendered violence, is the influence of Christianity. Within Christianity much emphasis is put on forgiveness and the church often pushes victims of violations to forgive the perpetrator for the greater good of reconciliation. (McKay 2000, 564). This was especially the case in

48 many Latin American countries in the aftermath of conflict and arguably in Argentina as well (McKay 2000, 564).

The final explanation offered in this thesis is a combination of the masculine construction of the state in combination with the influence Christianity has in the Argentine society. McKay explains this by arguing that “the patriarchal nature of judicial proceedings, politicizing of post-conflict justice and reconciliation, and spiritual teachings that encourage women to ‘forgive and forget’ have resulted in little public recognition of gender-based war trauma and virtually no gender justice within legal systems” (McKay 2000, 569). This analyses of the way sexual and gendered violence have been acknowledged after the Dirty War by officials, shows how Argentina, at least partially fits this description. The transitional justice mechanisms that have been put in place are male-dominated. This is especially shown in the judicial proceedings that took place shortly after the Dirty War which was “a portait of men … justice wat meted out by men judges and men prosecutors over men perpetratros while, behind the scenes, women held images of missing people, peripheral to the masculine setting” (Zavala Guillén 2013, 59). Also, the truth commission installed to unravel the horrors of the war was composed of twelve men and only one women.39 Additionally, the church has focused on ‘forgive and forget’40 by arguing , but has also argued that there cannot be forgiveness without confession41

39 United States Institute of Peace. 2015. “Truth Commission: Argentina” Available at: http://www.usip.org/publications/truth-commission-argentina (June 18, 2015) 40 http://www.missionaryjournalist.net/images/Argentina- _Argentine_Church_Calls_for_National_Reconciliation.pdf 41 http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/12/weekinreview/the-church-seeks-a-way-out-for-argentina.html 49

Conclusion The aim of this thesis was to provide an understanding on the relationship of gender, acknowledgement and transitional justice in Argentina after the Dirty War. It has shown how acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence is still not the norm after conflict using the example of the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence in Argentina after the Dirty War. To analyze the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence various sources were used: the ‘Nunca Mas’ report by CONADEP, various personal testimonies in literature, presidential statements and the written media. The reason the thesis focusses on acknowledgement of past wrongdoing is that acknowledgement has “tremendous power and an impact both on the healing of human beings wounded by past abuse and on their potential reconciliation with those who have wounded them” (Govier 2000, 5). Additionally, acknowledgement is important for forgiveness, social trust and democracy (Quinn 2005, 8).Argentina as a case was chosen because Argentina is the only state in Latin America that has openly acknowledged wrongdoing in the past, which makes it the exception in the region. Therefore, it was possible to determine if sexual and gendered violence was also specifically acknowledged.

The results of this analysis made clear that gendered and sexual violence was most acknowledged by the ‘Nunca Más’ report shortly after the War had ended in 1984. However, in publications and statements after, gendered and sexual violence was not acknowledged. As discussed, wrongdoing, the Dirty War, disappearances and torture generally have been acknowledged, but there was hardly profound acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence. As discussed, there are several possible explanations for the lack of acknowledgement. In sum these explanations for a lack in acknowledgement in personal testimonies include, the nature of a patriarchal state, the existence of a taboo, afraid to speak out because of societal consequences or opening up old wounds, a feeling of shame, not wanting relatives of disappeared to know these things happened to their loved ones and subsequently feeling that the sexual and gendered violence they endured is irrelevant because they at least survived. Considering the official acknowledgement the possible explanations include the nature of the state again, the impunity that is often a result of that, Christian values of quick forgiveness to achieve reconciliation, or a combination of the above factors.

Interestingly, this analysis has shown that right after the end of the Dirty War, there was acknowledgement of the gendered and sexual violence against women in the clandestine detention centers in the ‘Nunca Más’ report published by the truth commission. However, besides the acknowledgements in this report, the other sources and the years after 1984 show no (increase) in acknowledgements. The expectation was that the acknowledgements would have increased since

50 gendered issues have become more discussable (McKay 2000, 561) and sexual violence had been acknowledged as war crimes in 1998 in the Rome Statute of the ICC and 2008 by the United Nations (Bastick et al. 2001, 157 ; United Nations 2008). What makes this phenomena even more striking is that gendered and sexual violence now is indeed more discussable and acknowledged, but seemingly not in retrospect to these kinds of violence when they occurred in the past. Further research could be done to unravel how this lack of acknowledgement came to be and why current gendered and sexual violence are acknowledged whereas a silence around the past remains.

This thesis has contributed an insight to the dynamics of the restorative justice mechanism of acknowledgement and the degree to which this has been applied in the case of sexual and gendered violence in Argentina. It has shown how acknowledgement is still lacking whereas its contribution to reconciliation and healing could be significant. This has implications for the academic debate because it provides incentives to do more research to unravel more the causes and consequences of this absence. Socially, the thesis has shown that justice can still be done to the victims and survivors by increasing the acknowledgement of sexual and gendered violence in debate on the Dirty War in addition to the general acknowledgment of wrongdoing, disappearances and torture.

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