ABSTRACT
The sexual violence which occurs in the towns and villages of the Southern Peruvian Andes is highly visible yet strangely inaccessible. Many Andean ethnographers have written about the confrontational courting style of young lovers who hurl insults and stones at each other and of the marriage ceremonies in which brides are forcibly dragged from their homes by the husband's kin.' However, most descriptions of Andean gender relations emphasize the complementarity of the relationship between husband and wife, which constitutes the focal point of each household or unit of production. Both men and women engage in productive work, own property, earn cash, take decisions about investments or other household ventures, and while men are more visible in political and religious office they require the active consent and participation of their wives to fulfil these public duties.' Andean women are strong forceful members of their communities.
