ABSTRACT
Reparation means empowerment and concrete changes which bring about new possibilities of action and expression for victims in their social environment. This chapter examines the meaning of personal reparation and its different dimensions, including the link between the trials and the possibility of facing fear. It explains how the trials as a state-sponsored mechanism can help to lessen fear, allowing new practices to arise inside and outside the court and thus empowering victims. The chapter addresses one of the main consequences of fear being dispelled: the breaking of the victims' silence. Even after more than thirty years since the crimes occurred, new testimonies make possible the discussion of previously silenced topics such as sexualised violence and the political militancy of the victims. The chapter also considers the difficulties and challenges posed by these new possibilities and the need to address them in order to sustain this process of reparation in time.
