ABSTRACT
Sexual violence during the Peruvian internal armed conflict has come to light through the work of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2001–3) and Peruvian human rights and feminist non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This paper examines one feminist NGO’s response to sexual violence during the internal armed conflict (1980–2000) and to their theorizing practices that contribute to the construction of a new culture of law. Examining the Study and Defense of Women’s Rights (DEMUS) project on sexual violence in Manta, Huancavelica brings to light the narrow legal, political, socio-cultural and linguistic avenues available for addressing this violation. This analysis suggests that any effort to address sexual violence during internal armed conflict must attend to the legacy of colonialism because it undermines the goals of transitional justice by denying the victims personhood and circumscribing the conceptual optic through which to address human rights violations. DEMUS’ project illustrates the possibility of transforming the culture of law through an intercultural optic that centers the subjectivities of the victims including but not limited to victimhood.
