Untold Terror: Violence against Women in Peru’s Armed Conflict

Throughout Peru’s twelve-year internal war, women have been the targets of sustained, frequently brutal violence committed by both parties to the armed conflict often for the purpose of punishing or dominating those believed to be sympathetic to the opposing side. Women have been threatened, raped and murdered by both government security forces and by members of the Communist Party of Peru, the Shining Path. Often, the same woman is the victim of violence by both sides. This is the first Americas Watch/Women’s Rights Project report to focus on violence against women in Peru. It is part of a broader effort to focus on the role of violence against women in internal and international conflicts in other parts of the world as well, and is meant to complement local efforts to bolster reporting on abuses against women.