Physical, social and symbolic punishment against Peruvian female combatants

Abstract

Prisons are a microcosm and a reflection of the values existing outside their walls. In our Western societies, the punitive system represents the capitalist, colonial and heteropatriarchal reality. Despite the invisibility and silence from the hegemonic discourse, it is necessary reveal the complexity and power abuses that occur within the prisons according to their protagonists. After a brief contextualization through the origin of prisons around the world in contemporary societies I focus in Latin America, particularly in Peru. I analyse the memory of women during the last Peruvian internal armed conflict. This paper focuses on prison experiences of women of the Peruvian Communist Party-Shining Path (PCP-SL for its acronym in Spanish) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA in Spanish), both armed groups that declared war on the Peruvian State at the end of the twentieth century. The aim of this paper is to analyze the prison experiences of women who have been silenced because of their gender and because they were 'defeated' from the Peruvian armed conflict. They also are seen as "cruel, crazy and deviant", justifying any type of humiliating treatment within the jail. This investigation is approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, emphasising qualitative methodology. The fieldwork was conducted in Peru (2007-2009) through a documentary analysis and diverse qualitative research tools. I have carried out in-depth interviews and informal group meetings in and outside prison, as well as participant observation and ethnographic work. The results show that the punishment, both formal and informal, against women incarcerated in Peru as a result of the armed conflict is based on stereotypes and discrimination biased by gender reason. The Peruvian case is an example of the androcentric and patriarchal reality of the punishment and judicial system.