Sexual Violence and Protests: First Regional Report Reveals a Concerning Pattern in the Region

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Forced nudity, rape, invasive searches, sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, anal and vaginal rape with objects, sexist and homophobic insults — these are not isolated incidents but part of a growing and alarming pattern in Latin America: the use of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by state actors to repress peaceful protest.

A new report, “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Context of Protests in Latin America”, published by REDRESS, the Academy on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), and the Latin American Network for Gender-Based Strategic Litigation (ReLeG) shows how SGBV has been used as a method of political and social repression in recent demonstrations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela.

This is the first report of its kind to focus specifically on SGBV as a tool of repression in protests across the region. The report finds that such violence often coincides with broader efforts in recent years to reduce civic space through the criminalisation of protesters, mass arrests, and laws that shield security forces from accountability for abuses.

The report reveals that violence during demonstrations is not gender-neutral. SGBV is particularly weaponised against women, LGBTIQ+ people, and other marginalised groups. Survivors often remain silent due to shame, fear of reprisals, social stigma, or a lack of faith in the justice system. Widespread impunity only deepens this silence and perpetuates the cycle. The report also highlights a systemic failure by states to incorporate a gender perspective into law enforcement policies and practices, in clear disregard of established international and regional human rights standards.

Latin America’s long history of racism, classism, colonialism, and political repression under civil-military dictatorships has created a landscape where impunity thrives and peaceful protest is frequently viewed as a threat, rather than a democratic right. Despite increased attention from regional and international human rights bodies, as well as efforts by civil society organisations and class action lawsuits to raise awareness, most incidents remain underreported and largely unpunished, creating a chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

Drawing on extensive documentation from international organisations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, civil society organisations, and direct testimonies and case studies gathered by ReLeG’s network, the report illustrates that these acts are not incidental but a systematic practice used to punish and deter the political participation of women and historically marginalised groups. In many cases, the incidents meet the threshold of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international law.

Some examples highlighted in the report include:

• Colombia: During the 2021 National Strike, civil society organisations documented numerous cases of sexual violence by security forces. One case involved three protesters and one journalist who were sexually assaulted during police searches. In another, three young men were locked in a cell with other prisoners while police encouraged the inmates to rape them; one was forced to perform oral sex. In other incidents, transgender detainees were forced to perform degrading acts such as squats and jumps, often while naked.
• Mexico: During the 2021 student protests, dozens of teachers were arrested and subjected to physical and psychological abuse amounting to sexual torture.
• Venezuela: During the 2024 post-election protests, state agents reportedly issued rape threats, groped detainees’ breasts, buttocks, and genitals, and subjected people to forced nudity and invasive searches. One man received electric shocks to his genitals for being perceived as a political opponent. Authorities also denied female detainees their sexual and reproductive rights by preventing them from breastfeeding.
• Nicaragua: During the 2018 mass protests over proposed social security reforms, three university students were kidnapped, tortured, and raped by paramilitary groups. There were also widespread reports of rape used in detention to extract confessions or intimidate detainees.
• Chile: During the 2019 protests, several local NGOs in Chile reported that military personnel involved in managing the social unrest committed many acts of sexual violence, including threats of rape and indecent touching of intimate areas.
• Peru: During the 2020 invasion of the National University of San Carlos the Inter-American Commission received multiple reports of intimate searches and inappropriate touching of female protesters and students intended to humiliate them. Law enforcement officers forced students to strip naked, touched their genitals, inserted fingers into their vaginas, and made them walk naked in front of people of another sex.

“The silence surrounding sexual and gender-based violence in protests has normalized these practices as an inevitable part of social conflicts in Latin America. Ultimately, tackling this issue is crucial to safeguard democratic participation. People in Latin America – as in the rest of the world – must be free to demonstrate peacefully without fear of violent repression, and with guarantees against discriminatory violence and sexual torture.”

Professor Claudia Martin, AUWCL

“Sexual and gender-based violence in protests is a deliberate tool of political and social repression. It reflects deeply rooted structural discrimination aimed at dehumanising, silencing and discouraging women and people of diverse sexual orientations or gender identities from participating in public and political life.”

Alejandra Vicente, Head of Law at REDRESS

“By failing to investigate and prosecute these serious crimes, State authorities trivialise the violence and fail to break the pattern. Impunity not only adds to the suffering of victims but enables the continued use of these violations as a tool of control.”

Teresa Fernández-Paredes, AUWCL, REDRESS and ReLEG Consultant

The report calls for urgent action to document these violations, prosecute perpetrators and avoid recurrence, so SGBV is never again used as a political weapon to instill fear, silence dissent, and maintain a system of impunity. As a regional mapping report, it lays the groundwork for addressing a largely overlooked issue that demands further discussion. Given the gravity of the findings, it prompts Latin American states to consider substantive steps toward reversing this situation.

For more information, please contact: Eva Sanchis, Head of Communications at REDRESS, on [email protected]; +44 (0)20 7793 1777 or +44 (0)7857 110076 (English/Spanish).

Photo by: Montse Posada/ Pexels. Women’s rights protest in Mexico.