could happen” to Brisa due to her history of asthma.43
35. Brisa, who at the time was a 16-year-old girl, testified that on several occasions between
October 2001 and May 2002, she suffered acts of sexual violence, including sexual abuse and rape,
at the hands of her cousin E.G.A., who was ten years older than her.44 In this regard, during the
public hearing before the Court, the alleged victim expressed the following:
I was raped repeatedly, tortured dozens of times, but it never occurred to me to tell anyone about any of
this or ask for help. What's more, I thought it was better for me to take my own life before sharing this; I
tried to commit suicide twice, and there are several reasons why I didn't tell anyone. That question is one of
the most difficult for me […]. I didn't understand at that time, […] now I understand, I know what was
happening to me. I didn't know that what was happening to me was a crime, I had a wrong idea: that [if]
rape happens, it is something that happens in a dark alley by a stranger. My parents didn't know that
incestuous rape was a crime, we had never heard of this type of crime. The aggressor, like other aggressors,
is very clever at keeping the victim silent. He was an adult, part of my family, he had to guide me, he had to
protect me, he was the person who had to show me and that I had to see the world through his eyes. I never
thought about what he was doing to me... I hated it, but I couldn't give it a name, I couldn't understand that
it was a crime. Furthermore, he filled me with fear. He did not use physical violence during the act of rape,
but he did worse at other times; He hit me, threw me to the ground, kicked me, and tortured the animals. I
knew what he was capable of, I knew what he could do to me if I didn't do what he wanted. I was full of fear.
I didn't even dare to confront him or question what he was doing.45
36.
During the period referred to above, Brisa reported having also suffered physical violence from
her cousin E.G.A., as well as having experienced fear, confusion and concern about what
E.G.A. could do to her younger sisters, and for causing suffering to her parents if she told
them what was happening.46 Additionally, she indicated that she became “quite aggressive”
toward her parents, sisters, and her dog “because she knew that the more she pushed them
away,” the less her cousin would hurt them. Similarly, she stopped eating, cried, vomited
and "thought about [...] death.”47 In this regard, Brisa also pointed out: “I stopped going
swimming, I stopped playing music, I no longer went to school, I developed bulimia,
anorexia, I began to mutilate myself, I became depressed, I spent hours in my room
sleeping, crying and sleeping. On a trip to the United States I tried to commit suicide twice.”48
Furthermore, her mother, Luz Stella Losada, stated that “Brisa's character began to enter a
level of depression, pessimism, of isolating herself, [...] she was also very irritable, very
aggressive at times and slammed doors. […]Brisa started biting her nails, […] she was
shaking when she was sitting.”49
37. When Brisa was about to start her fifth year of high school, she suspended her studies due to
“the sexual assaults and […] the multiple problems she was having with [E.G.A.]” and “the rest of
[her] family.”50
folios 11433 to 11434).
Cf. Information statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folio 10624), and Private prosecution
presented by José Miguel De Angulo and Luz Stella Losada, supra (evidence file, folio 7387).
43
44
Cf. Information and Complaints Form signed by José Miguel De Angulo and the investigator assigned to the case on
August 1, 2002 (evidence file, folios 9512 to 9513); Statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada given during the public hearing of
this case; Letter from Brisa De Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folios 7243 to 7245); Information statement of Brisa De
Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folio 10624 to 10625), and Statement of Clementina Mamani during the second oral trial,
contained in the record of the oral trial of September 15, 2005 (evidence file , folios 9844 to 9845).
45
Cf. Statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada given during the public hearing, supra.
Cf. Information statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folio 10624 to 10625); Letter from Brisa
De Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folios 7243 to 7245), and Statement from Brisa De Angulo Losada during the public
hearing, supra.
46
47
Cf. Letter from Brisa De Angulo Losada, supra (evidence file, folio 7245).
48
Cf. Statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada during the public hearing, supra.
49
Cf. Statement of Luz Stella Losada during the public hearing of this case.
50
Cf. Statement of José Miguel De Angulo, supra (evidence file, folio 11447).
13