37
because she could not ignore the likelihood that the violence suffered could be further
increased by the State agents who witnessed the rape, owing to the possibility that they
would also rape her.
116. In that sense, the expert witness Correa Gonzalez mentioned that Mrs. Rosendo
Cantu felt powerless, an inability to react, and humiliation given the aggression and rape
by the soldiers, feelings that were aggravated by the presence of the other soldiers
during the rape. Likewise, she expressed that, at the time the event took place, she felt
desperation and anguish. She indicated “seeing how she was left —beaten, without
clothing, raped— […] was such a traumatic experience that she was unable to accept
what had occurred.” In addition, in the days after the rape, she felt shame and physical
and emotional powerlessness. Also, the expert referred to the psychological and
psychosomatic effects as a consequence of the rape.127
iii) Purpose
117. The Court considers that, in general terms, as in the case of other acts of torture,
rape has other objectives, including intimidating, degrading, humiliating, punishing, or
controlling the person who is raped.128 The rape of Mrs. Rosendo Cantú occurred in the
context of a situation in which the soldiers were questioning the victim and did not obtain
a response to the information they required (supra para. 73). Without denying the
possibility that there were also other objectives, the Court considers it proven that, in the
present case, the rape had the specific purpose of punishing the victim because she
failed to provide the required information.
118. On the other hand, the Court finds that rape may constitute torture even when it
is based in a single fact alone and takes place outside State facilities.129 This is so
because the objective and subjective elements that classify an act as torture do not refer
either to the accumulation of facts or to the place where the act is committed, but to the
intention, the severity of the suffering, and the purpose of the act, requisites that, in the
present case, have been fulfilled. Based on the aforementioned, the Court concludes that
the rape in the present case entailed a violation of the personal integrity of Mrs. Rosendo
Cantú, constituting an act of torture pursuant to Article 5(2) of the American Convention
and Article 2 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
119. Regarding the alleged violation of Article 11 of the American Convention based on
the same facts, the Court has specified that, even though this provision is entitled “Right
to Privacy” [entitled Protection of Honor and Dignity in Spanish], its contents include,
among others, the protection of private life.130 Moreover, the concept of private life is a
wide-ranging term, which cannot be defined exhaustively,131 but includes, among other
protected forums, sexual life,132 and the right to establish and develop relationships with
other human beings.133 The Court finds that the rape of Mrs. Rosendo Cantú violated
127
Cf. Statement rendered by expert witness Correa González before a public notary (case file on the
merits, tome III, folios 1249, 1250, 1252, and 1254).
128
Cf. ICTR, Prosecutor v. Jean-Paul Akayesu, supra note 121, para. 597, and CAT, Case V.L. v.
Switzerland, Decision of 22 January 2007, U.N. Doc. CAT/C/37/D/262/2005, para. 8.10.
129
Cf. CAT, Case V.L. v. Switzerland, supra note 128, para. 8.10.
130
Cf. Case of the Ituango Massacres v. Colombia. Preliminary Exceptions, Merits, Reparations, and
Costs. Judgment of July 1, 2006, Series C No. 148, para. 193; Case of Tristán Donoso v. Panamá. Preliminary
Exceptions, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of January 27, 2009. Series C No. 193, para. 55, and
Case of Escher et al., supra note 115, para. 113.
131
Cf. ECHR, Case of Niemietz v. Germany, Judgment of 16 December 1992, App. No. 13710/88, para.
29, and Case of Peck v. United Kingdom, Judgment of 28 January 2003, App. No. 44647/98, para. 57.
132
Cf. ECHR, Case of Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom, Judgment of 22 October 1981, App. No. 7525/76,
para. 41, and ECHR, Case of X and Y v. the Netherlands, Judgment of 26 March 1985, App. No. 8978/80, para.
22.
133
Cf. ECHR, Case of Niemietz v. Germany, supra note 131, para. 29, and ECHR, Case of Peck v. United
Kingdom, supra note 131, para. 57.
Seleccionar párrafo de destino3
Conectar a un párrafo
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Añadir a la tabla de contenidos