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253. In relation to the recent events, women's organizations informed the IACHR of at least six cases in which PNB and GNB personnel had groped or sexually violated women and men deprived of their liberty. 580AVESA denounced 25 cases of sexual violence in the context of the repression of the demonstrations, in which 56 percent of the victims were women. According to the same source, the violence took different forms, including exposure to sexual violence (60 percent), groping (20 percent) and rape (16 percent). The assailants reportedly belonged to the PNB (68 percent), the Aragua Police (20 percent), and the GNB (12 percent). 581 Other sources also report different forms of violence inflicted by agents of the State. 582At the same time, it is worth noting that there is a high level of underreporting of cases due to “victim shame or intimidation, non-recognition of offenses, and/or lack of human rights defenders and public officials trained in identifying them.” 583 254. The IACHR has also received reports of acts of this nature through its precautionary measures mechanism. For instance, in relation to the group of 27 students of Universidad Experimental Pedagógica Libertador (UPEL) who were detained in July 2017 as they spent the night at the university during demonstrations, the IACHR was informed that the women alleged to have been sexually assaulted with pipes inserted through their trouser pants as well as being groped. 584The Commission also heard how youths
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detention centers [Venezuela Awareness, La violencia que calla a los detenidos, June 25, 2017]. The Commission learned of the case of Érika Moncada, a Colombian citizen detained in August that year, who was allegedly suffocated with plastic bags to obtain “confessions;" she was also raped and tortured with a beating that dislodged a breast implant, causing her unbearable pain; and had electric shocks applied to her breasts [IACHR, 2016 Annual Report, Chapter IV.B, Venezuela, para. 38]. CEPAZ, Asociación Civil Mujeres en Línea, FREYA and AVESA, Informe sobre situación de los derechos de las mujeres en Venezuela, September 2017, pp. 29-31. AVESA, Violencia sexual en el contexto de represión política – Algunos datos de la prensa nacional, July 13, 2017; Corresponsales clave, Violencia sexual en medio de la represión política en Venezuela, July 18, 2017; Runrunes, 100 ONGs rechazaron violencia sexual en marco de represión, July 25, 2017. According to CASLA, 192 people alleged to have been victims of some type of sexual violence, while another 140 were allegedly threatened with it. According to the same source, seven people denounced attempted rape with pipes or other objects, while at least five people (four men and one woman) were reportedly raped. In addition, 77 people reputedly alleged to have been stripped naked while others said that they were partially stripped so as to force them to adopt stress positions.Youtube video, Public hearings before OAS regarding Venezuela, OAS, September 14, 2017. BBC, "Gritaba y lloraba… tenía tanto miedo que me oriné": detenidos en protestas opositoras en Venezuela denuncian violaciones, golpizas y torturas, June 29, 2017. 2001.com.ve, 70% de denuncias en La Haya por torturas en Venezuela incluyen abusos sexuales, July 1, 2017. CEPAZ, Asociación Civil Mujeres en Línea, FREYA and AVESA, Informe sobre situación de los derechos de las mujeres en Venezuela, September 2017, p. 29. IACHR, Request for a precautionary measures MC-486-17. Similarly, the FPV reported that they had "cylinders [inserted] in their genitals and anuses.” Youtube video, Public hearings before OAS regarding Venezuela, OAS, September 14, 2017.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR