Video: Juliette Doman discusses research on Guatemala's Sepur Zarco trial
PhD Juliette Doman was in Guatamala for the Sepur Zarco trial. In 1982, the army constructed a military outpost for “rest and relaxation” in Sepur Zarco (between Panzos and El Estor) and assigned a regiment of soldiers there.
Over a period of six years, the military ordered women from surrounding communities to report to the base to serve the soldiers, and to cook and wash clothes for them.
The soldiers also repeatedly raped the women, who were forced to serve in three-day “shifts” for a period of 4-10 months, depending on each individual.
The Sepur Zarco case is historic for being the first criminal trial that pertains to sexual violence during Guatemala’s armed conflict, as well as the first sexual slavery case heard in a national court. Importantly, it also illustrates the army’s use of rape as a weapon of war and of genocide.