Victims as political actors. An anthropological insight into the movement of victims and people affected by the internal armed conflict in Peru

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide some reflections on the social, political and cultural conditions that would have made possible – and conditioned – the emergence and development of activism of victims of the armed conflict in the specific context opened by the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Peru, in 2001. In light of an ethnographic analysis, special attention will be paid to the ways in which, through specific interaction with different key social agents – such as human rights NGOs – the different Peruvian victims’ organizations are incorporating the legal and moral frameworks of transitional justice and human rights, which enables them to share their experiences of victimization and violence and claim their rights of access to truth, justice and reparation. In summary, this article will analyze the different strategies and resources for mobilization through which the victim becomes a political subject in the Peruvian context.