“My daughter, among six policemen, saw her dignity destroyed”: the dramatic story of a mother in Popayán

In the last days, Popayan It was one of the focal points of the national strike in Colombia which began on April 28 as a protest mechanism against the government national policy, some of its policies and even the rejection by the police abuse to which many citizens have been subjected over the days.

Since May 12, in the capital of the Cauca department, two acts of sexual violence have been reported through social networks. The first was that of Alison melendez, a 17-year-old girl who committed suicide after reporting abuse by Esmad agents during demonstrations. And the second refers to an 18-year-old woman, who she was also abused and ended up with serious psychological damage. The young woman expressed in an Immediate Response Unit (IRU) that members of Esmad wanted to “lick” and “rape” her. Regarding this case, the victim’s mother spoke to the newspaper The spectator about what happened.

First of all, the lady explained that she is sergeant, a volunteer auxiliary nurse in a humanitarian group providing first aid to those injured during the marches and who, on May 12, attended the marches with her daughter I could collaborate with you during the day with other of your colleagues. When the riots started in the afternoon, she was going for the Chirimía sector with his daughter, who walked a few blocks, he said.

From then on, he no longer found his daughter. When he found her, in the midst of the riots, he said he couldn’t approach her because the men in uniform attacked her: “I just wanted to get there and take my daughter away from them; that if they wanted to do something to her, they would do it to me and not to her. He couldn’t be. They grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground and I felt helpless, in pain, in anger“He added.

Already at Popayán’s URI, he was able to look for her after the police asked him for the documentation of the young woman. “I hugged her and asked her what had been done to her in the URI and she said not there, but outside yes. “Yes mija, I know they did things to you outside,” I said. And then the police officers who were there said to me: “I am answering you so far, they are giving them to us. Those in green are certain and those in black are others […] I give it to you safe and sound ‘”.

When asked about her daughter’s version, the mother claimed that “The police didn’t let me down like a ‘bitch’ and they said “what are you doing on the street?”, “why aren’t you home cooking?” “Drop your pants to rape yourself”.

Finally, the lady attacked the statements of the Brigadier General of Police, Ricardo Augusto Alarcón Campo, when he described them as “falseThe news of young Alison’s suicide after being allegedly abused by Esmad’s men.

“With a word or by touching her body, without her permission, a woman is already sexually raped. The other minor was almost undressed by four policemen on the street. My daughter, among six policemen, saw her dignity destroyed. This man does not have the moral authority to come out to defend a police force which is brutally inhuman, ”he concluded.

FIGURES OF SEXUAL ABUSE DURING UNEMPLOYMENT:

Until Sunday May 16, the NGO tremors declared having received, at least, 16 cases sexual abuse perpetrated by the police against female demonstrators. Emilia Márquez, researcher for this organization, expressed with concern that this figure could be much higher: “We know that we are underreporting simply because we are not enough to access all information and because not all raped people report“.

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