Enforced disappearance as a form of psychological torture: Evidence from the Ayotzinapa Case (México)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v32i3.125248Keywords:
Tortura psicológica, desaparición forzada y ejecución extrajudicial.Abstract
Abstract
Objective: To analyse the impacts of forced disappearance as a form of psychological torture in the forced disappearance of students known as the Ayotzinapa Case (Mexico). To make visible the effects of impunity.
Method: Historical and documentary analysis. Interviews with two groups of people affected: 1) relatives of the 43 young students who disappeared; 2) young students that survived. Analysis of the information obtained from the group and individual clinical interventions carried out during three months.
Results. In both groups, various impacts related to political violence were identified, in particular forced disappearance, which leads us to consider that the criteria for torture are fulfilled and especially the elements derived from the subsequent re-victimising action of the State in the investigations and the impunity derived from the lack of access to justice and truth.
Conclusion: In addition to the enforced disappearance itself and its impacts, the suffering resulting from the State’s subsequent processes must be analysed.
Keywords: Psychological torture, forced disappearance, impunity.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Español
El artículo tiene como propósito analizar los indicios de tortura psicológica en los familiares de los desaparecidos y los estudiantes sobrevivientes del caso de Ayotzinapa, a raíz de la desaparición forzada, la ejecución extrajudicial de los estudiantes y los mecanismos de impunidad liderados por el estado. Se utilizó como metodología, el análisis del discurso de las víctimas a través intervenciones clínicas grupales e individuales durante 3 meses. Los resultados de las entrevistas mostraron sentimientos de humillación, culpa y deterioro a nivel físico, psicológico, familiar y social a raíz de los eventos ocurridos el 26 de septiembre, así como el incremento del deterioro derivado de la falta de justicia, la criminalización y la impunidad por parte de funcionarios del estado. Por lo tanto se concluye que si hay incidencia de tortura psicológica en las víctimas del caso de Ayotzinapa. El trabajo busca evidenciar la relación entre la tortura psicológica y la desaparición forzada en los familiares.
Keywords: Tortura psicológica, desaparición forzada y ejecución extrajudicial.
References
Alonso, C. A. (January-April 2015). To follow the traces of movements at the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Espiral, XXII (62), 9-42. Available at:
http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=13832782001
Antillón, X. (2016). Yo sólo quería que amaneciera. Informe de impactos psicosociales del caso de Ayotzinapa. Fundar. Mexico City. Available at: http://ayotzinapa.fundar.org.mx/wp-content/documentos/DocAyotziFINAL.pdf
United Nations General Assembly, resolution 47/133. (September 1992). Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance. Retrieved from: https://archivos.juridicas.unam.mx/www/bjv/libros/12/5947/7.pdf . Viewed October 30th 2020
Austin, J. (1982). How to do things with words. Barcelona: Paidós.
Beristain, C. (2011). Manual para la perspectiva psicosocial en la investigación en Derechos Humanos (Manual on the psychosocial perspective in human rights research). Mexico: CHHDF, Fundar, Serapaz.
Castillo, M. I. (2016). El (im)posible proceso de duelo. Familiares de desaparecidos: violencia política, trauma y memoria (The (im)possible process of mourning. Relatives of disappeared detainees: political violence, trauma and memory). (E. U. Hurtado., Ed.) Santiago de Chile.
Figley, C. B. (1997). Death and trauma: the traumatology of grieving. Washington, DC: Taylor and Francis.
Gándara, S. (2019). La Ley de Desaparecidos falló y familias exigen a AMLO no repetir la omisión y el abandono de Peña. Sinembargo. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.sinembargo.mx/04-01-2019/3516732
Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI). (2015). Informe Ayotzinapa. Investigación y conclusiones inciales de la desaparición y asesinato de los Normalistas de Ayotzinapa. (Ayotzinapa Report. Investigation and initial conclusions on the disappearances and murders of the Ayotzinapa normalistas). Mexico City: GIEI.
Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI). (2016). Ayotzinapa II Report. Avances y nuevas conclusiones sobre la investigación, búsqueda y atención a las víctimas. Mexico City: GIEI. Available at: https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/actividades/giei/GIEI-InformeAyotzinapa2.pdf
Gómez, E. (2013). Trauma relacional temprano. Niños de personas afrectadas por traumatización de origen político. (Early relational trauma. Children of people affected by traumatization of political origin). Santiago de Chile: Ediciones Universidad Alberto Hurtado.
Gómez, N. (2009). Efectos psicosociales de la impunida derivada de la no aplicación de justicia en el caso de la masacre de Dos Erres (Psychosocial effects of impunity derived from the non-application of justice in the case of the massacre of the Dos Erres community) (La Libertad, Petén) in December 1982. Retrieved from Available at: http:// www.psicosocial.net/grupo-accion-comunitaria/centro-de-documentaciongac/violencia-y-cambio-politico/justicia-verdad-y-reparacion/580-efectospsicosociales-de-la-impunidad-derivados-de-la-no-aplicacion-de-justicia/file
González, R. I. (January-June 2017). La construcción de la “verdad histórica” en las practicas institucionales: el caso ayotzinapa. (The construction of the "historical truth" in institutional practices: the ayotzinapa case). REDHES.Revista de Derechos Humanos y Estudios Sociales, 17, 25.
Gravante, T. (2018). Desaparición forzada y trauma cultural en Mexico: el movimiento Ayotzinapa (Enforced disappearance and cultural trauma in Mexico: the Ayotzinapa movement) . Convergencia .Vol.25. Available at: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1405-14352018000200013
Hernández, A. (2016). La noche real de Iguala. La historia que el gobierno intentó ocultar. (The real night of Iguala: The story that the government tried to hide). Mexico City. Grijalbo.
Hernández, R. A. (2 (Monaco, 2015)017). “Between Community Justice and International Litigation: The Case of Inés Fernández before the Inter-American Court. “, in R. Sieder, Demanding Justice and Security: Indigenous Women and Legal Pluralities in Latin America . New York: Routledge University Press.
Illades, E. (2015). La noche más triste. La desaparición de 43 estudiantes en Ayotzinapa. (The saddest night. The disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa). Mexico City: Grijalbo.
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered Assumptions (Towards a New Psychology of Trauma). New York: The Free Press.
Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos, A.C., COFAMIDE, (2012). (2012) Enforced disappearance is also torture! Alternative report to the Committee against Torture with respect to the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Mexico. Mexico City. Retrieved from: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/Shared%20Documents/MEX/INT_CAT_NGO_MEX_12976_S.pdf
Mónaco, P. (2015). Las horas eternas de Ayotzinapa (Ayotzinapa eternal hours). Mexico City: EDICIONES B.
Ortega, F. A. (2011). Trauma, culture and history: Interdisciplinary reflections for the new millennium. Colombia: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Centro de Estudios Sociales - CES.
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Fact Sheet No. 6 Rev. 3, Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, July 2009, No. 6/Rev.3, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5289da9c4.html [accessed December 7th 2021]
Payne, M. (2002). Narrative Therapy: An Introduction for Professionals. Paidos Iberica.
Pelento, M. and. (1985). Disappearance: its impact on the individual and society. APA, 1391-1397. Retrieved January 7th, 2017, from Available at: http://bibliotecadigital.apa.org.ar/greenstone/collect/ revapa/archives/19854206p1391.dir/REVAPA19854206p1391Pelento.pdf .
Pérez-Sales, P. (2017). Tortura psicológica. Evaluación, definición y medida. Bilbao. Desclee de Brower. (English : Psychological torture. Definition, evaluation and measurement. Routledge Books)
Ministry of the Interior. (2020). Remarks by Undersecretary Alejandro Encinas, at the Report on Search, Identification and Public Version of the Registry of Persons. Mexico City. Available at: https://www.gob.mx/segob/prensa/palabras-del-subsecretario-alejandro-encinas-en-el-informe-sobre-busqueda-identificacion-y-version-publica-del-registro-de-personas?idiom=es
Torres, M. (2017). 15 puntos clave en la nueva ley contra la desaparición forzada. (15 key points of the new law against the disappearance of persons). Retrieved from: https://expansion.mx/nacional/2017/05/02/15-puntos-clave-de-la-nueva-ley-contra-la-desaparicion-de-personas
Acknowledgements. To the editor.in.chief of the Journal who discussed in different drafts and helped rewrite extensive parts of the paper.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Torture Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
We accept that some authors (e.g. government employees in some countries) are unable to transfer copyright. The Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) covers both the Torture Journal and the IRCT web site. The publisher will not put any limitation on the personal freedom of the author to use material contained in the paper in other works which may be published, provided that acknowledgement is made to the original place of publication.
