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29 B.C. Third World L.J. 1 (2009)
Untold Truths: The Exclusion of Enforced Sterilizations from the Peruvian Truth Commission's Final Report

handle is hein.journals/bctw29 and id is 3 raw text is: UNTOLD TRUTHS: THE EXCLUSION OF
ENFORCED STERILIZATIONS FROM THE
PERUVIAN TRUTH COMMISSION'S
FINAL REPORT
JOCELYN E. GETGEN*
ASTIAc'r: This Article argues that the exclusion of enforced steriliza-
tion cases from the Peruvian Truth Commission's investigation and Fi-
nal Report effectively erases State responsibility and decreases the like-
lihood for justice and reparations for women victims-survivors of State-
sponsored violence in Peru. In a context of deep cultural and economic
divides and violent conflict, this Article recounts how the State's Family
Planning Program violated Peruvian women's reproductive rights by
sterilizing low-income, indigenous Quechua-speaking women without
informed consent. This Article argues that these systematic reproductive
injustices constitute an act of genocide, proposes an independent in-
quiry, and advocates for a more inclusive investigation and final report
for future truth commissions whose goals include truth, accountability,
and justice for all victims-survivors of state-sponsored violence. Leaders
responsible for the enforced sterilization of more than 200,000 Peruvian
women, including former President Alberto Ken'ya Fujimori, must be
held accountable for past violations in order to fully realize future rec-
onciliation and justice in Peru.
* J.D., Cornell Law School; M.P.H., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health; B.A., Cornell University. Women and Justice Fellow, Cornell Law School. The au-
thor would like to thank Lisa Laplante for her essential support and contributions to re-
search conducted in Peru. In addition, the author would like to recognize Professor Billie
Jean Isbell, Dr. Carlos Ivfin Degregori Caso, Dr. Salom6n Lerner Febres and Eduardo Gon-
z~ilez Cueva for their meaningful contributions toward an understanding of the context of
the internal conflict in Peru. Also, the author thanks her family and friends for their undy-
ing love and support. Finally, the author would like to dedicate this Article to the women
of the world who have suffered and died as a result of government campaigns of enforced
sterilization. May their voices be heard and may we move toward a world where reproduc-
tive justice and freedom are rights enjoyed by all.

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