LAST 301

case study

2006-11-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

History: The Complicity of Doctors in the Practice of Torture in Argetina (1976-1983)
In “Torture and the Ethics of Medicine,” Albert R. Jonsen and Leonard A. Sagan state, “The participation of physicians in organized atrocities first came to attention with the disclosure of practices in Nazi concentration camps,” revealed during the Nuremberg trials. The Nazi doctors placed on trial asserted that they were working as researchers and that the medical experiments carried out on detained victims was for the benefit of future medicine. Writing forty years after the trials, however, Jonsen and Sagan suggest, “Torture with no pretense of research has become, in many countries, a common instrument of government.”
In the case of Argentina and the “Dirty War” that took place under the military dictatorship of 1976-1983, a myriad of information and evidence of torture has been presented to both the nation’s government and the international community, but few perpetrators have been convicted. The military coup of 1976 overthrew the government of Isabel Peron and resulted in the dictatorship of a military junta determined to counter “subversion” through the illegal kidnapping, detention, torture and murder of thousands of individuals who now fall under the oddly passive category of the “disappeared.” Evidence has revealed that a vast majority of the “disappeared” were innocent civilians targeted for their affiliation with political, academic, medical and professional organizations deemed subversive by the military. Amnesty International has estimated that at least 5000 people abducted by the military between 1976 and 1981 remain disappeared and the organization has investigated the situation, garnering much of its evidence from the testimonies of survivors. Many of the survivors’ accounts implicate members of the medical profession in their abuse.
An Amnesty International report described one of the most common methods of torture as the application of electric shocks to various parts of the body, specifically targeting the genitals, anus, mouth, eyes and stomach. In numerous statements of survivors, such as that of Jacobo Timerman, doctors were present to guide the electric cattle prod and determine how much a victim could take without being killed. The monitoring of victims’ vital signs is one of the key roles that doctors have played in the torture process and rather than using their medical knowledge to treat individuals for the purpose of recuperation or healing, physicians who aid in the practice of torture generally keep victims alive so that they can continue to be tortured. Carlos Sanabria, who was detained and tortured for three months in a veritable concentration camp outside of Buenos Aires, described this type of medical attention during torture sessions as having a doctor “taking care of my vital functions but not of me as a human being.”
A well-documented crime associated with Argentina’s military dictatorship was the kidnapping and torture of pregnant women and the illegal adoption of babies delivered in detention centers. The “Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo,” who are devoted to the search for their grandchildren who disappeared – for the most part after being born to pregnant detainees who were subsequently murdered – have launched an attack on gynecologists that worked for the military. With the mothers remaining disappeared, babies were illicitly given to members of the military, “some of whom had tortured and killed the children’s parents.”
Other survivors have reported being assessed by doctors both before and after torture sessions and there has been much evidence of falsified death certificates that erase any signs of torture and simply attribute death to natural causes. In addition to falsely recording the cause of death, evidence exists that doctors played a major role in the killing of some victims. A common mode of murder during the “Dirty War” was the tossing of victims into the Atlantic Ocean from airplanes, and it has been established through confessions and witness’s accounts that doctors often sedated the prisoners before they were thrown to their death.
It has been made clear through the testimonies of survivors that members of the medical profession were complicit and often active in the practice of torture during the military dictatorship and despite the attempts of international human rights groups and medical ethics organizations, the disturbing connection between torture and medicine is difficult to break. The unfortunate reality is that “because torture is applied to the body and ravages the physical and psychological constitution of its victims, people with special skills in affecting the body and mind may become accomplices in the spread of this malignancy.”

Theory: Medical Ethics, Law and The Moral Argument
In Oath Betrayed, Doctor Steven H. Miles writes that during the Nuremberg trials of 1946 and 1947, “World revulsion at medical collaboration with torture was ignited by revelations of the actions of Nazi physicians at death camps.” In the wake of such evidence, the international community and medical associations were forced to recognize the far too common involvement of doctors in the abhorrent treatment of both governmentally sanctioned and clandestine prisoners throughout the world. In reaction, ethical standards for physicians were designed that specifically took such collaboration and complicity into account and revised oaths were sworn by doctors in an attempt to prevent any further such abuses by the medical community. The creation of the United Nations resulted in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 5, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” In the following decades, the World Medical Association (WMA) issued numerous statements condemning medical complicity in the act of torture, culminating in the “Declaration of Tokyo,” in 1975 that insists above all that “The doctor shall not countenance, condone or participate in the practice of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading procedures.” The WMA statement inspired a host of ratifications to previous medical standards and professional oaths, all of which declared torture to be completely contradictory to the aims of the medical community.
Jonsen and Sagan assert, “the participation of medical personnel in torture violates three basic tenets of medical ethics.” First, medical intervention is acceptable only when the benefits expected will reduce or outweigh the harm and this is rarely the case with torture. Second, the doctor must have informed consent to intervene medically, which is of little relevance in the practice of torture. And finally, treatment should be offered only to those in need, regardless of race, social status or political beliefs, but “medical intervention for the sake of torture is a political act, performed for political purposes and at the behest of political authorities.” Unfortunately, as it has become clear that despite international condemnation and the passing of laws against such practices, torture – and its relationship with medicine – persists throughout the world, because “it is one thing to pass a medical ethics code and quite another to enforce it.”
One of the main obstacles in the charging of doctors with involvement in torture is determining what counts as involvement. The British Medical Association has suggested that doctors can be complicit by examining prisoners to determine whether they are capable of withstanding torture, monitoring vital signs during torture, treating victims so as to continue the process, concealing evidence of abuse by falsifying records, or failing to report incidents of torture. Although the list seems quite extensive, there have been arguments that not all cases of involvement are taken into account. For instance, some have argued that members of the medical community are responsible for the designing of techniques or instruments of torture and that pharmacologists and psychiatrists offer their knowledge of drugs or stressors that can cause serious harm, but leave few signs of physical trauma or detection.
Even when it can be firmly established that a physician was complicit or collaborative in the practice of torture, “governments routinely shield their medical accomplices from prosecution.” Such was the case in Argentina when Dr. Antonio Berges was convicted on two counts of torture and sentenced to six years imprisonment in 1986, but released after only six months with the passing of the Due Obedience law that asserted only high-ranking officers could be convicted of crimes against humanity, because everybody else was simply following orders.
Although codes of medical ethics and international law strictly declare that there are never any circumstances in which a doctor – or anyone for that matter – should take part in the practice of torture, the debate has been widely explored on philosophical grounds. Jonsen and Sagan suggest that the tenets of medical ethics follow a Kantian model that asserts that one is not a means, but an end and that it is the autonomy of the individual that must be respected above all, because it can generate universal and absolute morals. Clearly Kantian philosophy provides a prima facie argument against torture, but Jonsen and Sagan suggest that it is often seen as idealist in today’s more utilitarian society. The utilitarian model, in contrast, is more relativist in its assertion that a practice is ethical if it results in “the greater good for the greater number of people,” suggesting that torture is acceptable if it saves more lives than it harms.
Michael L. Gross posits a “ticking bomb” argument, in which he proposes that if a “terrorist” knows the location of a ticking bomb that could potentially kill many people and the only possible way of extracting information in a race with the clock is through torture, than the ethical concerns become complicated. Gross argues, “any position that absolutely bans torture does so, primarily, because it weighs human dignity over human life,” and, thus, proscribing to a Kantian philosophy on torture can essentially cause potentially preventable deaths. Discrediting to Gross’ argument, however, is the reality that rarely is sufficient evidence acquired through torture, and more often than not, innocent people – with no knowledge of counter-insurgency – are maimed or killed.
An Amnesty International report suggests that the utilitarian argument simply cannot hold, because in the vast majority of cases people are tortured, “either to force confessions from them or as an acute message not to oppose the government.” Furthermore, if the argument is made for the sake of the greater good for the greater number, it cannot be very successful, because if used once, torture is likely to become a common means of interrogation and punishment. Such was the case in Argentina during the “Dirty War” and one cannot suggest that the results of such excessive kidnapping, torture and disappearance resulted in the greater good for the greater number.

Annotated Bibliography
Gross, Michael L. “Doctors in the Decent Society: Torture, Ill-Treatment and Civic Duty.” Bioethics 18.2 (2004): 181-203.
Gross’s “Doctors in the Decent Society,” is a relatively controversial account of the position of the medical community in regards to torture and corporeal punishment. Discerning between “liberal” and “decent” societies – which are often governed by religious, rather than civil laws, but are still often respected members of the international community (182) – Gross explores the moral dilemma faced by doctors when placed in the position of accomplice to torture. Focusing mainly on Israel and a hypothetical Islamic society, Gross employs a common philosophical argument between the Kantian and Utilitarian model of ethical conduct. The argument is worth posing, but Gross’ sentiments are clear and contentious. He suggests that the commonly accepted Kantian philosophy of medical ethics ultimately “weighs human dignity over human life,” by taking an absolutist stance against torture, even when the harm of the one could potentially protect the lives of the many (191). Although his opinion is made clear, Gross does accept the fact that torturing an individual to gain life-saving information – as is suggested in the “ticking bomb” argument – relies on having absolute confidence that the person tortured is actually equipped with the needed knowledge. Recognizing that such assurance is rarely possible, he does admit that the scenario could be potentially more harmful than it is beneficial, but he is not convinced that torture should, thus, be outlawed in all cases. Ultimately, it was this point of view that damned and doomed the innocents in the Nazi concentration camps and among the disappeared.

Jonsen, Albert R. and Leonard A. Sagan. “Torture and the Ethics of Medicine.” The Breaking of Bodies and Minds: Torture, Psychiatric Abuse, and the Health Professions. Eds. Eric Stover and Elena O. Nightingale, M.D. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1985. 30-44.
The Breaking of Bodies and Minds is a collaborative project involving various authors and members of scientific and medical organizations working under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The book explores the implications of medical and health professions in human rights abuses throughout the world and, more specifically, acts as an outlet for diversified attempts to answer the question, “How is it that members of the most humane and compassionate of all professions participate in the most serious violations of human rights?” (x).
In the chapter, “Torture and the Ethics of Medicine,” Albert R. Jonsen, a professor of medical ethics, and Leonard A. Sagan, former head of the Amnesty International USA Medical Committee, explore the history of medical cooperation in torture and its effects on the discourse of medical ethics. Utilizing various case studies, one of which being the atrocities committed during the military dictatorship in Argentina in 1976-1983, the authors incorporate testimonies of survivors, medical documentation, reports of human rights groups, and philosophical arguments to discuss why and how the medical profession has repeatedly been implicated in acts of physical and psychological torture. Various suggestions for continuing the debate are offered, but the authors do not pretend to have answers or solutions to the continuing dilemma posited as the basis for the book.

Miles, Steven H., M.D. Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror. New York: Random House, 2006.
Steven H. Miles, M.D., a practicing physician and professor of medicine and medical ethics, opens his book with the question, “Where were the doctors and nurses at Abu Ghraib?” (ix), but his book does not deal simply with the current war on terror. Oath Betrayed is a comprehensive study of the history of medical compliance in torture and human rights abuses, and is devoted to Miles’ ultimate assertion that “speaking the truth is the only way to advance reforms” (xv). There are many facts missing in regards to the continuing atrocities committed in United States military prisons and these omissions are referenced as part of the policy of silence that pervades unethical political policies. Miles writes on behalf of “those who [are] disarmed and imprisoned” (xi), and repeatedly asserts that human rights must apply to all humans whether or not engaged in war.
In the chapter, “Medicine and Torture,” Miles provides a brief history of medical complicity in torture, suggesting, “Healers and torturers have had a professional partnership for at least five hundred years” (24). He then discusses the legal and ethical implications of such a relationship and the unfortunate lack of consequences. The book does not contend with idealistic statements that torture may soon be abolished and human equality recognized, but it does suggest that the only way of beginning such reform is through recognition of the brutal reality of war and international conflict and the continuation of a dialogue on the subject.

Torture in the 80s: An Amnesty International Report. Oxford: Martin Robertson and Company, 1984.
The report published by Amnesty International analyses the claims and documentations of torture and human rights violations from 98 countries in an attempt to disclose the widespread practice of such atrocities and draw attention to the continuing excesses of various governments. Promoting the previous and ongoing work of international human rights organizations and asking for further support for the campaign to abolish torture, the book outlines the main tenets of human rights declarations and condemns the repeated mistreatment of human beings in almost every corner of the world. The report provides an accessible account of the abuses committed by different governments and clandestine organizations and offers clear definitions of torture, suggesting reasons why the practice has not yet gone out of favour. Devoting three to four pages to each of the countries discussed, time-lines and main points of both human rights abuses and resistance to those abuses are intermixed with personal accounts and testimonials from survivors and witnesses. One of the failings of the report is that, to the European or North American reader, the practice of torture is described as a relatively distant phenomenon as barely an abuse is suggested to occur in the West. While there is a section devoted to both Europe and the Americas, there is no mention of Britain, France, America, or Canada, although in the wake of current social and political climate it is difficult to believe that no such abuses were committed in these nations. Clearly, as the book was published in 1984, the circumstances would be much different than a report undertaken today, but these major members of the United Nations are much too conveniently left out of all condemnations.

tag: last301

recent disappearances in Argentina

2006-11-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

On October 8th, The New York Times reported on the disappearance in Argentina of 77-year old Jorge Julio Lopez, who had at that time been missing for three weeks and has still not been found. Lopez is a retired construction worker and former political prisoner and not long before he was reported missing, he testified against Miguel Etchecolatz who was on trial for crimes against humanity, committed while he was police commissioner during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Lopez had been open about his experiences and besides testifying, he led judges and reporters on a tour of the clandestine prison in which he was detained and tortured. There is little dispute that Lopez's disappearence is connected to the trials taking place in Buenos Aires and his testimonies provided, but the article refers to the fact that some people are uneasy about using the word "disappeared," because of its connotations and the temporal and locational specificity with which it has come to be associated. On the other hand, groups of protestors have insisted upon the word's use, because they insist that avoiding it diminishes governmental responisbility to protect the population and reinforces a widespread consensus that what's past is past and Argentina is no longer plagued by such evils. The arguments surrounding the word, "disappearance," struck me because of the Lexicon of Terror and Fietlowitz's discussion of the Dirty War's attack on language. The case of Lopez has led numerous prosecuters, judges and witnesses to also come foreward about threats received as a result of their involvement in the trials and protection in the form of bodyguards or surveillance has been offered, but a growing suspicion that the police may be involved in the recent disappearances has caused some people to turn down the supposed security.

Rohter, Larry. "Death Squad Fears Again Haunt Argentina." The New York Times. October 8, 2006.

tag: last301

Bitter Fruit

2006-11-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

It is amazing how powerful fruit can be. Schlesinger's account of American involvement in Guatemalan politics tells of a coersive and deceptive campaign used to ensure control of the lucrative fruit export business. What caught my attention most were the psychological tactics employed and the blatant lies told, (although I wasn't exactly surprised). It was interesting how, in so many cases, the Guatemalan government assumed that what was being told to them - or broadast over the clandestine "Voice of Liberation" airwaves, or spread around the nation as a veritable rumour epidemic - was probably not true, but with lack of a reliable or trustworthy source, it seemed too great a risk to ignore. One thing I was frustrated with in "Bitter Fruit," was that, while Schlesinger was recounting the aborations of America and the lack of credibility in their campaigns, he, himself, was a little lax with his footnotes and citations. This may be a bit nit-picky, but some of Schelsinger's quotes - used to prove the outlandishness of the situation - had no proof of ever having been said. For one example, he quotes David Phillips, CIA propaganda chief as saying, "now was the time for the final big lie," but offers no reference (192). Although this is minor in relation to the reality of what was said and done, it sort of weakened his position as an objective journalist (not that I'm under the impression that any journalists are completely obective, but whatever). Anyway, most of the references in "Bitter Fruit" were cited and the stories of deception and concocted covers were so ridiculous that they were almost laughable, until you take into account the consequences of such actions. It is almost no surprise that pretty much no president since the overthrow of Arbenz remained in America's good books - it must be pretty hard to trust anyone, when you've worked so hard to create an atmosphere of pervasive deception.

tag: last301

Lexicon of Terror

2006-10-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

I found this week's readings very informative and was particularly interested in Marguerite Feitlowitz's, "A Lexicon of Terror." Her use of language and its distortions to describe the ways in which life in general became distorted as a result of the "Dirty War" in Argentine was extremely effective. The changes in the meanings of certain words and phrases reflects the ongoing effects of the events that took place. The fact that so much was silenced or altered during the years of terror is forever implanted in Argentine society, as communication has been so drastically broken down. It was definitely an interesting take on the reprecussions of the events and proves just how pervasive the corription of the government was and how extensive its control. It is also interesting to look at the ways in which people will appropriate terms that derrive from such horrible events, either as an act of refusal or simply due to unconscious indoctrination. The examples of youths saying things like, "You don't exist!" or "Stop already with the machine," referencing the disappearance and torture of people, simply to express that someone is getting on their nerves was especially significant (61). I found it interesting how often words are appropriated or reinvented due to circumstances of trauma.

Outside of the study of language, I found that Feitlowitz provided a good study of the myriad ways that the government infiltrated and implicated society, from the propagandist writings in the women's magazine, "Para Ti," to the campaign directed towards parents to suspect school curriculum, and finally, the coersion of people into gestapo-like organizations. The discussion surrounding acceptable and dangerous curriculum in elementary and secondary schools was particularly interesting and so blatantly ridiculous, that its almost impossible to believe. At the same time, however, it isn't all that surprising. What I found most distorted in this passage was the idea that parents should kep an eye on what their children were learning, but if they organized into comitees or groups and came together through their concern, they too could be branded subversives and targetted. The system was so reliant on human isolation and general mistrust.

tag: last301

sexual exploitation of minors in Guatemala

2006-10-29T19:04:00.000-08:00

The Inter Press Service News Agency published, "Guatemala: Where Sexual Exploitation of Minors Is Not a Crime," by Alberto Mendoza that describes the rising rate of child sex tourism in the city and the lack of governmental concern. Mendoza asserts that while the penal code recognizes crimes such as "corruption of minors" and "aggravated procuring," the maximum penalty is a $400 fine and often pimps or procurers force the minors to pay the fine by insisting that they are to blame. The article suggests that part of the problem is the "widespread view that an adolescent girl is basically a woman," and must therefore be made responsible for her actions. Similarly, Maria Eugenia Villarreal, the director of ECPAT (an international organizatoion working against prositution, pornography and trafficking involving minors) insists that in a nation where power relations are largely based on machismo, the blame is often placed more on the victim than the victimizer and most people involved in the sexual exploitation of children see little wrong with the situation. The statistics in the article are sobering, suggesting that there are roughly 15, 000 victims that are mostly female and between the ages of 15-17. Although there has been some talk of reforming the penal code with laws that more harshly recognize sexual exploitation as a crime, punishable by 6-12 years in prison, few political parties or legal officials seem interested in the changes and it is a general consensus that nothing will change. The situation is quite depressing and even organizations that have been created to help minors reintegrate with society and get the medical and psychological treatment needed after escaping from exploitative circumstnces seem relatively pessimistic - their success rates drastically low in contrast to the number of victims.

tag: last301

Contentious Exhibit in Chile

2006-10-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting artical in the Inter Press Service News Agency regarding an, art exhibition that directly confronts the issues of torture, exile and opression experienced in various Latin American countries under Operation Condor in the 1970s and 80s. Daniela Estrada wrote, "Disturbing Exhibit Combines Technology, Human Rights, Art," about Damian Schopf's installation, "Maquina Condor," at the Gabriela Mistral Gallery in Stantiago Chile. The work consists of 180 t.v screens connected to computer processors and alphaneumeric panels. Taking a verse from Luis de Gongora's poem "De la Ambicion Humana" (On Human Ambition), Schopf has created nonsensical stanza's revolving around internet searches and statistics from online newspapers. The project apparently began by searching specific words, (such as death, war, price, or rights), and is then combined with medical terminology. The result consists of constantly flashing and changing statements with disturbing juxtapositions of human rights, their violations, victims of torture, and the mechanics of torture methods. The exhibition has been praised as original in an area, where apparently most young artists are shying away from the dictatorship as a theme of their work. I found the artical particularly relevant in light of this week's reading and the focus on artistic subversions of state-imposed silence and censorship. A specifically interesting point that was mentioned was the fact that the verses of the installation were displayed on a billboard in downtown Santiago for a few days, before the advertising backed out of the campaign, because the language was too shocking and disturbing. Despite such setbacks, however, the show has been highly succesful and has been creditted with calling attention to the medical and technological aspects of war and torture that have played such a key role throughout history, from Auschwitz, to Chile, to Guantamo.

tag: last301

Argentine art as a site for subversion

2006-10-22T01:57:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this week's case study. I liked the way it included so many different types of exerpts and juxtaposed personal accounts, artistic endeavors and political theory, because it offered a varied understanding of the situation. The inclusion of poetry and novel passages spoke to the silence invoked by censorship laws and the targetting of artists and intellectuals and the personal testomonies of torture and exile centered the individual in a situation that can seem too overwhelming to see as personal (at least to a distanced outsider). I was especially interested in the exerpt from Ricardo Piglia's novel and the statement, "One must think against onself and live in the third person" (425), which (aside from being just a cleverly constructed statement), seemed to illuminate the overall consensus of everybody referenced in the case study as repressed and demoralized by the dictatorship. I find the statement so depressing and defiant at the same time, and it was especially resonant when reading the piece on "The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo," as they were constantly second-guessing themselves and trying to force away their greatest fears as well as embracing solidarity, rather than allowing themselves to fall apart individually. The study managed to highlight the subversive ability of art and creative action, which is often left out of political or social theory

tag: last301

Zavala

2006-10-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

It was interesting to read Zavala's take on Las Casas, as we have already all offered our own opinions of that great supporter of the Indians... I couldn't help noticing the various mentions of Las Casas tendency to exaggerate for emphasis, such as Zavala's discussion of his "habitual exaggerations" on page 40 and again on page 58, since that point came up a couple times in class. Of course what is presented in Zavala's text offers a little more insight into Las Casas contradictory view of human rights and his praise of the "Indians" at the expense of the "Negroes."

I was interested in the argument that the Natives had to be 'men of reason,' because if they weren't than it implied an error on the part of God and that simply couldn't be possible. particularly intriguing was Las Casas dependency on numbers, suggesting that mistakes of nature are rare and cannot exist in great numbers because "nature always works perfectly and does not err except in the very smallest degree," thus, because there were so many Natives, they must have been endowed with reason (40).

Finally, I was glad that at the end of Zavala's writing, there was a mention of the fact that Christianity does not necessarily conflict with slavery and that although these activists for the rights of all people (or some at the expense of others in Las Casas case) were generally Christians, that doesn't mean that it is due to Christianity that slavery was finally abolished. As Zavala suggested, "one can be a good Christian and have slaves if they are legitimately acquired, treating them with Christian charity" (61).

tag: last301

the cost of free health care

2006-10-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

While doing research for the assignment due this week, I came across an interesting (and horrific) article about public health services for women in Rosario Argentina. the article, "Learning and Transforming reality: Women from Rosario's Neighborhoods Demand Accesss to Public Health Services Free of Discrimination," by Susana Chiarotti, discusses events that took place during the years 2001-2005 that insighted action among human rights organizations and international women's rights associations. Although not entirely current (it was published a year ago), I thought it was worth discussing because it's not exactly in the distant past. Chiarotti discusses how the Argentinean Constitution was adapted in 1994 to include 9 international human rights treaties and 2 human rights declarations, "ensuring the right to health at the constitutional level," (130). However, due to the illegality of abortion (its considered a crime, punishable by a possible prison sentance of four years) and gross economic stratification withing the community of Rosario, women rarely had access to the aid they needed and inn the year 2005, unsafe abortions caused 29% of maternal deaths. Probably the most unsettling documentation in the artical were the first-hand accounts of mistreatment by women forced to enter hospitals after botched "back-alley" abortions. Numerous women explained how they had been yelled at, berated, called murderers and whores, and it was a common occurance that operatins were performed withou anesthesia as a form of punishment. Chiarotti records that few women complained about their treatment, because it had been made clear to them that since their medical assistance was free, they were a nuisance to the system and most women interviewed in the article were not surprised about the way they were treated - few even saw access to health services as a human right. Due to the publication of many of these women's accounts, action has been taken against such treatment of low-income women in the public health system, beginning mainly with medical professionals who, when confronted with accusations of cruelty and abuse, were also surprised that they were violating anybody's rights.

Chiarotti, Susana. "Learning and Transforming Reality: women from rosario's neigborhoods demand access to public health services free of discrimination." International Education, 16.2 (May 2005) 129-135.

tag: last301

Assignment #1

2006-10-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

In “The Gendering of Human Rights: Women and the Latin American Terrorist State,” Nancy Caro Hollander takes a feminist stance to determine the psychological effects of state-sponsored violence and human rights violations in Latin American terrorist states. Hollander posits that both the crimes committed and the psychological effects of those crimes are essentially gendered in nature and she explores the way in which the gross violation of human rights in terrorist states paradoxically both homogenizes and divides men’s and women’s experiences and responses. Looking specifically at the psychological impact of such violations of basic rights on women, Hollander highlights the absence of recognition for women’s rights on a national and global scale. Although her argument is beneficial in many ways, at times she universalizes the human experience a little too much and she has a tendency to disavow the male experience in relation to the torment inflicted upon women.
Hollander opens her argument by asserting, “In the past several decades, a number of terrorist states in Latin America have waged a brutal war against their civilian populations… with the goal of silencing all critical consciousness.” She further states that in such circumstances, “women in the civilian populations become direct victims of the militarized state.” Hollander suggests that the literature produced both by international human rights organizations and Latin American mental health associations do contribute to the documentation of often ignored crimes against humanity in such terrorist states, but insists that none of these publications analyze “the relationship of torture to gender roles or the specific psychological effects on women of the catastrophic experiences they document.” Further exacerbating the precarious position of women seeking recognition for their victimization, Hollander cites Amnesty International’s statement that “because of their cultural or social circumstances women are often isolated by the human rights violations they suffer… [and] often find that they have no recourse in official channels.” It is a common assumption that due to the grand scale of human rights issues, it would not be a good use of resources to focus on one subgroup. The explicit intention of Hollander’s article is to illuminate the specificity of the subgroup of women and bring to public attention the need for recognition.
In her attempt to represent the gendered nature of human rights violations perpetrated by the governments of terrorist states, Hollander suggests that women are the ultimate victims of both the militarized authorities and society at large. She explores the way in which women’s bodies are targeted both sexually and ideologically. Hollander discusses the prevalence of rape in terrorist states and its state sanction as “a normative act of social control carried out on behalf of a collective goal.” More psychologically detrimental, she suggests, is the ideological framework used to enforce the sexual submission of women, in which military officials often insinuate that a woman could be targeted as a political insurgent – regardless of any factual basis for such a claim – in order to assure sexual compliance.
Hollander asserts that outside of acute sexual abuse, torture tactics used against women often involve the witnessing of their children’s mutilation and murder and – particularly in Argentina during the “Dirty War” – an ideological assault was launched on women in which they were made to feel guilty and inadequate for being unable to save their kin. Hollander does admit that men undergo similar situations of torture – often witnessing also the rape of their female family members – but in a disavowing tone, she suggests that the experience of watching a child suffer is somehow easier for men, as they are not subjected to such maternal ties and are “more distant emotionally from their children.”
This seemingly emotionless relationship between fathers and children is further commented on when Hollander discusses the economic disparity that often comes with the terrorist state. She suggests – rather blindly – that “women suffer the consequences of the terrorist state’s economic war on the popular classes more than men because it is women who are accorded the responsibility of caring for the members of the family.” Of course, there is an element of truth to the fact that women will suffer from their inability to feed or house their children, but it is a case of gender essentialism that leads Hollander to suggest that this would be any less painful for men. It is also surprising that, in an analysis that tends to uphold essentialist notions of gender so stringently, Hollander does not suggest that men – possibly being the primary breadwinners of the family – may not suffer the psychological effects of no longer being able to support their family.
The bulk of Hollander’s argument does surround the crimes against humanity committed by terrorist states and it is set up as a dichotomy as she explores the way in which the terrorist state both “homogenizes customary gender-differentiated experience” by reducing both men and women to a state of political repression and “reinforces gender-differentiated roles” through the strengthening of patriarchal institutions and misogynist ideologies.
For her argument surrounding the homogenization of gender-differentiation, Hollander references feminist psychiatrist, Judith Lewis Herman’s analysis that “combat and rape are ‘the public and private forms of organized social violence… They are the paradigmatic forms of trauma for women and men respectively.’” She suggests that in the terrorist state, elements of these gender-specific events are universalized, “so that both women and men are exposed to traumatic experiences typical only of one or the other sex under more ‘normal’ conditions.” Hollander states that in a terrorist state, the entire population is subjected “to a militarization of daily-life and to life-endangering conditions customarily associated with combat,” and that “the state’s infliction of torture subjects men as well as women to the complete and total humiliating degradation of psychic and physical integrity customarily associated with battering and rape.”
Furthering her focus on women, Hollander discusses the human rights violations of men only in gendered terms, in which men are most afflicted when abuse reduces them to feminized beings. She does not detail extensively the way that women are effected by the state of veritable combat imposed upon them, but focuses more on how aspects of torture – probably the most explicit example of state-sponsored violence – force men into a state of traditionally female victimization. Drawing on specific examples of torture methods and contemporary technology supplied by complicit government and medical professionals, Hollander suggests, “Men are submitted to an experience more or less equivalent to the pervasively abusive situations many women endure under more normal circumstances.” She discusses the tendency for torturers to physically brutalize their victims while simultaneously ridiculing their weakness and suggests that for men, this is a direct attack on their masculinity, quoting scholar, Jean Franco, as saying that “abjection often forced male prisoners to live as if they were women.” Hollander, thus asserts, that it is the feminized aspect of the torture experience that most affects men’s psychological state, ultimately bringing the focus back to women, who – it is suggested – are exposed to similar treatment on a regular basis. There is an implicit suggestion within Hollander’s account that men should not receive as much sympathy, as they are simply experiencing the common treatment of women.
Despite her tendency to universalize and essentialize men and women’s experiences, Hollander does supply an interesting argument as to the ways in which people – be they men or women – are collectively repressed and abused under the rule of terrorist states. Her more contentious argument surrounds the ways in which gender-differentiated experiences are strengthened in such situations. In addition to the previously mentioned ways that she sees women as more overtly targeted and affected by the tyrannical rule of the terrorist state, Hollander explores the idea that traditional gender roles are reinforced by the patriarchal system in control. This suggestion hinges on her belief that “male violence against women is an apparently universal phenomenon, which functions as a fundamental element in the maintenance of social control of women by men.” Hollander asserts that when plagued with the consequences of the terrorist government, “men who are unable to direct their rage at the state that is responsible for their victimization,” displace their aggression on women. Hollander states that, just as rape and torture become state-sanctioned, domestic violence and patriarchal control “are made even more acceptable by the ideology and practice of the state.” Suggestions such as these conflate state and family and equate political repression with domestic oppression, offering a condemnation of men in general instead of focusing on the human rights violations of the terrorist state.
Much of her documentation of the gender-specific treatment of women and the exacerbated psychological detriment caused by such experiences is warranted, such as her discussions of the torture inflicted upon pregnant women during the Argentine “Dirty War,” in which women could not protect the fetus inside them and at times had to “go through labour surrounded by taunting and cursing soldiers,” only to have their babies either murdered upon birth or given to the family of one of the torturers. Hollander’s call for more recognition of women’s rights in such circumstances is, thus, vital – and her use of essentialist notions of gender and the upholding of binary characteristics are tactics to stabilize her argument for the recognition of women’s human rights collectively and as a subgroup – but her tendency to discredit the male experience of torture and lost human rights and her common conflation of domestic and governmental gender relations have seriously compromised her argument.

tag: last301

Las Casas

2006-10-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Las Casas offered a disgusting and disturbing account of the devestation and attempted extermination of the native populations of Latin America. His depictions were horrific and heartbreaking and his attack on the Spanish refreshing, but even in his literary fight for the rights of the subjugated, he never actually managed to portray them as equals. Avoiding the typical "savage Indian" stereotype, he still managed to consistently portray the indigenous people as inherantly different from Europeans. At times, this point of view came across as presenting them as almost better than any other race - placing them on an unreachable pedestal of innocence and purity - but still always different. Las Casas could not help but view the indigenous from a European perspective and this was only heightened by his growing disdain for his own culture. He was still an absolute advocate of the Christianizing and civilizing of the indigenous even stating that "These would be the most blessed people on earth if only they were given the chance to convert to Christianity" (11).

I can't help but wonder if this issue of conversion was, at least partly, another tactic to gain the Emperor's attention and manipulate him into recognizing the atrocities comitted. By portraying the indigenous as so suited to Christianity and the Spanish perpatrators having done such an injustice to the religion as well as to the state, Las Casas almost conflates Charles V with God and offers the indigenous population as his unrecognized chosen people. I was exremely intrigued by Las Casas writing style and not-so-subtle manipulation in the prologue directed towards Emperor Charles V. The way he insists repeatedly that the only way the atrocities in Latin America could have continued for so long is if "His Majesty" wasn't aware of them, and that, obviously, as soon as he is told, he will "work with the utmost diligence to set matters right and will not rest content until the evil has been eradicated" (5).

tag: last301

Brazil's homage to Rudy Giuliani

2006-10-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

The Latin American Post published an article by Suzy Khimm regarding Brazil's new "Zero Tolerance" program modelled on that headed by former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s. The program, headed by Copacabana military police chief Col. Celso Nogueira, and credited to Giuliani, was intended to target minor criminal offenders (petty thieves, unlicensed vendors, parking violators) but has focused mainly on ridding the streets of homeless people. Believing Giuliani's proclamation that zero tolerance resulted in lowered crime rates in New York, Nogueira and the program's proponants believe that "the measures will help improve the quality of life and reduce overall crime." They further insist that "total tolerance" has caused an increase in social disorder. Actions undertaken have included shutting down homeless encampments and vendors, confiscating any found bedding materials and shipping street kids off to shelters. Monica Alkmim, coordinator of an organization advocating the rights of street children, complains that the program doesn't offer any solution, but is simply an "aim to 'clean up' the streets for tourists." Alkmim's point is backed up by the fact that police action has primarily taken place in wealthy and heavily touristed neighborhoods in which residents and visitors have complained that they feel intimidated into giving change to beggars and are fearful of getting robbed. Khimm describes the fact that the program has been largely unsuccessful so far, because it lacks the government backing that Giuliani had and numerous advocacy groups and public officials have complained that the policy targets the city's most vulernable and disadvantaged citizens. I found the article particularly interesting in light of current debates going on in Vancouver of how to deal with the "homeless problem" before the Olympics. There seems to be little concern for the rights and needs of the people suffering on the streets in comparison to the concerns about how their existence will effect the tourist industry and how Vancouver will look to the rest of the world.

Suzy Khimm, "'Zero Tolerance' comes to Brazil," Latin American Post (Oct.1, 2006)

tag: last301

LAST 301: Paine's "Rights of Man"

2006-09-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

LAST 301: Paine's "Rights of Man"

Paine's "Rights of Man"

2006-09-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

I found Thomas Paine's "The Rights of Man" particularly interesting because he provided quite a provocative argument against Mr. Burke's attack on the French Revolution and implementation of a republic. Paine's argument was articulate and intriguing, but full of inconsistencies and contradictions. Paine argues against Mr. Burke's assertion that the English Parliament of 1688 set up a "right by assumption" that enforces its control over all British subjects "until the end of time" (Paine 55). The absurdity of such a statement is Paine's point of attack and, noting its impossibility, he finds the declaration null and void. His argument that the Parliament did basically the same thing that had caused the expulsion of King James II, stating, "The only difference is... that the one was a usuerper over the living, and the other over the unborn" (Paine 57) was especially significant.
Despite the relevence of Paine's argument, he does little for his case by introducing a biblical example of how "men" should govern and be governed. Paine insists that the source of authority that should be looked to is man's creation by God and that this is the only rule that can govern for all time. Although, this argument can be accepted as simply a product of its time, the metaphisical basis of a politically-charged issue holds little water today. Most interesting about this document to me, is that although it seems dated, it is still such a common tactic in Western politics, to rely on God's authoity as a template for that of the government. While Paine argues that no authority can be implemented over future generations, he does insist upon God's authority as timeless and unchanging. In his explanation that God all men equal, he points out that the only distinction made by God - and assumedly the only distinction to be upheld - is that between the sexes.
Another statement in Paine's writing that caught my attention was his insistance that men do not create war, governments do. This may seem a fair interpretation, but he goes on to suggest that republics do not engage in war because of republican principles of peace and prosperity. It is an idealistic notion and would quickly have been proved wrong, (Especially since this document was written as a rebuttal to Mr. Burke's attack on the French Revolution and France was soon plagued with repeated revolutions, wars, and changing governments).

tag: last301

Anti-Crime movement in Argentina

2006-09-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

An article in the Economist described how Argentinians are outraged by what appears to be a recent increase in crime in Buenos Aires. Although the article stated that reported crime has actually dropped by 3% in the last year, increased publicity has made the situation seem worse to Buenos Aires' citizens than ever before. Under leftist president, Nestor Kirchner, public rallies and protests are common, as it was one of Kirchner's initial policies after coming into office, that he would never obstruct such events or use force against protestors. The article cites the aggressive actions taken by the previous miltary dictatorship in Argentina and the police killing of two protestors during a road block in 2002 as the reason for Kirchner's response. The anti-crime movement has largely been organized and lead by Juan Carlos Blumberg who has been fighting for more conservative law and order tactics since his son was tortured and killed by kidnappers two years ago. Blumberg has presented the government with an 18-point plan for fighting crime which includes cleaning up the streets of drug-users and homeless people, as well as enforcing tougher policing, stricter sentencing and more jury-based trials. Although Blumberg is gaining popularity with concerned citiens, much of his suggested policies are reminiscent of the past dictatorship and as the article states, poeple are cautious of anything that could limit their civil liberties. Blumberg has been invited to run for governor of Buenos Aires by the center-right PRO party and although President Kirchner is making no formal statements, it is clear that Blumberg's growing strength appears to make up for the areas in which he is considered lacking. Kirchner has been criticized repeatedly for not taking a stance against protests and rallies that obstruct trade and business dealings. There appears to be a fine line between protecting civil liberties and enforcing authority. There is, however, something to be said for Kirchner's having remained true to his initial promises, even if the citizens of Buenos Aires are losing patience. It is somewhat undertandable that Blumbereg and his many followers are going to such extremes, as they are acting out of grief and are enraged by what has happened to their friends and family. However, in a nation that has a history of dictatorship - in which there are likely to be many remaining supporters of such a government - it is also not surprising that people are nervous of implementing such strict reforms.

"Crime by day, protests at dusk," The Economist, (Sept. 7th, 2006)

last301

2006-09-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

After reading so many charters and bills of rights, it became apparent to me how much I take for granted or assume my rights whether or not they are legally mine. I was especially interested by the organization of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It surprised me how much emphasis was put on language and the rights of both French and English speaking Canadians, but that there was not a mention of First Nations languages. In fact, (although I wasn't especially surprised), there was very little mention of First Nations people at all, except under that ambiguous heading of "General."
Ambiguity seems to be the common characteristic of rights declarations and is both promising and frustrating when trying to determine fundamental and legal rights. Whereas the "Vienna Declaration" was surprisingly specific, all of the UN charters appear to leave opennings for either future amendments of more conservative interpretations. I found the mention of marriage rights particularly interesting in each charter. For example, Article 16 of the "United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights," asserts that "men and women of full age, without limitation due to race, nationality, or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family." The statement doesn't actually insist that men and women have to marry each other, but so many nations still do not recognize same-sex unions and because sexual orientation is not offered as an unwarrented limitation, it is open to such implications.
In contrast, Article 12 of "The European Convention for the Protection of human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," declares that "men and women of marriagable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right." The European charter is still relatively ambigious, as national laws vary, but it doesn't quite offer the freedom of interpretation or a list of unfit limitations, because the excercising of the right is clearly controlled by governing powers.
The general tone of most charters is ambiguous and with every rule declared, an exception is also offered, but that is probably impossible to avoid.

tag: last301

The Atala case

2006-09-16T12:46:00.002-07:00

Larry Lesbian Fights Chilean Court for Taking her Children," New York Times (7/20/2006)
Earlier this summer, Larry Rohter wrote a story in the New York Times which reported the ongoing events of what has come to be known as "The Atala case" in Chile. The case concerns Karen Atala, a judge who lost custody of her three daughters after publicly identifying herself as a lesbian. The Supreme court took her children away, declaring that Atala's influence would "damage their psychic development." Rohter reported that Atala's career had flourished in newly democratic Chile after the overthrow of Gen. Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in 1990 and that with numerous civil and societal changes, such as the 2004 introduction of divorce laws and the recent election of feminist president, Michelle Bachelet, Chile finally appeared to be moving foreward, but the lack of recognition - and continued persecution - of certain demographics are clearly hindering the nation's progressivity.
Atala, in alliance with numerous homesexual and human rights organizations, has taken the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to fight what has been described as "a different kind of human rights violation." Jorge Contess, one of Atala's lawyers, asserted that the main objective of the fight is to amend the civil code so that sexual orientation cannot be grounds for discrimination. Rohter reports how the controversy has clearly divided the country and that many are expecting president Bachelet to take a stand, or intervene, but that her precarious position as leader of a coalition government, including the Socialist party and the conservative Christian Democrats, leaves her few options. With hope of ever building a majority and making substantial changes to civil life and liberties in Chile, Bachelet cannot apparently risk losing popularity.
What was most surprising about the story was the report that two appellate courts had previously ruled in favor of Atala and deemed her sexual orientation irrelevant to her parental capabilities, before the Supreme court intervened. Rohter's article cited gross rights violations in the Supreme Court's handling of the case, but the stratification of Chile's legal system make it difficult to determine authority. Numerous Latin American countries place more weight on rulings made by the Inter-American Commission than on their own courts, so it is clear that whatever decision is made will effect a vast amount of people.

tag: last301

Test Posting

2006-09-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...
This is the first time I have ever "blogged." I hope it works!
http://technorati.com/tag/last301