Between Voices and Silence: Indigenous Women and Sexual Offenses by Men Among the Arhuaco People

Abstract

The field of legal anthropology has widely debated Indigenous Peoples’ justice practices. However, Indigenous Peoples’ legal perspective on sexual offenses remains understudied. In this respect, this article approaches the spiritual and political dimensions of the Arhuaco People's justice system to examine its procedures and sanctions. We want to understand how the Arhuaco People administer justice in cases where male community members are allegedly responsible for committing sexual crimes against women. During fieldwork in the Arhuaco territory, the authors employ methodologies drawn from the procedural paradigm-legal conscience studies as an interpretive framework to understand how Arhuaco women conceive legal phenomena.