Reintegrating Civilian Life after Combat: Between Invisibility and Resistance. The Experience of the Ronderas in Peru

Abstract

Between 1980 and 2000, Peru was shaken by violent armed conflict causing the death of more than 69,000 people. In collaboration with the army, civil defense patrols were set up in the peasant communities hardest hit by political violence. Known as Comités de Autodefensa, these organizations armed themselves to protect their communities. Although the majority of their members were men, women made a significant contribution to self-defense activities. Their participation, however, has been obliterated from the memory of the communities. Moreover, incidents of domestic violence against women have increased sharply, a fact interpreted by the author as due to the continuation of a “warrior habitus” in peacetime.