Gender in Transition: Common Sense, Women, and War

On August 28, 2003, the Commissioners of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission(PTRC) submitted their Final Report to President Alejandro Toledo and thenation, thus joining the growing list of countries that have implemented truth commissionsas a means of transitioning from a period of armed conflict and authoritarian ruletowards the founding of a procedural democracy. The PTRC shared several featureswith the Guatemalan and South African commissions that preceded it. All three commissionswere considered "gender sensitive" because they actively sought out women’sexperiences of violence. This focus reflected the desire to write more "inclusive truths,"as well as changes in international jurisprudence. In this paper, the author draws uponresearch she has conducted since 1995 in Peru to explore the commissioning of truthand some implications in terms of women and war. She examines what constitutes "gendersensitive" research strategies, as well as the ways in which truth commissions haveincorporated these strategies into their work. Truth and memory are indeed gendered,but not in any common-sensical way. Thus the author hopes to offer a more nuancedunderstanding of the gendered dimensions of war.