Hermeneutic epistemic injustice towards women-victims of sexual and physical violence in Ecuador's justice administration system

Within the justice system, asymmetrical power relations make the testimonies of women/victims of harassment and sexual and domestic violence appear unconvincing to courts and judges. Based on an analysis of an action for protection and two court rulings, this article reveals a framework of epistemic (contextual) and hermeneutic (interpretative) injustice. The testimonies of the victims of gender-based violence were listened to with scepticism and were not understood. The rulings reveal three common elements that run through Ecuador’s justice system: 1) despite the facts of violence and the proven involvement of the aggressors, the interpretation is inadequate, and the harm caused to the victim is not confronted; 2) the application of the law favours men over women; 3) in the courts, the understanding of the harm to the victim is often not approached from a gender-based violence perspective.

• Main Author: Bowen Manzur, Consuelo María (author)
• Format: article
• Language: spa
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: acoso sexual e intrafamiliar; epistemología feminista; injusticia epistémica hermenéutica; Paola Guzmán contra Ecuador; violencia de género; delitos; denuncias; impunidad; víctimas; sentencias; daños; sexual and domestic harassment; feminist epistemology; hermeneutic epistemic injustice; Paola Guzmán vs. Ecuador; gender violence; crimes; complaints; impunity; victims; sentences; damage
• Online Access: https://revistas.iaen.edu.ec/index.php/estado_comunes/article/view/368