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.

• Prif Awdur: Bowen Manzur, Consuelo María (author)
• Fformat: article
• Iaith: spa
• Cyhoeddwyd: 2025
• Pynciau: acoso sexual e intrafamiliar; epistemología feminista; injusticia epistémica hermenéutica; Paola Guzmán contra Ecuador; violencia de género; Este artículo contiene insumos del artículo titulado “Injusticia epistémica hermenéutica hacia las mujeres-víctimas o la justicia que no comprende en Ecuador”, realizado por la autora previa obtención de su título de la Maestría en Victimología y Justicia Restaurativa del Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales; sexual and domestic harassment; feminist epistemology; hermeneutic epistemic injustice; Paola Guzmán vs. Ecuador; gender violence; This article contains input from the article entitled “Epistemic hermeneutic injustice towards women victims or the justice that does not understand in Ecuador”, written by the author after obtaining her Master's degree in Victimology and Restorative Justice from the Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales
• Mynediad Ar-lein: https://revistas.iaen.edu.ec/index.php/estado_comunes/article/view/368