Truth and Justice: Understanding Franco’s Use of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) for Political Gain and Envisioning Justice for Impacted Communities

Content Warning: This abstract mentions sexual and gender-based violence
In this thesis, I argue that Franco sought to systematically use sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through a variety of methods to gain political power in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and his subsequent dictatorship. Through my analysis of victim and witness testimony, legal documents, and expert opinion, I find that women’s and LGBTQ+ liberation was viewed as a threat to the regime’s power and therefore the bodies and actions of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals were heavily policed. Additionally, Spanish culture was rapidly shaped to encourage violence against women, sexual violence was used as a weapon during the war and method of repression during the dictatorship, and children were trafficked from mothers to Franco sympathizers in Spain and abroad to prevent the continuation of a political identity he considered a threat. After decades of the Spanish government blocking legal pathways to criminal prosecution and reparations, opportunities for justice, while limited, have started to become available. Finally, this thesis concludes by considering domestic, regional, and international options to pursue justice for individuals and communities that have been impacted by sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by Franco's forces and regime.