Fatherhood as an instrument of torture against men persecuted by the Dictatorship (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1968-1974)

Abstract

This article aims to describe and analyze reports by and about men who were fathers at the time they were arrested and tortured by agents of repression in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to understand fatherhood as an instrument of torture. The research was made in processes sent to the Special Indemnity Commission established by the government of Rio Grande do Sul in the late 1990s, to indemnify people who were arrested for political reasons in the period between September 2, 1961 and August 15, 1979. Based on studies on paternity and masculinity, which include gender issues, we seek to analyze the references to the exercise of paternity in the selected reports.