Las mujeres y la minería ilegal de oro en la Amazonia colombiana

In order to better understand the effects of illegal gold mining activities on gender relations in the Colombian Amazon, this report documents a myriad of experiences and stories told byindigenous and colonist women from the department of Amazonas over the last fifteen years. The document compiles extracts from testimonies of six Amazonian women who live orhave lived in different areas of the department of Amazonas. Oral histories compiled in the report provide insight into the situations of towns such as Araracuara and Puerto Santander, as well as the buffer zones of Cahuinarí National Park and the Amacayacu National Park in the department of Amazonas. Topics addressed include the effects of the mining economy on families and couples, motherhood, diets, swidden agriculture, the loss of women's autonomy, and episodes of abuse and different forms of sexual violence against women.