Pain compliance, less lethal weapons & torture lessons from Chile

Pain compliance, less lethal weapons & torture: lessons from Chile

From October 2019 to January 2020, massive demonstrations took place in Chile. The government's reaction was to label protesters "powerful enemies" and declare martial law. The Chilean Police, called "Carabineros", decided to deploy various "less lethal weapons", mainly: Kinetic impact projectiles (KIP), CS and OC gases, and water cannons, among others. Between the 18th of October and the 30th of November, at least 183 people suffered ocular trauma caused by kinetic impact projectiles.This lecture will look into how national and international security developments are deploying new mechanisms to tackle protests and will highlight some strategies on how to counter the human rights violations caused by these weapons. This raises important questions around activism, academic work during times of crisis and walking a tightrope of countering national institutions while working within governmental structures.