From Testimony to Life Story: The Experience of Professionals in the Chilean National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture

摘要

Since 2006, a research project focused on the experience of the Chilean National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture (CNPPT, as per its Spanish acronym), implemented between 2003 and 2005, has been underway in Chile. The CNPPT is the latest of the three state initiatives implemented in Chile over the last 16 years as part of its truth and reparation policies to deal with the human rights violations that took place during the Pinochet military dictatorship.rnThe purpose of this study is to find out the impact of traumatic testimony on the professionals who served as state "listeners" to the victims who appeared before the Commission. The biographical approach was chosen as a theoretical-methodological option, and life stories were used as a discursive device for creating research data. Results are presented and discussed, based on an initial stage that involved gathering life stories from eight narrators.