La defensa de la mujer contra los violadores (Aragón, siglos XVI-XVII)

Women’s defense against rapists in Aragón (16^th and 17^th centuries)

In a legally unequal society as the one of the Ancient Regime, women enjoyed certain rights in the kingdom of Aragon, which did not exist in other territories of Spanish monarchy. One of them was rapes’ and kidnappings’ punishment. For the prosecution of these crimes there was a specific local prosecutor who had acted since 1528. This minister managed to ensure that many of crimes were not unpunished. Therefore he helped women, who were weak and unable to denounce their rapists. However, his role was limited by a society in which influential men were always defended

keywords: rape; kidnapping; woman, judicial processes, astricted attorney; local prosecutor