E/CN.4/1994/31 page 91 police serving in the rest of the country were sometimes also identified as perpetrators. A large proportion of cases went unreported, either because the victim was afraid or under threat, or because in many cases the claims were difficult to substantiate; indeed, in the majority of cases the kind of medical or legal attention which would make it possible to provide a minimum amount of documentation was simply not available. Procurators and judges had reportedly often refused to act on claims lodged by the victims, or had accepted as valid declarations obtained by force during the police investigation or detention. (b) Information transmitted to the Government regarding the practice of rape and sexual abuse against women 431. The Special Rapporteur also received abundant information regarding the practice of rape and sexual abuse of which women were frequently the victims in connection with the campaign by security forces against insurgent groups. Thus, rape would seem to be used as a weapon to punish, intimidate and humiliate. 432. Rape and other forms of sexual abuse were apparently sometimes combined with other methods of torture, such as electric shocks, during police interrogations. In territories under a state of emergency, on the other hand, rape was perpetrated within the framework of the armed conflict, in rural areas, without prior detention, and seemed to be used as a form of intimidation or punishment against civilian groups suspected of collaboration with insurgent groups. Incidents of this type were reported to have occurred, for example, at Chilcahuayco and Vilcashuamán, Ayacucho, in September 1990 and at San Pedro de Cachi, Ayacucho, in July 1991. 433. It was also reported that the perpetrators were rarely prosecuted, even in cases which had been reported to the competent authorities. The military courts ignored such cases and did not place the accused at the disposal of the civil courts in accordance with their obligation under the law. This situation of impunity combined with other factors, such as the difficulty of providing proof or the attitude of society towards the victims meant that a large proportion of cases were not even reported. The following individual cases were communicated: (a) Pilar Coqchi was arrested on 23 January 1990 in Huamanga, Ayacucho, on accusation of activities connected with the Sendero Luminoso in the district of Belén. While in detention she was allegedly raped several times and was subjected to other forms of torture, such as beating, suffocation and hanging. Though the case was reported to the government procurator, no charges were filed against any members of the police, for lack of evidence. (b) María Flores Valenzuela and her 17-year-old daughter, Zunilda Pineda Flores, peasants from the town of Carcosi, were arrested in September 1990 by soldiers from Julcamarca military base in Huancavelica. Upon arrival at the base they were reportedly tied to a post and left in the sun for several hours. They were then raped by several soldiers and released on the following day.