At Chacruna: Sexual abuse in the contexts of ritual use of ayahuasca

Alhena Caicedo Fernández

On the 4th of June 2015, somewhere near Bogotá, Colombian authorities detained TaitaOrlando Gaitán, a well-known neoshaman who, under his self-denomination as a traditional indigenous physician, led yage sessions as part of his provision of therapeutic and spiritual services in various cities around the country. He was detained due to allegations of sexual assault made by several women; among them, minors belonging to the Comunidad de Paz de Pensamiento Bonito [Community of Nice Thoughts], a group created and led by Gaitán in Bogota in the beginning of the 1990s... continue reading.