 |
| Fergal Keane's report for the BBC on rape and sex abuse in Syria here |
Why is it that rape and sexual violence
have become an integral part of most Arab Spring movements? Why have they become reprisals so widely used in
conflict?
Although rape is one of the oldest scourges of war, why did it afflict
the Arab Spring countries? Is it the
breakdown of all civilized forms of conduct and the release of inhibitions and
hidden urges in wartime? Does being armed embolden bearers to abuse other men, women, boys and girls to
cover their cowardice and their servitude to rulers and movements?
According to the latest report from the United Nations Human Rights
Council, sexual violence is part of a pattern of crimes against humanity inflicted
on civilians in Syria.
Also, a September 25 BBC report documents details of sexual violence against prisoners in Syria.
The BBC's Fergal Keane heard harrowing accounts from a number of former
detainees:
The first thing he saw was a woman in the corner of
the basement. "They were raping her. It was clear that they were raping
her. There was blood coming out of her body and she just stayed in the
corner."
The witness was working as an activist with a
church-based human rights group when he was arrested last November.
The witness says his captors demanded that he confess
to smuggling weapons and sending footage of demonstrations to foreign news
organizations.
 |
| The "rapist officers" behaved like animals, the former detainee says (BBC) |
"They hit me, they kick me, they slap me and
they (did) something unfriendly and offensive… I know what happens when they
arrest someone. I feel like this is the end."
The "rapist officers" behaved like animals,
the former detainee says.
At first, he says, a security official began to touch
him sexually. There was also an officer who watched what was happening but
remained silent. Then he was attacked by a group of three officers.
"The three guys, they are like animals. I tried
to protect myself but I'm just a short guy… when they were raping me, I start
to say: 'Please don't do that, please don't do that.'"
As he was being raped, he says his attackers mocked
him. "You want Assad to quit? This is for saying that you don't like
[Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad."
A teenage boy was brought into the cell. He, too, was
raped. As the assault went on, the boy cried out for his mother.
But -- in the words of another survivor -- the
torture cells of Syria are places where "nobody hears your voice, nobody
visits you".
 |
| Rats and mice were used by interrogators to violate women.... (BBC) |
Another witness, a woman, told me she had been held
for two months in the notorious Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in
Damascus -- a building bombed by rebels last May.
The woman was arrested at a checkpoint in Homs late
last year.
As part of the torture, she alleges, interrogators
used rats and mice to violate women. She described an assault on another
prisoner that she says she witnessed.
"He inserted a rat in her vagina. She was
screaming. Afterwards we saw blood on the floor. He told her: 'Is this good
enough for you?' They were mocking her. It was obvious she was in agony. We
could see her. After that she no longer moved."
The New York-based
international watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the stigma surrounding
such allegations means many victims are reluctant to come forward.
"In many cases… victims did not want their
families or others in the community to know about the assault because of fear
or shame," the group said.
HRW says sexual violence is used to degrade and
humiliate prisoners. Neither they nor the United Nations have so far made
allegations of sexual violence against the rebel side.
It also documented cases of sexual violence against detainees in a
report issued in June titled, “Syria:
Sexual Assault in Detention,” It wrote:
“Syrian security forces have used sexual violence to humiliate and
degrade detainees with complete impunity. The assaults are not limited to
detention facilities -- government forces and pro-government shabiha
militia members have also sexually assaulted women and girls during home raids
and residential sweeps.”
HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson noted in her report:
“Syrian
government forces have used sexual violence to torture men, women, and boys
detained during the current conflict. Witnesses and victims also told Human
Rights Watch that soldiers and pro-government armed militias have sexually
abused women and girls as young as 12 during home raids and military sweeps of
residential areas.
“Human
Rights Watch interviewed 10 former detainees, including two women, who
described being sexually abused or witnessing sexual abuse in detention,
including rape, penetration with objects, sexual groping, prolonged forced
nudity, and electroshock and beatings to genitalia. Many of the former
detainees told Human Rights Watch that they were imprisoned because of their
political activism, including for attending protests. In other cases, the
reason for the detention was unclear but detainees suffered the same abusive
tactics.
“Human
Rights Watch documented over 20 specific incidents of sexual assault, five of
which involved more than one victim, that took place between March 2011 and
March 2012 across Syria,
including in Daraa, Homs, Idlib, Damascus, and Latakia governorates. The
majority of cases were from Homs governorate. Interviewees described a range of
sexual abuse by Syrian security forces, the army, and pro-government armed
militias referred to locally as shabiha.
“Human
Rights Watch interviewed eight Syrian victims of sexual violence, including
four women, and more than 25 other people with a knowledge of sexual abuse --
former detainees, defectors from the Syrian security forces and the army, first
responders and assistance providers, women’s rights activists, and family
members.
“The
full extent of sexual violence in and outside of detention facilities remains
unknown, Human Rights Watch said. The stigma in Syria surrounding sexual
violence makes victims reluctant to report abuse. Survivors also may face
dangers when they make crimes public, and researchers have had limited access
to the country to document abuses. In many cases interviewees told Human Rights
Watch that victims did not want their families or others in the community to
know about the assault because of fear or shame. In one case, a female rape
victim who was willing to be interviewed was not permitted by her husband to
speak to Human Rights Watch.
“Even
when they may wish to seek help, Syrian survivors of sexual assault have limited
access to medical or psychological treatment and other services in Syria.
Survivors who have fled to neighboring countries also face obstacles in seeking
treatment, including limited service options and inability to access services
that are available because of social taboos surrounding sexual abuse, families
restricting their movement, and the fear of being subjected to so-called
‘honor’ crimes.
“It
is critical that survivors of sexual assault have access to emergency medical
services, legal assistance, and social support to address injuries caused by
the assault; prevent pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections;
and to collect evidence to support prosecution of perpetrators, Human Rights
Watch said…”
Although UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has
called for the allegations against the Syrian government, including sexual
violence, to be referred to the International Criminal Court, the license to
rape and kill goes on unabated.
And as I have written many times before on this blog: Rape is rape
is rape…
How long will the “culture of impunity” be
allowed to carry on in Syria?
