“I lost my dignity”: Sexual and Gender-based Violence in the Syrian Arab Republic
Conference room paper of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/37/CRP.3)
Categories: Human Rights
Sub-Categories: International Law, National Security Forces and Armed Groups, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Sexual and Reproductive Health
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Year: 2018
Citation: UN Security Council. “I lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic Conference room paper of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/37/CRP.3 (March 2018), available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session37/Pages/ListReports.aspx.
Sub-Categories: International Law, National Security Forces and Armed Groups, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), Sexual and Reproductive Health
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Year: 2018
Citation: UN Security Council. “I lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic Conference room paper of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, A/HRC/37/CRP.3 (March 2018), available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session37/Pages/ListReports.aspx.
Executive Summary
Sexual and gender-based violence against women, girls, men, and boys has been a persistent issue in Syria since the uprising in 2011. Parties to the conflict resort to sexual violence as a tool to instil fear, humiliate and punish or, in the case of terrorist groups, as part of their enforced social order. While the immense suffering induced by these practices impacts Syrians from all backgrounds, women and girls have been disproportionally affected, victimized on multiple grounds, irrespective of the perpetrator or geographical area.