Foreign Policy writer says all sides are committing sexualized violence

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In an op-ed for Foreign Policy magazine, Manal Omar argues that the perpetration of sexualized and gender-based violence in Syria reaches across political and military lines. Omar is the vice president for the Middle East and Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace.

Omar recounts the stories of women she has been in contact with in Syria, as well as refugee women she’s met in her trips to different areas in Turkey. She says that despite coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, many of the women she’s spoken to have been subjected to abuse at the hands of a variety of perpetrators including pro-regime fighters, rebel groups, and the Islamic State. She recounts the story of three women who were kidnapped and raped repeatedly over a number of days in a locked room, with no idea who their attackers were or to which political faction they belonged to. Omar also says she knows of a women’s shelter in Damascus that has been caring for rape and SGBV victims.

The exact dates of the reported sexualized violence are unknown. Because Syrian government officials currently refuse to allow access to journalists, researchers, and aid workers, WMC’s Women Under Siege cannot independently verify this report of sexualized violence in Syria.