Rights Group: Rape, Abuse Used as Weapons against Syrian Women

Syrian women are systematically raped and abused as a means of exacting psychological pressure on their families – “pressuring their male relatives to surrender” — according to a report by a Europe-based rights organization. The report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network describes the abuses as a “deliberate tactic to defeat the other party from a symbolic and psychological perspective, making women desirable targets as the conflict rages on.” The group accuses the government forces loyal to Bashar Al-Assad as being most responsible for the phenomenon, reporting that the abuses occurs mostly “during governmental raids, at checkpoints and in within detention facilities.” The report says that because of the stigma attached to sexual assaults, most of the victims are forced to leave their homeland and seek asylum elsewhere.