Rights Group: Syria Regime Sexually Abused Detainees

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) the Syrian government has used sexual violence against men, women, and children during the months-long uprising. In a statement the group said offenses included “rape, penetration with objects, sexual groping, prolonged forced nudity and electroshock and beatings to genitalia.” Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director, condemned the abuses. “Sexual violence in detention is one of many horrific weapons in the Syrian government’s torture arsenal and Syrian security forces regularly use it to humiliate and degrade detainees with complete impunity,” she told AFP. HRW noted that victims had scant access to medical treatment as well as mental health services, a problem aggravated by “taboos surrounding sexual abuse, families restricting their movement and the fear of being subjected to so-called ‘honor’ crimes.”