Lenah
Follow us
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result

NGO expertise helps document rape during war

December 4, 2017
in Justice Explained
0
0
Home Justice Explained
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail

By Justice Hub 

The conflicts in Iraq and Syria have resulted in countless atrocities being committed against innocent civilians. Women and girls have borne the brunt of these crimes, particularly those of a sexual nature. ISIS, the extremist group also known by its Arabic language acronym Daesh, is responsible for many of these crimes. The group has been especially ruthless in its targeting of women and girls from the minority Yazidi community in Iraq.

Women like Salina, Ikhlas and Ivana were rounded up and used as sex slaves by the Daesh fighters. This is based on the harrowing personal accounts the three brave women gave to the makers of a short documentary “Evidence of Hope” that documents the work of two sexual violence investigators.

“I have chosen you for myself” one of the men told Ivana. “By this he meant he will rape me,” says Ivana.

“The rape that I experienced, it happened to all the Yazidi girls…all of us,” says 17-year-old Ikhlas.

“They should be brought to justice,” adds Salina who was held captive by Daesh for 9 months.

How can the evidence be collected?

Two organisations Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and UN Women have partnered to form a “Sexual and Gender-based Violence Justice Experts Roster” comprised of 217 individuals from around the world. In Iraq and Syria, experts from different fields are helping to collect evidence on SGBV crimes committed against women by groups like Daesh.

Dr Hala, a Syrian doctor formerly based at the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan, worked closely with the experts on the JRR-UN Women roster. As someone who has intimate knowledge of the traumas experienced by women in times of conflict, Dr Hala understands why it’s important to collect and preserve as much evidence as possible for use in possible future legal trials.

“We have to do something as professionals, as doctors to document these cases because it is not enough just to provide services for the victim. You have to give them [survivors of sexual violence] hope that they can punish the perpetrators one day. That will bring justice in their lives and bring peace to the community,” says Dr Hala.

You can watch “Evidence of Hope”, the short documentary about the work Justice Rapid Response and UN Women are doing in Iraq and Syria, below:

Photos: The pictures in this piece are screen grabs from the JRR/UN Women short documentary film “Evidence of Hope”. Justice Hub has modified the screen brags from the film with appropriate text to match the format of our #MyJustice series. Our thanks to JRR/UN Women for permitting the modifications. 

Tags: IraqIS (Islamic State)Syria
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Related Posts

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar
Featured

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar

by Sean Bain
October 7, 2018
0
57

On September 27 a partial but significant foundation was laid to provide accountability for gross human rights violations in Myanmar,...

Read more
Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

September 26, 2018
56
A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

September 25, 2018
69
Celebrating women in peacekeeping

Celebrating women in peacekeeping

September 24, 2018
58
Iran wants Hague court to dull the impact of US sanctions (Part 2)

Iran wants Hague court to dull the impact of US sanctions (Part 2)

September 22, 2018
54

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform aimed at a worldwide audience of 18-35 year olds, especially in countries where people are looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to problems of justice, peace and security. Justice can feel too abstract, too often owned by experts. We make the conversations lively and accessible.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
NGO expertise helps document rape during war