[News] After the Rape: The challenges of monitoring sexual violence in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

mondoweiss.net
<https://mondoweiss.net/2025/12/after-the-rape-the-challenges-of-monitoring-sexual-violence-in-gaza/?ml_recipient=174405115377092384&ml_link=174405071815050329&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2025-12-21&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation+-+9am>
After the Rape: The challenges of monitoring sexual violence in Gaza
Majd Jawad
8–10 minutes
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

Gaza Community Mental Health Program staff providing psychological support
to displaced children, women, elderly people, and people with special needs
in evacuation camps in Deir Al-Balah and Rafah, in April 2024. (Photo: Gaza
Community Mental Health Program/Facebook)

The story of N.A.,
<https://pchrgaza.org/pchr-documents-testimonies-of-systematic-rape-and-sexual-torture-in-israeli-detention-against-released-palestinian-detainees/>
a Palestinian woman detained and allegedly raped by four Israeli soldiers,
sent shockwaves through a community already ravaged by war. Detailed in the
shocking report by The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) last
month, N.A.’s story was one of many, revealing the systematic rape and
sexual torture of Palestinian detainees in Israeli captivity.

Her subsequent refusal to seek follow-up medical care after her release,
retreating back into a circle of silence, highlights a pervasive and
devastating reality in the Gaza Strip. Despite repeated attempts by human
rights organizations to document her case and provide support, N.A.
declined any further interviews, embodying the fear that paralyzes
countless survivors.

“The cases that do speak to us fundamentally do not feel safe disclosing
their experiences,” says Yasser Abdel Ghafour, deputy head of the
documentation unit at a local human rights center. “They prefer not to
expand the circle of people who know about their situation, which would
further expose their identity.”

According to Abdel Ghafour, this is not an isolated incident. “We are aware
of many cases that have endured similar experiences,” he explains. “We have
approached them repeatedly to share their stories, but they have flatly
refused, believing it would endanger their lives even more violently. This
is especially true for women.”
*Sexual violence as a weapon of war*

Local and international human rights organizations indicate that the use of
sexual violence by occupation forces is not a collection of isolated
incidents but part of a repeated pattern of behavior within detention
centers. While no international body has yet conducted a full
investigation, the recurring patterns in testimonies, especially from
female detainees, reflect a systematic practice of sexual humiliation,
degradation, and identity destruction.

“What is required is not just documenting violations, but establishing a
neutral international mechanism to investigate the use of sexual violence
as a weapon of war,” Abdel Ghafour insists. “What is happening to women in
detention is part of a widespread and systematic attack, not individual
transgressions by soldiers.”

In a statement, the BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and
Refugee Rights asserted
<https://badil.org/cached_uploads/view/2024/09/23/sexual-violance-brochure-ar-1727095084.pdf>
that Israeli sexual assault must be treated as a political and societal
issue, not an individual one. “As a political-societal issue connected to
colonial policies of oppression,” the statement reads, “it is akin to
assassinations or the use of extreme force. The victim must not be isolated
or degraded; rather, she should be embraced, her struggle honored, and all
necessary support provided.”
Persistent threat of retaliation

For released detainees, the psychological and physical devastation is
immense. The trauma of their experience lingers long after they return
home. One testimony documented
<https://pchrgaza.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Torture-and-Genocide-The-Shattered-Futures-of-Former-Palestinian-Detainees-in-Gaza.pdf>
by the PCHR captures this despair: “In terms of my mental health, I am not
myself anymore. I am talking to you now about my tragedy and I feel
unstable, I cry and laugh at the same time. I have become soulless when I
look at my children and fear that one day they will go through what I went
through.

Another survivor describes her shattered mental state: “They violated our
dignity and destroyed our spirits and our hope for life. I had wanted to
continue my education; now I am lost after what happened to me”

According to professionals, despite such profound trauma, very few
survivors seek medical or psychological care. The constant threat of
reprisal from Israeli occupation forces for speaking out prevents them from
fully disclosing their experiences.

This fear is corroborated by the May 2025 GBV
<https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf>
Trends Analysis: Gaza report from the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), which noted that survivors “are often reluctant to name armed
perpetrators due to fear of retaliation.”

This climate of fear extends beyond gender-based violence to all forms of
documentation. Munir al-Bursh, a director within the Gaza health ministry,
confirms this trend to *Mondoweiss*. He says he has encountered cases where
individuals repeatedly insisted that their identity and medical details
remain confidential, citing direct threats of revenge from the Israeli
occupation if their stories were made public.

The threat is not limited to survivors. Human rights workers, monitors, and
local civil society organizations—such as PCHR, Al-Mezan Center for Human
Rights, and the Women’s Affairs Center, are also systematically targeted
for their work exposing Israeli crimes. These organizations, already
struggling to operate, face constant intimidation by Israel.

This includes direct physical attacks, such as the complete destruction of
Humanity & Inclusion’s
<https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/14/gaza-israelis-attacking-known-aid-worker-locations>(HI)
office in Gaza City in January 2024, despite its coordinates being
registered with the UN’s notification system. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has
also documented at least eight Israeli strikes on aid worker convoys and
premises, even after their locations were provided to Israeli authorities.
Silent hotlines

While reported cases of rape and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) remain
low, these incidents are severely underreported. GBV case managers
<https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf>
on UNFPA in Palestine have shared concerning testimonies in task force
meetings and trainings, including cases involving adolescent girls and
women with disabilities raped by family members and strangers.

Despite rape appearing as 0% in the data
<http://google.com/url?q=https://palestine.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2025-09/Gaza-GBV-Trends-April-May-2025-R.pdf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1763993742482609&usg=AOvVaw3hjd1HzJBYLLv0Pwk7nxIy>,
there has been severe underreporting due to fear of retaliation, stigma,
and lack of awareness about available services and the collapse of justice
system, with survivors not consenting to the recording of their cases.
“Many women prefer silence,” says Zainab Al-Ghunaimi, director of Hayat
Center for the protection of battered women, considered the primary safe
house in Gaza, “not because their experience is any less real, but because
speaking out can mean exposing themselves and their families to renewed
violence, social ostracism, and practical ruin.”

This challenge cripples reporting mechanisms. An August 2025 report
<https://palestine.unfpa.org/en/publications/gbv-trends-analysis-gaza-june-august-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com>from
the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR) “reported severe
disruption to women’s specialized service centers, with the majority either
non-operational or only partially functioning,” while access to what
remains of reproductive and mental health services is fraught with danger.
No safe shelters

In the absence of formal systems, some organizations have sought
alternative justice and protection methods. Al-Ghunaimi, describes their
efforts.

“We tried to find alternative ways to protect abused women during the war,”
she says. “We established a tent to shelter women facing first-degree
threats, meaning those at risk of being killed. We resorted to temporary
solutions like a mediation system instead of the judiciary.” This system,
she explains, involves committees of respected community figures, such as
displacement center managers and family elders—to resolve conflicts and
offer protection.

However, Al-Ghunaimi refuses to call these shelters completely “safe.” In
the presence of the occupation, there is no real safe place. Recently, as
this report was being written and despite a ceasefire, an Israeli strike
<https://www.facebook.com/z.ghonaimy/posts/pfbid036aAe2rejdUYoG3WxbnJfaqqNzkmUoWZQ7LLqdJ7DxGNWkkUrbgPcvNAv43tTmHTil>
hit a house next to the Hayat Center’s camp, destroying more than half of
it. While no one in the camp was physically harmed, the bitter trauma of
losing shelter was felt once again.
A void of accountability

International investigations into sexual violence in Gaza cannot proceed
without witnesses. Yet, those who might testify live under constant fear,
persistent threats, displacement, and deep psychological trauma.

The relentless insecurity, compounded by the destruction of homes and
essential services, has made it nearly impossible for survivors to safely
come forward. This creates a staggering gap between the sheer scale of the
violations and the ability of human rights organizations to document and
pursue justice for them.

“We have collected numerous testimonies over the years, but we lack
witnesses willing to step forward,” says Abdel Ghafour, deputy head of the
documentation unit at PCHR. “The silence forced by fear and social stigma
means that files on rape and sexual torture remain some of the most
challenging, and heartbreaking—to work on. Without witnesses,
accountability remains almost entirely out of reach, and survivors continue
to bear the weight of these crimes alone.”
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