“My husband and his family and my community did not believe that I wasn’t raped in prison. They treated me very badly,
which prompted me to leave them. So I fled to Lebanon.” _ Sarah*, former detainee and SGBV survivor.
Sarah was detained by the Assad regime in Syria. During her detention, she was subjected to various forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). After her release, she faced intense stigma at the hands of her family and community. Although she survived prison, she is still struggling to survive the post-detainment ramifications.
Sarah is one of 100 survivors of SGBV in Syrian regime prisons who shared their experiences with The Day After for a new report on the types of SGBV perpetrated in regime prisons and the physical and psychological consequences for victims. It also provides recommendations for supporting survivors.
The TDA research team conducted structured interviews with 79 female and 21 male former detainees currently residing in various Turkish and European cities. The sample size limits the ability to compare the responses of males and females. However, it does provide a window into the current situation and can therefore serve as a simple summary.
Some of the main findings:
In regime prisons, survivors were subjected to:
Verbal sexual harassment (84% of women, 100% of men)
Molestation (63% of women, 5% of men)
Sexual torture with electric tools (19% of women, 48% of men)
Attempted rape (16% of women, 5% of men)
After release:
An overwhelming 92% of respondents expressed that they suffer from PTSD symptoms.
23% said they suffered from marital problems.
36% reported that community members made it difficult for survivors to re-integrate into their community
12% said their families refused to take them in after being released from prison
30% said they were forced to work a job they wouldn’t have accepted prior to imprisonment
Read full report here.
*Not her real name
