FIDH: State sponsored sexual violence surged under Sisi

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) released a report on Tuesday documenting a “surge of sexual violence perpetuated by security forces” since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in July 2013.

The report states that women, students, minors and LGBT people have been specifically targeted through arbitrary arrests that often result in sexual violence at the hands of security forces. It compiles dozens of interviews with survivors of sexual violence, including cases of rape, sexual abuse and torture by police and soldiers.

The cases documented include, “sexual harassment, rape and sexual assault, rape with objects, anal and vaginal ‘virginity tests’, electrocution of genitalia, sex-based defamation and blackmail, performed by members of the security forces, often while the subjects of abuse were detained in security centers.”

According to FIDH, sexual violence is increasingly being used as a tool to enforce state oppression among opposition figures from both the Muslim Brotherhood and the left. The report states that NGOs have documented at least 20 cases in which female Muslim Brotherhood members have been raped in prison, along with other allegations of forced abortions.

In the introduction to the report, FIDH stresses a long history of state-sponsored sexual violence in Egypt, going back to the 2000s, when women attending marches were often sexually assaulted by “thugs” without any interference from security forces.

“Several elements support the finding that sexual violence is tolerated by the Egyptian authorities, and fostered by the climate of impunity, as part of a strategy which aims not only to eradicate the opposition but also, more broadly, to stifle civil society,” the report stated.  

Although FIDH says it does not have evidence that senior security officers order the use of sexual violence, its prevalence indicates “it forms part of a cynical political strategy.” The report also stated that under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, sexual violence is used to enforce the state’s role as a moral authority in society.

FIDH relied mainly on testimony from workers at NGOs and a number of witness testimonies, either gathered directly or from Egyptian rights NGOs or local news reports. Many of the testimonies were uncorroborated, due to the difficulty of reporting these sorts of cases.

The FIDH ended the report with a series of recommendations for the government, including a call to end the “impunity” of state actors regarding sexual violence.

“Beyond token measures, the Egyptian authorities have failed to take action to prevent torture and other forms of sexual violence. They have further violated obligations to effectively investigate, prosecute and sanction perpetrators and to provide redress and reparation to survivors,” the report alleged.

The BBC reported that the Interior Ministry said it would not comment until it had studied the report in depth.