Sexual violence in the Iraqi insurgency
Given the prison's international attention after US control, "the Islamic State of Iraq obsessively referenced the 2005 Abu Ghraib scandal to justify their gendered violence and deflect criticism of their abuses.
"[6] The New York Times said in August 2015 that "[t]he systematic rape of women and girls from the Yazidi religious minority has become deeply enmeshed in the organization and the radical theology of the Islamic State in the year since the group announced it was reviving slavery as an institution."
[12] According to Martin Williams in The Citizen, some hard-line Salafists apparently regard extramarital sex with multiple partners as a legitimate form of holy war and it is "difficult to reconcile this with a religion where some adherents insist that women must be covered from head to toe, with only a narrow slit for the eyes".
[13] According to Mona Siddiqui, IS's "narrative may well be wrapped up in the familiar language of jihad and 'fighting in the cause of Allah', but it amounts to little more than destruction of anything and anyone who doesn't agree with them"; she describes IS as reflecting a "lethal mix of violence and sexual power" and a "deeply flawed view of manhood".
[14] In response to the IS pamphlet on the treatment of slaves Abbas Barzegar, a religion professor at Georgia State University, said Muslims around the world find IS's "alien interpretation of Islam grotesque and abhorrent".
[16][17] An article in Foreign Policy suggests the existence of "a bias against covering rape and sexual assault, since they tend to be viewed by some as 'women’s issues' versus 'mainstream' insurgent tactics.
"[20] I will follow anyone... and tell everyone... that this is happening... in the century twenty-one… On September 6, 2014, Defend International launched a worldwide campaign entitled "Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now" to raise awareness about the tragedy of the Yazidis in Sinjar; coordinate activities related to intensifying efforts aimed at rescuing Yazidi and Christian women and girls captured by IS, and building a bridge between potential partners and communities whose work is relevant to the campaign, including individuals, groups, communities, and organizations active in the areas of women's and girls’ rights, inter alia, as well as actors involved in ending modern-day slavery and violence against women and girls[25][26] On October 14, 2014, Dr. Widad Akrawi of Defend International dedicated her 2014 International Pfeffer Peace Award to the Yazidis, Christians and all residents of Kobane because, she said, facts on the ground demonstrate that these peaceful people are not safe in their enclaves and therefore in urgent need for immediate attention from the global community.
[33] On November 4, 2014, Dr. Akrawi said that "the international community should define what’s happening to the Yezidis as a crime against humanity, crime against cultural heritage of the region and ethnic cleansing," adding that Yazidi females are being subjected to a systematic gender-based violence and that slavery and rape are being used by ISIL as weapons of war.”[34] On 3 November 2014, the “price list” for Yazidi and Christian females issued by IS surfaced online, and Dr. Akrawi and her team were the first to verify the authenticity of the document.
[47][48] In 2016 the Commission for International Justice and Accountability said they had identified 34 senior IS members who were instrumental in the systematic sex slave trade and planned to prosecute them after the end of hostilities.
[49] In a statement on April 21, 2021, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, welcomed adoption by the Iraq parliament of The Law on Yazidi Survivors as "a major step towards promoting justice for crimes committed by ISIL" and expressed concern for the unaddressed situation of children born out of rape by IS fighters.
"[56] Hannaa Edwar, a leading women's rights advocate in Baghdad who runs an NGO called Iraqi Al-Amal Association (IAA),[57] said that none of her contacts in Mosul were able to confirm any cases of rape.
[58] In a press release by the United Nations Iraq on August 12, 2014, representatives report “atrocious accounts on the abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner.”[59] Instances of sexual violence appear to be increasing, with some estimates totaling 1,500 Yazidi and Christian captives forced into sexual slavery.
[59] Amnesty International infers that IS has “launched a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Iraq,” where “many of those held by IS have been threatened with rape or sexual assault or pressured to convert to Islam.
Yazidi girls in Iraq allegedly raped by IS fighters have committed suicide by jumping to their death from Mount Sinjar, as described in a witness statement.
[61] The sexual violence experienced by victims of the Islamic State, varying on the frequency and severity, include both physical and psychological impacts that alter the quality of life of these individuals.
[7][65] The Guardian reported on September 29, 2014, that IS extended its recruitment efforts to Western females, asking them to join the movement in order to bear children for the new caliphate.
"[67] In December 2014 the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights announced that the Islamic State had killed over 150 women and girls in Fallujah who refused to participate in sexual jihad.
[68] Shortly after the death of US hostage Kayla Mueller was confirmed on 10 February 2015,[69][70][71][72] several media outlets reported that the US intelligence community believed she may have been given as a wife to an IS fighter.
