ISIS & militia members are raping gay men & transgender women because they're "soft" [View all]

[Behind the Aegis]

A shocking new report from Human Rights Watch describes sexual violence against gay and bi men and transgender women in Syria since the Syrian civil war started in 2011.

The report says that “gay and bisexual men and transgender women are subject to increased and intensified violence based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity” and that the violence included “rape, sexual harassment, genital violence (beating, electric shock and burning of genitals).”

The report – which was based on interview with GBT Syrians who had escaped to Lebanon or Europe, as well as with humanitarian organizations working in Lebanon – said that GBT people are “especially vulnerable to sexual violence during conflict” between multiple factions, including the government, militias, and ISIS.

The people HRW interviewed said that they were targeted because of their perceived “softness,” meaning that stereotypically gay and feminine mannerisms would get them stopped at checkpoints and subject to abuse.

“At checkpoints, they generally stop people who are dressed differently or people who take care of their appearances… people dress in Syria, somehow in a conservative way. So, wearing tight pants, wearing lots of perfume or fixing the hair — these are practices only for gay and trans people,” said “Walid,” a 26-year-old gay man, adding that police “also look at gestures. The way we sit and move our hands, body language. They target gay and trans people.”

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