More than two years after the October 7th attacks in Israel, questions remain over allegations of mass rape as part of those attacks. Even the United Nations itself has offered conflicting reports, indicating that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe such assaults took place, but also that it could not “independently verify such allegations.”
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem - who is facing calls for her removal after she tweeted that no independent investigation found rape took place on Oct. 7 - tells Mehdi why verification has been so difficult.
“[Investigators] didn’t have access to forensic evidence. They didn’t speak to any survivors of that day,” she says. “I have tried my best to speak also to either survivors of October 7th or family members… Israel does not cooperate with independent investigations.”
However, Alsalem says the pervasiveness of the ‘mass rape’ question is having a detrimental effect for Gaza. “It’s being used over and over again in order to justify the genocide against Palestinians.”
Alsalem also tells Mehdi about the “apocalyptic” atrocities she saw in Sudan, a conflict that’s been largely neglected by Western media (do check out Zeteo’s recent panel discussion on the genocide in Sudan here).
“What really struck me about Sudan is the sheer level of violence… I was very much taken aback by how widespread rape has been,” she says, adding that sexual violence is being used as “a tool of genocide” there.
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