New Report: “It is a Forever Stigma” – The Role of Gender Discrimination in the Syrian Government’s Detention and Torture System

Research Report

“It is a Forever Stigma”

The Role of Gender Discrimination in the Syrian Government’s Detention and Torture System

Gender discrimination is a pervasive force in the Syrian government’s detention and torture system, yet too little has been written about the way in which the government has harnessed such discrimination to further its aims. 

“I think they raped me because I was stubborn and proud of myself. They decided to make me shameful and embarrassed. Rape for a man means that you will have a stigma all of your life. Imagine you are talking to others, and you tell them you are raped. Especially in our communities. The majority of the people in our communities would think, ‘He should bury himself. It’s shameful how some military members could just fuck him.’ It is a forever stigma. They did it in order to put an end to my aggression.” 

Since the start of the uprising and the outbreak of armed conflict more than 13 years ago, the government of the Syrian Arab Republic has terrorised its opponents with arbitrary detention and torture on an industrial scale. 

Approximately 155,604 individuals arrested since March 2011 remain detained as of mid-2023. Detainees endure extreme torture and inhumane conditions, including widespread sexual and gender-based violence.  

Over 17,000 Syrians have died in detention since the conflict began. 

While people of all genders are victims of torture, gender discrimination deeply influences their treatment. Understanding this role of gender discrimination helps systematically analyze and indict the Syrian government’s actions. 

“This report explains the role of gender discrimination in the Syrian government’s detention and torture system by recreating the detention experience through the words of 69 former detainees.” 

Prepared by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research (SCLSR), this report is based on the testimonies of 69 former detainees (33 males, 36 females, including 3 children) who spent a combined total of over 41 years in detention. The investigation team conducted interviews between March 2021 and January 2024, providing support services to survivors who requested them. 

“Men and boys are targeted for arrest and detention by the Syrian government based on their gender.” 

Men and Boys: 

• Often targeted for arrest due to their perceived roles as opposition members. 
• Subjected to immediate violence during arrest, transport, and detention. 
• Experience sexual violence, including rape, as a method to humiliate and dominate. 
• Detention conditions include severe overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and prolonged torturous treatment. 

“Women and girls were arrested by security forces because they participated in the revolution themselves, or because they were associated with men who participated in the revolution.” 

Women and Girls: 

• Arrested for their participation in the revolution or associations with male participants. 
• Experience sexual violence, including rape, from the moment of entry into detention. 
• Often held in makeshift locations outside conventional detention centers. 
• Detention conditions disregard specific health needs and are marked by sexual violence and torture. 

“Detainees of all genders are held in broadly similar conditions that, in themselves, amount to a form of torture.” 

Common Conditions: 

• All detainees face severe overcrowding, lack of hygiene, disease, infestation, and starvation. 
• Sexual violence is widespread: 78% of men and 80% of women report being victims, with 40% of women and 12% of men reporting rape. 
• Male detainees face prolonged forced nudity and sexualized torture. 

“As the work of holding the Syrian government to account progresses, it is incumbent on judges, prosecutors, and practitioners at all levels to surface the gendered nature and impact of violations committed during the conflict.” 

Recreating the reality of arbitrary detention and torture in Syria through the words of former detainees reveals the centrality of gender in the detention experience. An analysis of gender is essential to understanding the government’s purposes and exposes some of the main objectives that the government has been pursuing for the past 13-and-a-half years.

As the work of holding the Syrian government to account progresses, it is incumbent on judges, prosecutors, and practitioners at all levels to surface the gendered nature and impact of violations committed during the conflict. Such an approach is necessary to provide a broad spectrum of victims and survivors with recognition of the harms they have suffered, as well as to ensure that the fundamental aims of justice and accountability in a rules-based international order are achieved. In Syria, as elsewhere, the fight against impunity must be inclusive to be effective.