Syria: Rare report highlights gendered discrimination in regime detention and torture system

A rare investigative report prepared by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research (SCLSR), based on the testimonies of 69 former detainees (including 36 women and 3 children) gathered between 2021 and 2024 analyses the under-documented role of gender discrimination in the Syrian government’s detention and torture system. The report reveals women and girls are frequently detained because of their involvement in the revolution or their connections to male activists. From the moment they are taken into custody, they endure sexual violence, including rape. Many are held in improvised locations outside of standard detention centers, where their specific health needs are neglected, and they suffer ongoing sexual violence and torture.

See: Legal Action Worldwide