In a distressing turn of events, Iranian security forces are accused of using sexual violence as a tool of torture during nationwide protests. Last year’s protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, saw protesters as young as 12 facing enduring physical and psychological trauma, according to a damning report by Amnesty International.
Based on the accounts of 12 women, 26 men, one girl, and six boys who survived sexual violence, the report exposes the grim reality. Shockingly, six rape survivors recount being subjected to gang rapes by up to 10 male state agents.
The unrest began after Amini’s death in custody in September 2022, allegedly due to breaking the country’s strict dress code. Security officials have since arrested over 19,000 people, resulting in the death of at least 500 protesters, including children. Human rights groups document torture and sexual abuse against the detained.
Victims disclosed being sexually assaulted during arrest, in police vehicles en route to detention, and while in custody. The report details horrifying accounts, including two men raped with batons or glass bottles.
In February 2023, a young Iranian woman shared her traumatic experience with The Guardian. Blindfolded, stripped, and penetrated with an object, she later received treatment for a vaginal infection, suspecting a glass bottle as the instrument of assault.
The perpetrators, as revealed by the report, include agents from the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the volunteer paramilitary Basij force, and the Ministry of Intelligence. Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, decried the use of sexual violence as a primary tool in Iran’s repression.
Mahdi Yaghoubi, arrested during the November 2022 protests, revealed how security forces sexually assaulted him. The aim was not embarrassment or rape but a method of painful torture to extract confessions and inflict suffering.
Yaghoubi managed to escape Iran with his sister, Mina, both subjected to violent torture in detention. Some Iranian protesters in Turkey secretly received therapy for trauma caused by sexual violence.
A survivor in Iran shared, “I still see flashes of security agents violently touching my breasts, intending to hurt me. Though not bruised anymore, I feel physically ill recalling the incident.” The revelations underscore a disturbing pattern of abuse that demands global attention.
