New report: Girls, women captured by ISIS, commit suicide to escape torture, sexual violence
Women and girls captured by Islamic State militants in Iraq are committing suicide to avoid sexual violence and slavery, according to a report from Amnesty International. Many have been forced into marriage, sold as slaves or given as “gifts” to Islamic State fighters and their supporters throughout Mosul and Raqqa, Syria.
Among those who committed suicide was 19-year-old Jilan, whose friend Luna, who escaped, told Amnesty: “One day we were given clothes that looked like dance costumes and were told to bathe and wear those clothes. Jilan killed herself in the bathroom. She cut her wrists and hanged herself. She was very beautiful; I think she knew she was going to be taken away by a man and that is why she killed herself.”
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau linked to ISIS? photo/Islamic State flag
Amnesty International interviewed 42 women and girls who have escaped from Islamic State captivity for its report, called, “Escape from Hell.” It chronicles the rape and sexual slavery, escapes and suicides since the Islamic State’s siege in June.
When militants marched through Iraq and Syria over the summer, hundreds were killed in raids. Thousands were forced from their homes, retreating up Mount Sinjar
Many died there from thirst and starvation. Since then, militants have segregated their hospitals and schools, dictated what the Yazidis can wear and told them what they have to believe.
The majority of these perpetrators are Iraqi and Syrian men, according to the report. Most are fighters. Some are said to be supporters.
Under Islamic State control in northern Syria, at least eight woman have been stoned to death for alleged adultery. In northern Iraq, at least 10 have been killed for opposing extremists.
The report says IS has singled out the Yazidi minority for particularly brutal treatment. Up to 300 of the thousands abducted have managed to escape to tell their stories.
