The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, denounced on Tuesday rapes and attacks against Syrian women, after the devastating earthquakes in the country and in neighboring Turkey.
Speaking at a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, Pedersen said Syrian women have been at the forefront of relief efforts for their fellow citizens on the front lines, but on the other On the other hand, they were also more exposed to situations of vulnerability that led to rape and sexual assault.
“In moments of true vulnerability, I have heard reports of women being raped, beaten and harassed. Women who need postpartum care do not receive the necessary care or appropriate places to shelter. Girls and boys are especially vulnerable during these events. Distressing and confusing, (…) when adults are busy elsewhere and many schools are closed or without conditions,” Pedersen denounced.
According to the UN, at least 50,000 people died in the quakes in both countries, including some 6,000 people in Syria, mainly in the northwest, and tens of thousands remain missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The earthquakes, according to Pedersen, occurred when the needs of the Syrian people “were greatest, when services were scarcest, when the economy was at its lowest and when its infrastructure was already badly damaged,” hitting many areas where refugees and internally displaced persons and in areas with severe war damage.
Source: TSF
