Sexual Violence Against Women in War Should be Classified Terrorist Acts

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/sexual-violence-against-women-war-should-be-classified-terrorist-acts
..."Though news segments regularly focus on beheadings and executions, far less is said about the group’s systematic, sexualized violence against women. Last week, the United Nations reported on the abduction of thousands of women by the Islamic State. Some of these women will be used as “rewards” for soldiers, others as a way to generate income through human trafficking.

David Jacobsen of the University of South Florida told Ifill that the women most vulnerable to rape are religious minorities, like the Yazidi and Christians, whereas Sunni women are more likely to be executed as religious apostates.

The Newshour report opens with the interview of a 15 year-old Yazidi girl who was captured by the Islamic State, but managed to escape. Her stories are harrowing.

Obviously, the rape and brutalization of women is not unique to the Islamic State. It is a war tactic that has been used for millennia by men of many cultures and religious traditions. However, Manal Omar of the United States Institute of Peace says that by creating a “reward system” for sexualized violence, the Islamic State has taken the strategy to an even more brutal level."