Medical records from across the Tigray region in Ethiopia reveal that sexual violence continues to be used systematically by Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers, despite a peace agreement signed in November last year. A new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa documents hundreds of cases of rape, gang-rape, sexual slavery and murder, including the killing of children, from November 2020 through June 2023.
The report reviewed 304 medical records of conflict-related sexual violence from health facilities across Tigray. Of these, 128 showed rape occurring after the agreement to halt hostilities. Survivors ranged in age from eight to 69, with 76% of cases involving gang-rapes. Ten accounts described people held captive and raped by multiple perpetrators. In almost all cases (96%), perpetrators belonged to military and paramilitary groups.
Lindsey Green, a report author and PHR senior programme officer, said the records painted a picture of 'horrifying' experiences. 'The sexual violence we have documented is brutal and used as a way to intimidate and terrorise communities,' she said. The Guardian spoke to women independently, including Selamawit, 22, who was gang-raped by Eritrean soldiers in February, and Harnet, 19, raped by Amhara militia in December 2022.
The report lists severe health complications among survivors, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, incontinence, uterine bleeding and chronic pelvic pain. In multiple cases, rape resulted in pregnancy or HIV infection. A nurse at a hospital in northern Tigray said: 'There is a lack of medicine and a shortage of facilities to treat the physical and mental health complications of the survivors. New cases are still being reported.'
The findings, which represent only a small portion of all cases, corroborate reports by the UN and human rights organisations. The two-year conflict, which began in November 2020, is estimated to have killed 600,000 people.
