Violence against women and girls in Gaza.....

Disagree? So you think rape is resistance? That October 7th was justified?

Is there, like, only a limited amount of rape to go round or something? Someone in Israel has used up today's regional rape ration, so the Gazan wannabe rapist will leave the women around him alone until it's his turn on the calendar. Sorry Hamas nonce, but some dude in Haifa booked today's calendar slot before yo so your kid is safe for the next week.

Disagree about what exactly?
That rape happened on October 7th?
Or about whether or not it can be called “resistance”?

@Boolabus I think you are very naïve if you assume countries like your own would not see an increase in abuse and crime if law and order deteriorated. No police to call, no justice, no protection.

Except I never claimed my own country wouldn't see an increase in abuse and crime if law and order deteriorated. I'm sure it would.

Also sure though that we wouldn't suddenly see the girls of 12 married off to grown men. Or rape victims forced to marry their rapists to avoid shame and scandal.

So the Israeli's are protecting us from that fate are they?

In accurate reporting?

Decent of them...

Where did I say that?Just out of interest how do you think a post like that progresses the conversation?

To those who are seeking to somehow blame lack of reporters, war, or even Israeli aggression for this fucking awful behavior, go check your feminist credentials.

I don't think people are blaming Israel for the increase in rape and sexual abuse, it is a stain on all societies, go visit your local women's refuge chat to the staff about how prevalent it is. What's being highlighted is how much more vulnerable women and children are to abuse in conflict zones when the scaffolding that was there to help protect them is gone. Not clear why people would argue against this or be surprised why people are frustrated with this ongoing protracted situation in Gaza.

My feminist credentials are fine thanks. They've always been about safeguarding women and children whoever the aggressor is.

Except I never claimed my own country wouldn't see an increase in abuse and crime if law and order deteriorated. I'm sure it would.
Thanks for clarifying

Also sure though that we wouldn't suddenly see the girls of 12 married off to grown men. Or rape victims forced to marry their rapists to avoid shame and scandal.
We can't know that but yes it is unlikely and it is frustrating that the decline that was happening in Gaza has reversed.

Watch Double down news video.

What really happened on October 7th.

How does that answer my question?

So you don't think this has to do with repressive political Islam? But is just a product of the war? I guess you didn't read the report I attached about the violence Palestinian women have been subjected to by their men since before this report- which was written in 2006.
Or do you absolve the men abusing these vulnerable women because of war?
You think its the fault of the war that 14 year olds are being married off? Rather than of a belief system that systematically treats women and especially girls as less than?

These women are being abused by their own men. Do you deny that?

So you don't think this has to do with repressive political Islam?
How are you coming to that conclusion from what I said

But is just a product of the war? No maybe read what I said in my post you don't seem to understand:
What's being highlighted is how much more vulnerable women and children are to abuse in conflict zones when the scaffolding that was there to help protect them is gone.
More vulnerable.

I guess you didn't read the report I attached about the violence Palestinian women have been subjected to by their men since before this report- which was written in 2006.
I did, I've read and even contributed to many reports like it.

Or do you absolve the men abusing these vulnerable women because of war
Can you point out from my post how you came to this conclusion?

You think its the fault of the war that 14 year olds are being married off?
Again point out from my post how you came to this conclusion?

These women are being abused by their own men. Do you deny that?
No, again where have I suggested this?

You seem to have a habit of assuming things about people but you view every pro Palestinian poster through a lens that they hate Jews and are racist so hardly surprising.

The Palestinians are now forced to live in tents on a very small portion of the land that is theirs by right. Tensions are high, and widowed women have become more vulnerable .

Meanwhile in Israel, whose standard of living is incomparable to those of the Palestinians also have a fairly high number of rapes. 21%. Directly within the worldwide average of 20-25%.

So that means that the UK will also fall somewhere in that figure. And guess what, most rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, and more often to minors. So it’s not like anyone can point the finger. This is a totally baseless arguement.

It's very refreshing to see posters demonstrate concern for the welfare of Palestinian women for a change

Ok, my apologies, I thought you were saying you don't believe political Islam to be the problem, it seems I got the wrong end of the stick.

A change? People express concern for Palestinian women all the time. There is one rape denialist on this thread and it's not Palestinian women whose suffering they're minimising.

It's not the only problem though is it? I work with many women whose abusers have nothing to do with political Islam... .

It's not the only problem.

But in deeply conservative religious societies it's often a very major one. Goes for most religions as I'm sure I don't need to tell you... I detest the way religions are specifically structured to empower male abuse of women and girls.

Regardless of our opinions of this conflict I hope we can all agree on that at least.

Yes I can point the finger at paedophiles marrying girls as young as 12.

Tensions are high does not excuse or explain it.

Would be nice if people checked facts.

Legal Age of Marriage

• Official limits: The standard minimum legal age of consent for marriage in the West Bank is 15 for girls, and in the Gaza Strip, it is 17. 1]
• Judicial exceptions: Sharia and family courts have historically permitted judges or court officials to grant special approval for marriages involving younger minors under specific circumstances (with documented cases of approval for individuals down to roughly 14 years and seven months). 1]

Although data collection to establish actual figures remains tricky, in the second quarter of this year, the UNFPA says the number of reported cases of early and forced marriage had increased by 123% on the first quarter. Early or child marriage involved girls aged 12 to 17.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c94gm7dp40y0o

Yes I'd already highlighted the increase to you earlier in the thread and how depressing it is to see progress reversed.

Before the Conflict: Child marriage rates had been dropping across the Palestinian territories. Data showed a decline from roughly 26–28% in 2009 down to about 11–18% by 2022.
The ongoing conflict has reversed prior progress. United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), report a steep rise in child marriages and adolescent pregnancies.

Spain only raised the legal age of marriage from 14 to 16 in 2009. You can have sex at 14 in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Portugal. But hey, lets keep on beating war torn Gaza.

Early or child marriage involved girls aged 12 to 17.

Why shouldn't sexual exploitation of children be highlighted on a thread about violence against women and girls in Gaza?

I said this before and I’ll say it again, the level of sexual violence inflicted on Israeli women by Hamas and Gazan civilian men should have given people a clue what kind of lives Gazan women lead.

The report was shocking, a Palestinian on twitter highlighted the plight of a woman called rosy who’s not allowed to pitch a tent without harrasment because she doesn’t wear a hijab.

Domestic violence was at 30% of married women in Gaza before the war, child marriage was also not uncommon before the war. It’s awful, rape victims being married off to their rapists, horrendous.

Honour culture is foul, it always involves treating women like mere things. The report makes for stark reading. It’s not just men, if we were in a war situation I doubt my husband would start beating me, rape me infront of my child or exchange our child for a sack of flour. The idea that all men would behave like this given half the chance is wrong I think, it’s because theres a level of tolerance towards it all. I come from a quasi honour culture myself (dominant culture is honour, sub culture is dignity, it’s complicated).

The mistake many westerners make is that they think of everyone as having the same fundamental core values as themselves so they believe when people do this shit it’s sheer desperation because they couldn’t imagine doing it themselves (see western reaction to afghans selling their 6yr olds - poor dad etc etc) no it’s because females are disposable. For so many people around the world a woman or a girl is something they can trade, not a human being.

None of this negates the genuine horrors Gazans are living through but fuck every single man who harms a woman just because he can, every single one of them.I would remind people that child malnutrition is worse in many mena countries than Gaza including syria and iraq. Theres no fucking excuse. The problem is cultural, there was a poor woman who’s daughter was turned away from an UNWRA school because she didn’t make her wear a hijab, it was fucking ridiculous with everything else going on.

Too many progressives project onto arab culture absolute nonsense. Being disgusted by this doesn’t contradict the belief that eventually Palestinians need their own state. I expect that state to be as much as a dumpster fire of womens rights as many other arab states but you can hold both truths at once, the culture is awful for women and still people need dignity and self determination.