In the midst of the violence taking place in Syria and on its borders, it is impossible to attain a close number of the number of people who have been subject to rape or gender-based violence. A 2012 study conducted by the International Rescue Committee titled “Syrian Women and Girls: Fleeing death, facing ongoing threats and humiliation” was able to shed light on the size of the issue through the findings of focus group discussions with Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Many respondents reported accounts of sexual violence as faced by women and girls in Syria, along with other forms of violence such as torture and murder. As many homes were attacked by fighters, it was not uncommon for these crimes to take place in front of other family members. Participants said that armed men would enter homes looking to target women in specific as a mechanism to coerce the men. This also implies that children are being subjected to the sight of close family members or relatives being raped.

This vicious civil war continues to surprise onlookers with the lack of sanctity for human worth that fighters have exhibited. Participants have illustrated incidents of women being raped, killed and thrown out on the streets of villages. Teenage girls were frequently attacked, and even pregnant women have not been spared. The importance of tradition to family life further exacerbates the situation. Young survivors of rape are often married off to their cousins in order to preserve their reputation and honor. On the other hand, some women are shunned and/or subject to violence for shaming their families by being raped.

These cultural factors only make matters worse as they allow for these crimes to go by unnoticed and prevent victims from speaking up and finding medical care. Reporting rape and violence may then only subject women to more of it. Women then risk unwanted pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases without access to proper health care. Among refugees, though rape does not seem to be as pronounced, but young women and girls are being forced into marriages or sexual encounters with Lebanese and Syrian men in exchange for basic living services such as accommodation.

Apart from those who are suspect to rape and violent conditions, Syrian women in relatively peaceful circumstances are also unable to access adequate health care as the entire system has become almost non-existent in Syria. With the destruction of the country’s medical sector and the interruption of medical supply routes, contraceptives, prenatal care, and delivery services are barely available. The World Health Organization reported a rise in unsafe abortions as women find themselves with unwanted pregnancies and inadequate health care. In addition, UNFPA estimates that around 250,000 will be pregnant by the end of 2013 inside Syria and among the refugees.

The spread of gender based violence, coupled with the absence of medical care, is damaging the reproductive health of Syrian women, and causing unwanted pregnancies at a time where providing for a family is hard enough without. Humanitarian aid reaching women inside Syria and in refugee camps needs to expand on the availability of dignity kits and contraceptives. More importantly, it is of prime importance to raise awareness when possible – as among refugee settlements – to the importance of speaking up about sexual violence, as victims, and as families. This is especially important as all tools of law enforcement have waned and it is only up to citizens to fend for themselves now. Aid organizations can also look to provide medical and emotional support to victims, and extend family planning advice and tools to refugees. The less this issue is treated as a taboo, the easier it is for victims to seek help after the trauma.