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ERITREA: SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY 
SUPPLEMENTAL LIST OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS 
 
I.  Government Resources 
 
1. U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Eritrea (2008), 
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 25, 2009, 
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/af/119000.htm. 
 
According to the most recent report from the Department of State on human rights 
practices in Eritrea, ―the government's human rights record remained poor, and 
authorities continued to commit numerous, serious abuses, including: abridgement of 
citizens' right to change their government through a democratic process; unlawful killings 
by security forces; torture and beating of prisoners, sometimes resulting in death; abuse 
and torture of national service evaders, some of whom reportedly died of their injuries 
while in detention; harsh and life threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention, including of national service evaders and their family members; executive 
interference in the judiciary and the use of a special court system to limit due process; 
and infringement on privacy rights, including roundups of young men and women for 
national service and the arrest and detention of the family members of service evaders.‖  
The report further states that ―female genital mutilation (FGM) was widespread, and 
there was societal abuse and discrimination against women . . .‖ 
 
The report raises concerns about the use of excessive force against individuals who 
attempt to resist or avoid mandatory national service.  According to the report, ―the 
government continued to authorize the use of lethal force against individuals resisting or 
attempting to flee during military searches for deserters and draft evaders.‖  There were 
numerous claims during the year that individuals were ―severely beaten and killed during 
roundups of young men and women for national service,‖ and ―[s]everal persons detained 
for evading national service died after harsh treatment by security forces.‖  Additionally, 
―there were reports of summary executions and of individuals shot on sight near the 
Djibouti border, allegedly for attempting to flee military service.‖  These reports were 
supported by subsequent interviews with Eritrean soldiers who deserted successfully. 
 
The report also claims that ―Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers who were repatriated 
from other countries during the year reportedly disappeared.‖  For example, ―[i]n June 
the government of Egypt repatriated several hundred Eritrean refugees and asylum 
seekers, all of whom were returned to their families, according to the government. 
Nevertheless, there were numerous reports from family members of missing individuals, 
mostly young men and women who had not completed national service.‖ 
 
The report also raises concerns regarding the treatment of prisoners who are not killed 
immediately.  Although torture is illegal in Eritrea, ―there were numerous reports that 
security forces resorted to torture and beatings of prisoners.‖  The report claims that 
security forces ―severely mistreated and beat army deserters [and] draft evaders‖ and that 
there were ―credible reports‖ that several individuals died from such abuses as 

2 
 
―prolonged sun exposure in temperatures of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and the binding 
of hands, elbows, and feet for extended periods.‖  According to the report, ―[n]o known 
action was taken during the year to punish perpetrators of torture and abuse.‖ 
 
The report claims that ―[t]here were credible reports that detention center conditions for 
persons temporarily held for evading military service were also harsh and life-
threatening.‖ According to the report, ―[d]raft evaders were reportedly sent to the Wi'a 
military camp, where typically they were beaten‖ and held, sometimes for as long as two 
years, in unsanitary and abusive conditions. 
 
Regarding sexual abuse and harassment, the report states that, although rape is illegal, 
―[a]uthorities often responded to reports of rape by encouraging the perpetrator to marry 
the victim.‖  Similarly, even though sexual harassment is also illegal, ―cultural norms 
prevented women from reporting these types of incidents, and no one was charged or 
prosecuted for sexual harassment.‖  The report also describes violence against women as 
―pervasive‖ and, like sexual abuse and harassment, the report claims that cases of 
domestic violence are rarely tried and that ―there were no legal penalties enshrined into 
law.‖  According to the report, many women were prevented from bringing claims of 
violence by societal pressures, and these same pressures, along with a ―lack of trained 
personnel‖ and ―inadequate funding‖ prevented authorities from responding to the issue 
of domestic violence. 
 
Regarding women soldiers, ―[Eritrean] law requires that women from 18 to 47 years of 
age participate in national service.‖  The report claims that ―the government continued 
efforts to detain female draft evaders and deserters‖ and that ―some women drafted for 
national service were subject to sexual harassment and abuse.‖ 
 
Many of these concerns have been raised in every report issued by the Department of 
State regarding human rights practices in Eritrea.  Specifically, every report since 2002 
refers to ―reports that women drafted to the national service were subjected to sexual 
harassment and abuse.‖  The reports suggest that the government of Eritrea has been 
unable or unwilling to address these issues for at least seven years1. 
 
 
2.  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for 
Assessing the International Protection Needs of Asylum-Seekers from Eritrea, (April 
2009), available at 
http://www.unhcr.se/Pdf/Positionpaper_2009/Guidelines_Eritrea_April_09.pdf. 
 
This report from the UNHCR ident ifies potential social groups among  Eritrean asylum 
seekers, including women who avoid military service out of fear of sexual abuse.  It 
states that ―a pattern of sexual viole nce against female conscripts exists within the 
military. Some female conscripts are reportedly subjected to sexual harassment and 
                                                 
1 Additional Country Reports on Human Rights for Eritrea from 2002 through 2007 are available via the U.S. Dept. 
of State‘s website at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/.  Electronic copies of these reports are included with this 
report as supplemental documents Gov4 – Gov9; however, this list only cites the most recent (2008) report.  

3 
 
violence, including rape. There have been reports of female conscripts coerced into 
having sex with commanders, including thr ough threats of heavy military duties, harsh 
postings, and denial of home leave. Refusal to submit to sexual exploitation and abuse is 
allegedly punished by detention, torture and ill -treatment, including exposure to extreme 
heat and limitation of food rations. No effective mechanism for redress or protection exits 
within or outside the military, and perpetrators generally go unpunished. Women, who 
become pregnant as a result, are decommissioned and are likely to experience social 
ostracism from their famil ies and communities as unmarried mothers, and may resort to 
committing suicide to escape the cycle of abuse.  In light of the pervasive gender -based 
violence within the military and its serious consequences, women draft evaders/deserters 
may be at risk of persecution as a particular social group.‖ 
 
It also states that the ―[f]amily members and relatives of draft evaders and deserters may 
also be at risk of persecution due to the practice of substitute service and/or punitive fines 
and imprisonment, and coul d be considered, in this respect, as a particular social group. 
Since 2005, the Government has instituted measures to address the widespread evasion of 
and desertion from military service, including: arrest of family members, mostly parents, 
of children wh o have not reported to the military training camp at Sawa for their final 
year of high school or have not reported for national service; imposition of fines on 
families of draft evaders; forced conscription of family members, particularly the father, 
of the draft evader; and withdrawal of trade licenses and closure of businesses held by 
members of the nuclear family of a deserter/draft evader.‖ 
 
The UNHCR report also indicates that the Eritrean government ―reportedly do[es] not 
grant exit visas to those of military age. Among those routinely denied exit visas are men 
up to the age of 54, regardless of whether they have completed national service, and 
women under the age of 47, as well as students wanting to study abroad. Individuals of, 
or approaching, draft age, who leave Eritrea illegally, will be at risk of persecution as a 
(perceived) deserter or draft evader upon return to Eritrea. This is equally true for those 
who have completed active national service or have been demobilized, given that all 
persons of draft age are subject to national service and, as such, are liable to be recalled.‖ 
 
 
3.   UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Concluding 
Comments: Eritrea, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/ERI/CO/3 (February 3, 2006), available at 
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,CONCOBSERVATIONS,,ERI,44118344c1,0.html 
 
In its comments regarding Eritrea‘s progress in implementing the provisions of the 
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the Committee 
expresses concern ―about the absence of policies and programmes, including legislation, 
to address violence against women including marital rape. The Committee also expresses 
its concern about the lack of information and statistics on violence against women in the 
report.‖   
 
The Committee also finds it necessary to request that the government of Eritrea ―ensure 
that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of 

4 
 
redress and protection and that perpetrators are prosecuted and adequately punished.‖  
This request suggests that Eritrea lacks the proper legislation or social mechanisms to 
adequately protect victims of sexual violence.  Additionally, the Committee ―requests 
[the government of Eritrea] to address the issue of rapists‘ avoiding prosecution through 
subsequent marriage to their victims.‖ 
 
 
II.  Legal Resources 
 
1. Cecilia M. Bailliet, Examining Sexual Violence in the Military Within the Context of 
Eritrean Asylum Claims Presented in Norway, International Journal of Refugee Law, 
September 24, 2007, http://ijrl.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/eem052v1. 
 
This article states that ―[r]ape and sexual violence have been recognized as a form of 
persecution by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 
Prosecutor v. Kvocka, as well as within the Rome Statute Establishing the International 
Criminal Court. . . . As of 2005, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration 
(Utlendingsdirektoratet, hereinafter UDI or Immigration Directorate) and the Norwegian 
Board of Immigration Appeals (Utlendingsnemnda, hereinafter UNE or Immigration 
Appeals Board) had determined a series of cases involving asylum claims from the 
Eritrean military citing fear of rape, and/or other forms of inhuman treatment or torture, 
as grounds for desertion or draft evasion. Although the Eritrean government presents its 
inclusion of women in the military as demonstrating egalitarian principles, the asylum 
cases paint a different picture. This is one in which the social constructs of the role of 
women remain traditional and permit sexual violence.‖ 
 
The study finds that ―Eritrean female asylum seekers in Norway attested to the rape of 
other women besides themselves, signalling the possibility of a systematic practice. They 
claimed abuses including detention (short and long term), beatings, forced abortions (and 
attempted abortions), forced heavy labour, forced ingestion of drugs, death threats, 
degrading treatment, continuous sexual violence and rape, as well as possible forced 
pregnancy and sexual enslavement.  They also alleged that some women suffered sexual 
abuse by military leaders beyond the one they served directly. Refusal to submit to sexual 
abuse was punished by detention, torture, humiliation and illtreatment: including 
underground detention, binding of hands and feet and placement in stress positions, 
suspension from trees, limitation of food rations, exposure to extreme heat and insects, 
shaving of the head, etc. Furthermore, similar to the ICTY Kunarac case, they described 
being forced to perform domestic duties, including washing clothes, cooking, and 
preparing coffee, in addition to continuous sexual violation, thereby signalling a possible 
case of enslavement. Given the exclusive nature of the sexual slavery (pseudo-familial 
form), it may be more properly characterized as forced marriage.  Some applicants feared 
forced marriage to third persons as a result of the rapes (in order to obscure the stigma of 
rape), forced marriage to the very commanders who abused them, or the inability to 
marry at all due to the trauma and stigma of being a victim of sexual violence. Applicants 
alleged that other women selected suicide as a mode of escape from the sexual violence.‖ 
 

5 
 
The report finds the inadequacy of Eritrea‘s governmental response to be an important 
factor in considering the asylum status of refugees.  ―Cases involving sexual violence 
within the military often contain testimonies which characterize the failure of the State to 
provide protection as a second violation of equal impact. For the refugee status 
determination, evaluation of the State‘s implementation of a prevention and response 
framework is the central aspect of the protection analysis.‖ 
 
As an analogical argument supporting Eritrean women who desert the military based on 
fear of sexual abuse, the article states that ―[i] comparison, UNHCR has provided 
guidance to immigration authorities in cases involving draft evaders and deserters from 
countries formerly under the Soviet Union who feared being subjected to ‗dedovshchina‘. 
It stated that ill-treatment and torture, including violent hazing and bullying, would 
violate the individual‘s right to freedom from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or 
punishment and threaten his right to life, liberty and security of person. Such treatment 
would amount to serious harm constituting persecution.‖ 
 
The author further states that ―UNHCR recognizes that ‗sex can be included within a 
social group‘, noting that ‗women‘ are defined by innate, immutable characteristics, who 
are subject to different treatment and standards by society. In spite of Eritrean 
declarations noting commitment to equality between the sexes, it appears that enjoyment 
of such equality in practice is constrained both in traditional social segments and within 
the military itself. In terms of linking women soldiers seeking asylum to a protection 
category, a particular social group is applicable, such as ‗women‘, ‗women conscripts‘, 
‗women draft evaders or deserters‘, or ‗Eritrean women opposed to male domination 
within the Army‘, identifying their common immutable characteristics of gender, the 
requirement to participate in the military, the act of having avoided compulsory service, 
or opposition to inequality of power between the sexes in the military. Such 
characteristics are also externally identifiable by the society and form a factor in their risk 
of persecution. Following Daly and Kelley‘s human rights analysis, Eritrean women may 
be deemed to oppose conscription due to their wish to enjoy security of the person, the 
right not to associate with military commanders who will exploit them, the right not to be 
held in sex servitude, and the right to an effective remedy.  Hence, the desertion is 
evidence of an effort by the social group of Eritrean female conscripts to enjoy these 
fundamental rights and they should not be required to forsake them.‖ 
 
In addition to classifying Eritrea women as a social group, the article notes that ―[s]everal 
women alleged additional grounds for fear of rape, ill treatment, or torture due to their 
identities: race (ethnic group), nationality (some had mixed Ethiopian background), or 
religion (Muslim or Christian).  One woman additionally claimed that the military leaders 
would choose those they found beautiful to serve them. As noted by Kelly Askin, 
‗Gender very often overlaps with ethnicity, religion, race and other factors (such as age, 
attractiveness, vulnerability and virginity) in causing women and girls to be selected or 
targeted for sexual violence and each basis for the persecution should be highlighted.‘‖ 
 
Bailliet also notes that the reasoning behind the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration‘s 
decisions not to grant asylum to women claiming sexual abuse seems to be more stringent 

6 
 
than the 1951 Convention requires.  ―The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration 
admitted instances of sexual violence in the military, but contrary to the Eritrean 
Ethiopian Claims Commission‘s willingness to accept the validity of a prima facie case 
in specific circumstances with a risk of opportunistic sexual violence, the immigration 
authorities considered the testimonies of the women and country reports addressing 
sexual violence in the military to be insufficient, instead referring to a need for 
‗widespread occurrence or other (undefined) conditions‘ in order to be considered as 
persecution. The reasoning appears more in keeping with an assessment for establishing 
crime against humanity, rather than persecution under the 1951 Convention on the Status 
of Refugees. There is no requirement that acts be widespread to be considered as 
persecution, although the testimonies of the applicants and country reports could be seen 
as constituting precisely such evidence they were not utilized as such.‖ 
 
The article concludes that ―[w]omen conscripts in Eritrea are at risk of persecution in the 
form of rape or sexual violence simply because they are women, as well as due to their 
race, nationality, political opinion, or religion. Given the severe nature of the violations, it 
is suggested that access to protection in the form of asylum, as opposed to humanitarian 
protection or protection on compassionate grounds is merited . . . The Eritrean case study 
highlights the importance of reassessing how refugee status determination functions with 
respect to cases involving sexual violence. This requires restructuring of the protection 
evaluation format. The focus of the protection analysis should be an assessment of 
whether the state of origin has fulfilled prevention and protection duties regarding sexual 
violence within its military.‖   
 
In recognition of the specific circumstances facing women in the Eritrean military, 
Norway changed how it handles these applicants. ―In 2006, the Norwegian Immigration 
Directorate suspended return of Eritrean asylum seekers in light of the deterioration of 
the situation of human rights. The Directorate indicated a shift towards a grant of asylum, 
although the Appeals Board continues to primarily grant humanitarian protection. In 
2007, the Norwegian Government proposed a new Aliens Law which calls for 
recognition of sexual violence and acts of a gender specific nature as persecution, and 
announced that new gender guidelines will be created.‖ 
 
  
2.  VSAI v. Minister for Immigration & Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs, [2004] FCA 
1602, available at www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48abd57d0.html.  
 
In this case, the Federal Court of Australia held that an immigration Tribunal had made 
an error when in it applied a test erroneously and determined that ―incidence of rape and 
sexual abuse by military officers of female draftees did not occur on a sufficient scale to 
constitute persecution.‖  The petition, in which the facts of sexual abuse in the Eritrean 
military were established, was allowed to be appealed.  
 
In its analysis, the court stated that ―[t]he applicant claimed that she would face a real 
chance of persecution if forced to undertake military service on return to Eritrea by 

7 
 
reason of being a woman. This claim was made and considered separately from her 
claims to fear persecution based on draft evasion.‖   
  
The applicant provided evidence that ―women who undertake military service are raped 
and abused sexually and left with children to cope with. She stated any woman with such 
a child will be shunned by her own family. She stated she had witnessed many cases of 
young girls returning home after becoming pregnant while in military training camps. 
She also stated it was widely known amongst the community that the girls had been 
subjected to sexual abuse by the officials at the training camp.‖ Furthermore, ―a witness 
who visited Eritrea the previous year also gave evidence before the Tribunal. She gave 
evidence that on that occasion she had spoken with women who had become pregnant in 
Sawa (the military training camp to which the applicant would be assigned). She stated 
that the women to whom she spoke were unwilling to talk of their experiences apart from 
referring to the power and position of the officials at the camp.‖ 
 
The court also indicated that during the Tribunal hearing, ―the applicant also relied on an 
article published in ‗The Age‘ newspaper on 12 May 2002 by Xavier La Canna entitled 
‗When rape is a requirement of military service.‘ That article noted that Sawa is 315 
kilometres North-West of Eritrea‘s capital, Asmara. It purported to report commentary 
from the former Eritrean ambassador to Sweden, Hebret Berhe, and United Nations staff, 
all of whom were said to be aware of rape in military camps and the fact that it was not 
isolated but was in the words of the former Swedish ambassador ‗wholesale‘. The article 
also purported to quote a former Eritrean diplomat who had been granted asylum in 
Australia as follows: 
 
―Always beautiful girls are the target of officers . . . They (the women) are 
always pressured by punishment, and given privileges if they agree [to 
sexual relations].‖ 
 
The court indicates that the Tribunal heard evidence ―that the Eritrean ambassador to 
Australia said the article contained false information. The Tribunal noted that there was a 
rebuttal of the article by the Eritrean Embassy on 12 December 2002 and that The Age 
had subsequently withdrawn the article from its website ‗for bias‘. There is no evidence 
before this Court as to what facts are covered by the Tribunal‘s reference to bias. The 
Tribunal did not indicate whether it gave no, or any, weight to this article.‖ 
 
The Tribunal ―accepted the applicant was a member of a ‗particular social group‘ as that 
phrase is used in Art 1A(2) of the Convention. In this case, the particular social group 
was female draftees identifiable by two characteristics common to the group, namely 
being female and liable to the draft. Those two common attributes were independent of 
any shared fear of persecution and distinguished the group from society at large. On the 
evidence, it was possible to treat female draftees as a social group by reference to the 
legal, social and cultural norms prevalent in Eritrean society. The Tribunal‘s analysis of 
the facts was thus correct as they fell within the principles to be applied in determining a 
‗particular social group‘ . . .‖ 
 

8 
 
The federal court held that ―[r]ape or sexual abuse by an official or a military superior 
and impregnation whilst on national service is distinguishable from rape occurring as a 
random incident of civil disturbance or unrest . . . Rape, sexual abuse and impregnation 
whilst on military service is capable of being characterised as ―serious harm‖ . . . and 
depending on the evidence, such acts are also capable of constituting ‗systematic and 
discriminatory‘ conduct  . . .  Any unwillingness by the State of Eritrea to protect young 
female draftees from rape, sexual abuse or impregnation by military superiors is relevant 
when determining whether a fear of persecution is well-founded . . .‖ 
 
In Australian immigration law, ―[t]he line of authority deals with the correct meaning of 
persecution by reference to conduct which is ‗systematic and discriminatory‘.‖  This 
standard comes from ―a decision of Wilcox J, in Periannan Murugasu v Minister for 
Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (unreported; Federal Court of Australia; 28 July 1987). 
His Honour went on to state at [95] and [99/100]: 
 
„The use of the term “systematic conduct” has proved unfortunate. 
Tribunals have read it as meaning that there can be no persecution for the 
purpose of the Convention unless there was a systematic course of conduct 
by the oppressor. That was not what I meant by using that expression in 
Chan. I used it as a synonym for non-random, and I think in Murugasu 
Wilcox J intended its use in the same way . . . 
 
It is an error to suggest that the use of the expression “systematic conduct” 
in either Murugasu or Chan was intended to require, as a matter of law, that 
an applicant had to fear organised or methodical conduct, akin to the 
atrocities committed by the Nazis in the Second World War. Selective 
harassment, which discriminates against a person for a Convention reason, 
is inherent in the notion of persecution. Unsystematic or random acts are 
non-selective. It is therefore not a prerequisite to obtaining refugee status 
that a person fears being persecuted on a number of occasions or “must 
show a series of co-ordinated acts directed at him or her which can be said 
to be not isolated but systematic.” The fear of a single act of harm done for 
a Convention reason will satisfy the Convention definition of persecution if 
it is so oppressive that the individual cannot be expected to tolerate it so 
that refusal to return to the country of the applicant‟s nationality is the 
understandable choice of that person. 
 
Given the misunderstanding that has arisen from using the term “systematic 
conduct”, it is probably better to refrain from using it in a Convention 
context. But if it is to be used, those who use it should make it clear that they 
are referring to “non-random” acts; otherwise, they run the risk of making 
a legal error.‟‖ 
 
The court found that the Tribunal had improperly applied the test and allowed the 
applicant to appeal the judgment under the proper application of the Chan test. 
 

9 
 
3.  Tolosa v. Aschroft, 384 F.3d 906, 910 – 11 (7th Cir. 2004).  
 
This case vacated and remanded a Board of Immigration Appeals‘ order upholding a 
denial of an Eritrean woman‘s asylum petition.  Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
the Seventh Circuit remanded this case for reconsideration in light of the plaintiff‘s ethnic 
identity, the court stated that ―we note that we have routinely recognized that the type of 
treatment Tolosa and her family endured–detentions, interrogations, beatings and rape—
may qualify as persecution. See Vladimirova v. Ashcroft, 377 F.3d 690, 696 (7th Cir. 
2004) (collecting cases); Bace v. Ashcroft, 352 F.3d 1133, 1138 (7th Cir. 2003).‖    
 
 
III.  Non-governmental Organization Resources 
 
1.  Human Rights Watch, Service for Life: State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in 
Eritrea (April 16, 2009), http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/04/16/service-life-0. 
 
This report details the oppressive nature of national service in Eritrea. It explains that 
―most of the able-bodied adult population is on active, indefinite, compulsory national 
service or on reserve duty,‖ for which conscripts are paid a ―token wage.‖ According the 
report, ―detention, torture, and forced labor await anyone who disagrees with the 
government, anyone who attempts to avoid military service or flee the country without 
permission.‖ The government justifies these measures, the report notes, by claiming that 
―Eritrea is a victim of international interference and that this explains the suspension of 
human rights and democratic procedures and the mass militarization of society.‖ 
 
One section of the report specifically addresses abuse of female conscripts. While 
interviews that Human Rights Watch conducted with refugees have suggested that 
women are currently conscripted less than in previous years, ―those who are recruited are 
more at risk of rights violations, rape, and sexual harassment in particular. . . . As one 
female recruit who served as a conscript for 10 years explained, ‗First you do your 
military training then they hold you forever without your rights. The military leaders can 
ask you for anything and if you refuse their demands then you can be punished. Almost 
every woman in the military experiences this kind of problem.‘‖ 
 
The woman quoted above recalls that one commander tied her in the sun for hours and 
then forced her to work without break as punishment for refusing to have sex with him. 
Other conscripts were punished by being held in metal shipping containers. ―The 
conditions were cruel, they beat you with a flex, a wire, they beat everyone, every night. 
They want to make us afraid, just enough beating not to die and not to live.‖ Although 
prisoners were held in the containers for various reasons, resistance to sexual advances 
was typical among them. ―One female soldier was held with 14 other women for 24 hours 
a day, some of whom had refused to have sexual relations with their commanding 
officers. The only time they were allowed outside was to go to the toilet, ‗They can hold 
them there as long as they want, there‘s no fixed time,‘ she said. Helen Berhane, the 
gospel singer, was held with up to 24 other women in a shipping container for part of the 
two years she spent in detention in Mai Serwa prison, in unbearable heat.‖ 

10 
 
 
 
2.  Freedom House International, Worst of the Worst: The World‟s Most Repressive Societies 
2009 (June 3, 2009), http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=383&report=81. 
 
Eritrea is listed as one of the twenty-one most repressive societies in the world, according 
to this selection of data from Freedom House‘s Annual Global Survey of Political Rights 
and Civil Liberties. The report ―seeks to focus the attention of the United Nations Human 
Rights Council on states and territories that deserve investigation and condemnation for 
their widespread violations.‖ 
 
―The judiciary has never issued rulings significantly at variance with government 
positions, and constitutional guarantees are often ignored in cases related to state security. 
Torture, arbitrary detentions, and political arrests are common. The Kunama people, one 
of Eritrea‘s nine ethnic groups, reportedly face severe discrimination. The government 
has worked to improve the status of women, codifying equal educational opportunity, 
equal pay for equal work, and penalties for domestic violence. However, traditional 
societal discrimination against women persists in the largely rural and agricultural 
country.‖ 
 
 
3. War Resisters‘ International, Eritrea: Conscientious Object and Desertion (2005), 
http://www.wri-irg.org/system/files/eritrea-en.pdf.  
 
This document compiled by War Resisters‘ International contains personal statements 
and interviews with Eritrean refugees.  These interviews cover many areas of human 
rights abuses, but the sexual abuse of female conscripts is specifically mentioned. 
 
Bisrat Habte Micael, a woman whose conscription began in 1996, said that ―[m]any girls 
were raped. There were girls who adapted themselves to the situation and made advances 
to officers out of their own initiative, to avoid being raped. There were only male 
officers. Those who didn‘t comply, who rejected the men were given the worst work or 
sent into the war. The girls who had been raped but didn‘t want to comply were sent to 
the front too. The girls who were compliant and pretty were treated well. Often they got 
pregnant involuntarily.‖   
 
Micael also said that ―my superior wanted to prevent me from [taking leave]. He wanted 
me to cook for him and to be his puppet. I refused that. So I didn‘t get any holidays, and 
was sent to the front line instead.  We were in Baka, in the area of Girmaik. Those girls 
who refused to play the housewife had to stand on guard service for 3-4 hours at night as 
a form of punishment. Those young men who wanted to help them were punished too v 
they were ordered to stand at attention in the sun for an entire day. The other girls, who 
played along with the game, were treated well. They got a good room, a nice bed, and got 
holidays every month to visit their families. But there were only very few who played 
along. Most refused. We always thought: we would do military service and then go back 
home.‖ 

11 
 
 
Ruta Yosef-Tudla, a woman who was conscripted in 2003, said that ―[e]specially for 
women the situation is difficult. Some were brought forcefully to Sawa for the basic 
training. There they were treated like slaves and also raped. Christians became pregnant 
from muslims - and vice versa. Some were disowned by their families. The women can 
hardly endure all this. So some killed themselves, others their child, and some became 
crazy.‖ 
 
A male conscript, Saed Ibrahim, also described the abuses that occurred between leaders 
and women soldiers.  ―A leader of a section can get away with keeping a young woman 
to cook for him v and not only for cooking. At the same time, at home he might be a 
father of three sons and have a wife. The women had to accede to their every wish. Some 
accepted this in order to survive. Others defended themselves.   ‗If I want to work, I could 
also do this for my family. As a female soldier I‘m doing something else.‘  These women 
gave us courage. However, after that, they were not doing very well because they were 
constantly being harassed.  A leader of just a section has the authority to enforce his will 
on women.‖ 
 
 
4. Amnesty International, „You have no right to ask‟ – Government resists scrutiny on 
human rights (May 18, 2004), 
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR64/003/2004/en. 
 
In this report, Amnesty International lists sexual violence against women conscripts as 
one of its five main concerns about national service in Eritrea. ―A former military 
detainee, conscripted from school in 1995, described to Amnesty International how he 
and a group of seven other conscripts had presented a petition to officers complaining 
about use of soldiers for officers‘ private gain. As a result, they were detained for over a 
year in Tehadesso army prison near Mendefera and tortured. He said one soldier was 
arbitrarily executed and women conscripts were also detained there and their heads 
shaved for refusing to have sex with commanders.‖ 
 
According to the report, ―There have been allegations from former conscripts of a pattern 
of sexual violence against female conscripts. Female conscripts are reported to have been 
subjected to sexual abuse including rape. Amnesty International has received reports that 
some of the new female recruits were selected by commanders for sex under duress, 
through being threatened with heavy military duties or being sent to the battle-front 
during the war or to a remote and harsh posting, or being denied home leave. In some 
cases, this may be termed rape or possibly sexual slavery because, although it may not 
have consisted of physical violence, it was coercive within a command and discipline 
system where women had little or no opportunity to resist. There was no mechanism for 
complaining to the military or civilian authorities, and when complaints were made, no 
action was known to have been taken to stop and prevent this practice, which appears to 
have been widely known. In some cases the women became pregnant and were sent home 
to their families. They were then subject to extreme social dishonour in the community as 
unmarried mothers.‖ 

12 
 
 
 
5.   Doctors Without Borders, Liberia: “Sexual violence is a stain on our society” (August 
10, 2009), http://doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=3849&cat=voice-
from%20the%20field&ref=tag-index.  
 
In this report ―from the field,‖ a Doctors Without Borders staff member shares 
experiences working with survivors of sexual violence in a post-conflict situation. The 
report states that sexual violence is ―one of the enduring consequences… of Liberia‘s 14-
year bloody civil war.‖ 
 
Because sexual abuse can have lasting psychological effects on victims, Doctors without 
Borders works with the Ministry of Health and the police force to ―provide psychosocial 
and emotional support to victims of sexual violence and their parents. She and the MSF 
social workers help survivors and their relatives overcome the stress and trauma of sexual 
abuse and build confidence to seek the assistance that is available.‖ However, the staff 
member must constantly be involved in ―advocating to the government for free access to 
medical care for all victims of sexual abuse.‖ 
 
 
6.  Physicians Committee for Human Rights, Nowhere to Turn: Failure to Support, Protect, 
and Assure Justice for Darfuri Women (May 2009), 
http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/report-2009-05-31.html.  
 
This report discusses the profound psychological trauma suffered by Darfuri women who 
have undergone repeated sexual abuse. While the report focuses on Darfuri women in 
refugee camps, the prolonged nature of the assaults and the absence of mechanisms of 
justice parallels the experiences described by Eritrean women conscripts. ―The 
cumulative emotional experience of previous attacks is now combined with the impact of 
current insecurity and ongoing fear of new assaults. Women express lack of trust in camp 
leadership, a sense of being trapped in a place that is not safe, and fear of speaking out 
lest they risk retaliation. This heavy psychological burden shows up in the high levels of 
depression and anxiety expressed in interviews and may explain their described 
deterioration in general health and constrained use of other services. The study revealed a 
general innate feeling of hopelessness in living under current camp conditions. The 
psychological consequences of such experiences are likely to have a marked, adverse 
impact on women‘s overall health and well-being, their family and social interaction, and 
potentially their capacity to work in the future if their time in Chad continues to be 
prolonged. In addition, the stigma of having been raped will likely have significant 
discriminatory effects for the women and their families and consequently exacerbate and 
prolong their psychological symptoms and disabilities in part because disclosure is so 
taboo.‖ 
 
 

13 
 
7.  Doctors Without Borders, Shattered Lives: Immediate medical care vital for sexual 
violence victims (March 5, 2009), 
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/article.cfm?id=3422&cat=special-report. 
 
According to this report, sexual violence is not only ―exacerbated in war,‖ but also 
―affects millions of people living in post-conflict or stable contexts … In stable contexts, 
sexual violence can sometimes also be an activity condoned by governments, as in cases 
of forced sterilisation, or in rape in state prisons or psychiatric institutions. In 2007, an 
MSF emergency team in DRC provided medical and psychological care to Congolese 
women deported from Angola by the Angolan military for working illegally. While being 
deported, women were systematically beaten and raped. MSF collected 100 testimonies 
reporting the abuse.‖ 
 
 
IV.  Media Resources 
 
1. Marie Vlachovà & Lea Biason (eds), Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of 
Armed Forces, Executive Summary of "Women in an Insecure World: Violence against 
Women--Facts, Figures and Analysis” (September 2005), available at 
www.dcaf.ch/women/pb_women_ex_sum.pdf. 
 
This book investigates the concept of ―gendercide‖ as an ―epidemic‖ of violence against 
women on a global scale. ―Globally, women aged between fifteen and forty-four are 
more likely to be injured or die as a result of male violence than through cancer, traffic 
accidents, malaria and war combined. For each girl and woman killed by mankind, there 
are scores who are physically or psychologically wounded, if not maimed for life: The 
World Health Organisation estimates that globally one woman in five will be the victim 
of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.‖ 
 
However, the book notes several situations in which women are particularly vulnerable to 
sexual violence and consequently more likely to suffer extreme emotional damage. One 
such situation is violence against women in custody. Although the book refers here to 
women in prisons, female conscripts in Eritrea are subject to the same denial of freedom 
as prisoners. The book notes that ―women in custody are at risk of rape, sexual assault 
and torture. Women are placed at particular risk of sexual and physical abuse when male 
staff are employed in inappropriate capacities in women‘s prisons, or when they are 
imprisoned with men. … Women who are abused or exploited by prison staff have little 
opportunity of escaping from their abuser. Those who file a complaint or take legal action 
are at risk of retaliation. Custodial violence against women is a particularly egregious 
violation of women‘s rights. Where persons are deprived of their liberty by public 
authority, the state must protect the individual from violence.‖ 
 
The book also identifies armed conflict and post-conflict situations as extremely high-risk 
for violence against women. ―During armed conflicts, women are susceptible to 
marginalisation, poverty and suffering, with existing inequalities and patterns of 
discrimination tending to be exacerbated. Whilst the impact of armed conflict on women 

14 
 
differs considerably between contexts and between individual women, it is possible to 
identify common characteristics: widespread sexual violence, the extreme burden which 
war places on women to ensure their own survival and the care of children and the 
elderly, and the challenges that war brings to women who decide to take up arms.‖ 
 
According to the book, the degree of emotional and physical trauma following such 
violence may be devastating. ―Survivors of sexual violence may experience severe, 
ongoing physical injuries. The nature of physical injury after sexual torture (such as 
cutting off breasts) is an ever present, horrific reminder of the rape. Some of the most 
frequent psychological symptoms are anxiety, sleep disorders, nightmares, apathy, loss of 
self-confidence, depression and, in more severe cases, psychosis. Self-loathing and 
suicide are not uncommon responses.‖ 
 
The book goes on to explain that ―for the survivor of sexual violence in a post-conflict 
situation, there a pervading misconception is that their situation is ‗post-traumatic‘. In 
fact, many of the traumatic circumstances that are experienced at the time of rape 
continue for months and often years after the assault. Post-conflict, chronic malfunction 
of state institutions and unremitting hardship for and displacement of the population often 
continues. Women remain the sole providers, family members remain missing, and 
medical facilities are little improved. Surrounded by such an array of shattering 
experiences, it is difficult to isolate the particular effects that ‗belong‘ to the rape 
experience. The consequences of rape are inextricably linked to the consequences of a 
number of war and post-war experiences.‖ 
 
Also at issue in post-conflict situations is the failure of security sector institutions such as 
the police. ―There are commonly gaps in penal law, inefficient procedures for filing and 
pursuing complaints, and a lack of medical facilities to provide medical examinations and 
treatment. Post-conflict governments often have little interest in investigating and 
punishing perpetrators of violence against women. They may grant amnesties to groups 
that have perpetrated violence, in an attempt to secure peace. The international 
community tends to be reluctant to exert pressure on national governments to investigate 
and punish violence against women, either because such matters are seen as linked to 
peace processes, or not acknowledged as of international concern.‖ 
 
 
2.       Alex Last, Eritrea cracks down on draft dodgers BBC, July 18, 2002, available at 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2135860.stm. 
 
This article discusses the forceful military recruitment techniques used by the 
government.  It alludes to the ―experience of some women in the military‖ as contributing 
to community resistance to the drafting of women, particularly in Muslim communities. 
 
 
 

15 
 
3. Ian Fisher, Like Mother, Like Daughter, Eritrean Women Wage War N.Y. Times, August 
26, 1999, available at http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/26/world/like-mother-like-
daughter-eritrean-women-wage-war.html.  
 
This article, one of the few from the New York Times on the subject of the Eritrean 
military, briefly mentions sexual relations at the front during conflict.  A male soldier 
interviewed admits that sexual relations do occur between male and female soldiers, but 
suggests that they are consensual.  The reporter also notes women doing a larger share of 
camp work.  
 
 
4.  James C. McKinley, Jr., Eritrea: African Success Story Being Written N.Y. Times, April 
30, 1996, available at http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/30/world/eritrea-african-success-
story-being-written.html. 
 
This New York Times article alludes to reprisals carried out by the government against 
people who refused to fight in the Ethiopian war, and in particular Jehovah's witnesses.  
The article also discusses the limited political debate within the country about military 
issues.  The author notes reluctance even by war veterans to criticize the executive 
branch.