In late August, the Yemeni and international community was shocked by a horrific incident of sexual abuse in which a young boy, who was visiting his brother imprisoned in a Houthi-controlled prison in al-Bayda governorate, was violated by one of the prisoners.
The child’s trauma tragically exemplifies a deeper and more pervasive issue in war-torn Yemen: sexual violence against children often hidden by “silence and shame,” according to human rights experts.
This case is painful, and although a Houthi-affiliated court quickly sentenced the perpetrator to death under pressure and public outrage in the province, it “represents only the tip of the iceberg of the broader crisis facing the country’s most vulnerable,” according to experts from the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition.
The Coalition holds that the first step in addressing cases of child sexual abuse is talking about them publicly since prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of such cases collides with social issues that make it difficult to achieve deterrence and build an integrated protection organization for children in Yemen.
Akram Al-Shawafi, head of the Rasd Foundation for Human Rights in Yemen, states that sexual violence against children is “one of the silent crimes in Yemen that is linked to the current conflict, and the parties to the conflict are blind to seeing it and offering solutions to confront it.”
“It is unfortunate that the parties to the conflict are covering up these crimes,” he said. Although sexual violence has been widely rejected in Yemen, the publicized results documented by the Rasd Foundation for Human Rights confirm the increase in such crimes and the widespread tolerance of the perpetrators.
Al-Shawafi emphasizes that child sexual abuse crimes “are no longer confined to their criminal context, and it is clear that the patterns of behavior have become closely linked to the deterioration of security associated with the conflict, coupled with a culture of impunity, and targeting victims on the basis of gender.”
Janat: A victim looking for justice
The Yemeni girl, Janat Al-Sayaghi (9 years old), was sexually assaulted by a Houthi soldier. Because her father refused all settlements, the Houthis arrested him to put pressure on the victim and protect the perpetrator.
Janat’s story began on June 20, 2024, when a Houthi soldier sexually assaulted her. The perpetrator took his victim to a room under her house by force, raped her, and then threatened to kill her if she revealed what had happened.
The assailant attempted to assault her again the following day. This time, Janat managed to escape and flee to her mother. Visibly shaken, she was rushed by her father to Al-Thawra Hospital, where medical reports confirmed signs of sexual assault. Determined to seek justice, her father promptly filed a complaint with the New Sana’a Directorate police.
Yet rather than finding swift action, Janat’s family encountered a wall of resistance. According to her father, the perpetrator and his relatives wield influence within the security apparatus, a connection that appeared to influence authorities to downgrade the incident to an “attempted assault.” This effectively stalled the investigation, leaving the family frustrated and fearing that the power dynamics may shield the assailant from accountability.
In a country where community honor and tradition often influence justice, Janat’s family soon faced societal pressure to settle the matter quietly. The assailant’s family offered financial compensation and, controversially, a proposal for Janat to marry her assailant, an approach rooted in deeply ingrained customs that prioritize family honor over victims’ rights.
Rejecting the proposal, Janat’s father turned to the media, sharing his daughter’s story with Yemeni news outlets and social media platforms to seek public support.
Janat’s story struck a chord, sparking outrage and widespread calls for justice. In solidarity, members of Janat’s father’s tribe organized a protest outside the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Sana’a, demanding that the case be transferred to the Specialized Criminal Prosecution.
Despite the public’s response, Janat’s family remains deeply concerned about the possibility that the case progress will be affected by the continued pressure from the perpetrator’s family and friends, depriving Janat of justice.
Sexual Violence Against Children: A Weapon of War
Yemen, a country torn apart by nearly a decade of war, has seen its social fabric deteriorate with children becoming the collateral victims of the conflict.
Sexual violence, once strongly condemned in Yemeni society, has “escalated amidst the chaos.” Sexual violence against children has become a “weapon of war” used by parties to the Yemeni conflict, according to a report by Rasd.
Reports from organizations including Rasd and others indicate that children of both sexes are subjected to “systematic abuse.”
Reports issued by Yemeni human rights organizations indicate that “the scale of this violence is terrifying.” They reveal that from April 2022 to December 2023, “13 cases were documented that resulted in 18 child victims, most of whom were subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault.”
The report of the Yemeni human rights organization, Rasd, documents cases of sexual assault against children, who are not explicitly named, revealing a terrifying reality in Yemen.
One 12-year-old girl was the victim of six recruits in Hodeidah, who kidnapped and held her for 12 days in August 2023, during which she was raped. The perpetrators tried to force her father to marry her off to one of them, but he refused and demanded justice. However, the victim found herself standing before the court on charges of “adultery” and was sentenced to flogging and imprisonment, while most of the perpetrators were not held accountable.
In May 2023, a child was raped by a conscript in Marib after an initial rape by a military commander in 2021.
The mother of this child victim tried to file a complaint, but she was threatened, and the child was detained with the perpetrators on charges of “sodomy,” according to the Rasd report, which stated that the victim “suffered a serious psychological disorder.”
Experts from the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition state that this violence “is not random but organized, and the perpetrators often hide behind the chaos caused by the war, protected by a culture of impunity.”
Coinciding with this reality that threatens the future of children in Yemen, Angela Sultan al-Maamari from the Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children in Yemen explains that the protection of Yemeni children is “very weak due to the lack of specialized institutions. Children do not enjoy the required services that help them overcome what they have been exposed to or prevent them from becoming victims of sexual violence.”
Because of Yemen’s lack of effective child protection and support for child victims of sexual violence, al-Maamari emphasizes the importance of the role of the family in providing psychological and moral support to the child victim.
Silence and Impunity
One of the most devastating aspects of these crimes is the “culture of silence and shame that surrounds them,” according to Coalition reports, which indicate that in Yemen’s conservative society, “fear of scandal or shame often prevents survivors from speaking up.”
“I didn’t tell my mother because I was afraid of her and I was afraid of the scandal,” one child survivor told Rasd.
This fear is “deeply rooted” in Yemeni social norms, where “victims rather than perpetrators are often blamed,” according to the Rasd report.
Survivors are often stigmatized and labeled as “deviant” and sometimes falsely accused of sexual harassment. These stigmas ensure that children and their families are left with no recourse to justice, perpetuating this violence,” the report reveals.
Destroyed Childhoods
The trauma experienced by children who suffer sexual violence is “very profound.” As documented by Rasd, children who have survived these attacks express a “loss of will to live.”
In the report, one victim noted: “My life is over; I want to die.” Human rights experts in Yemen say that “such feelings reflect the deep psychological damage [that] these crimes inflict on their young souls.”
A report by the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition states that many child survivors of sexual abuse “find themselves expelled from their homes or without a support system, leaving the streets as their only refuge.”
The report reveals that sexual abuse “not only leaves children physically injured, but also leads to social isolation and continued exposure to violence. Without proper psychological support, these children are forced to face the severe psychological burdens of their experiences, often alone.”
The psychological consequences for child victims of sexual abuse are manifold and include “anxiety, depression, nightmares, sleep disturbances and insomnia,” says al-Mamari.
Al-Maamari explains that the child victim is often “lacking a sense of self-confidence and feels that something has been taken away from him.”
Al-Maamari advises Yemeni families to monitor any changes in their children’s behavior, such as “poor social interaction and negative behaviors with the social environment,” which are dangerous signs that may indicate that the child has been sexually abused.
Al-Mamari adds that child victims of sexual abuse may resort to “aggressive behaviors, which is a kind of discharge and an attempt to take revenge on others for not feeling safe.”
Al-Maamari emphasizes the need for the family to give their children “a safe space to express themselves and talk about what they are experiencing. The family may need to seek the help of a psychologist, or anyone qualified to deal with these cases.”
Failure to Protect
Although Yemen’s legal system theoretically protects children from sexual violence, it has been weakened by years of conflict.
Yemen’s penal code stipulates strict penalties for rape and sexual assault, including the death penalty for the most severe cases.
However, as noted in reports by Rasd and the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition, “access to justice remains elusive for child victims in Yemen.”
“The breakdown of the rule of law has created an environment in which perpetrators are protected by their political ties to the warring parties. Whether they are associated with the Houthis, government forces or other militias, perpetrators are often protected by their political allegiance, reinforcing a culture of impunity.”
Al-Shawafi, emphasizes that “the reporting of child sexual abuse crimes is limited, and is not consistent with its serious prevalence, and those who dare to report are often subject to threats and waive the complaint.”
The conservative culture of Yemeni society prevents victims’ families from reporting “out of fear of social stigmatization and the victims’ lack of trust in law enforcement agencies and their treatment of victims as deviants,” Al-Shawafi said.
“Unfortunately, there is a weakness in the role of human rights organizations, especially those concerned with children and their protection, in reporting or following up on these crimes, due to fears of opening these files, which cost these organizations great losses, starting with direct societal targeting, or [because of the actions of] the parties to the conflict [who have] the authorities under their control [and often] disrupt the legal procedures that would provide justice and protection for victims and hold perpetrators accountable,” he said.
Despite the Secrecy the Numbers are Terrifying
There is a lack of access to documented statistics in Yemen on the issue of sexual abuse of children. The number of reported cases of sexual violence against children “is likely just the tip of the iceberg,” according to experts from the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition.
Data from UNICEF and Save the Children indicate that more than 83 percent of Yemeni children live within 50 kilometers of conflict zones, increasing their risk of exposure to violence, including sexual violence. However, many cases go unreported due to cultural stigma and the lack of effective reporting mechanisms.
Governmental and non-governmental organizations working in Yemen face severe limitations in documenting these cases. Many survivors and their families feel “fear of retaliation from perpetrators or shame from the community.” As a result, the true scale of the issue remains invisible, while “children continue to suffer in silence,” state experts at the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition.
Despite the secrecy of the cases and the absence of accurate statistics, a study issued by the Executive Unit for IDP Camp Management in 2023 noted an increase in the risk of sexual harassment in internally displaced person camps.
It indicated that within two percent of camps (16 camps out of 646) located in government areas, IDPs are at risk of sexual harassment. The study also stated that 60 percent of the camps lack protection.
78 percent of the camps need legal support and documentation for children. Moreover, 88 percent of camps (571 camps) lack safe spaces for children and women.
Rasd believes that social constraints prevent the Executive Unit from fully disclosing the truth, reinforcing estimates that a large percentage of sexual harassment cases may be forms of sexual violence against children.
Official statistics from Taiz and Aden governorates for 2023 indicate that 30 cases of sexual violence, including rape, were recorded.
In Aden, sexual violence cases accounted for 28 percent of the total cases recorded by the Criminal Investigation Department. In addition, the Juvenile Court in Aden recorded more than 70 cases of sexual violence against children from 2019 to the end of 2023.
The Aden Network for Child Protection Initiatives documented seven cases of sexual violence against children in 2023, compared to 13 cases in 2022 and 25 cases in 2020. The reason behind the increase in the number of victims in 2020 is the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on support services and awareness programs, according to Rasd’s report.
These statistics, cited in the Rasd report, confirm that sexual violence against children in Yemen has become a tangible reality. Several international and governmental organizations have documented such incidents, including cases of rape committed by the Houthis against detained children.
Breaking the Silence
In light of this grim reality in Yemen, many local and international human rights organizations are working to bring these cases to light and push for accountability. Experts at the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition, which represents 10 Yemeni human rights organizations, state that they have succeeded in bringing the voice of child victims to the international community by presenting cases of abuse, violence, and sexual violence against children in Yemen at international meetings, such as those held by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC).
The reports of Yemeni human rights organizations, including those issued by the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition and Rasd, often emphasize the need for effective action at the international level to protect Yemen’s children. Their reports not only document these atrocities, but also call on the international community, including the United Nations, to establish mechanisms to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and that survivors are provided with the necessary support.
Advocacy efforts also focus on strengthening Yemen’s child protection laws and ensuring that these protections are enforced on the ground. As the international community continues to engage in peace negotiations in Yemen, the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition emphasizes that justice for survivors of child sexual violence must be an integral part of any agreement to the conflict between the two parties, as it is essential to achieving transitional justice.
The case of the child who was sexually assaulted in a Houthi prison in late August “is not an isolated incident, but part of a deeper reality for many Yemeni children,” emphasize the experts at the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition. The violence they are subjected to is not only physical, but also psychological, with long-lasting effects that can shape the future of an entire generation. For real change to occur the cycle of silence and shame must be broken.
