SUZANNE EBOU SAID

Beirut - Sexual violence, particularly rape, remains one of the most underreported forms of gender-based violence in Arab states, where most national legal frameworks limit how rape is defined, prosecuted, and addressed.

Report summary

The report “In Search of Justice: Rape Laws in Arab States” examines legislation on rape and sexual assault across the 22 member states of the Arab League: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

The main objective of the report is to assess the extent to which national legal systems align with international human rights standards, particularly in defining rape as sex without consent—regardless of whether force is used. The report reveals how many national frameworks narrowly define rape, recognizing it only when committed between a man and a woman, while excluding male-male rape, cases involving children, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups.

It also highlights that marital rape is not legally recognized, and provides an overview of how such laws are applied in practice—often to the detriment of survivors. Survivors are burdened with proving rape by reporting promptly and presenting evidence of physical injury, as required by law.

The report concludes with recommendations including reforming definitions to explicitly criminalize marital rape, removing evidentiary requirements that unfairly burden survivors, banning discriminatory practices such as virginity testing and the use of a survivor’s sexual history in court, and strengthening access to justice and support services. These include legal aid, healthcare, shelters, psychosocial support, confidential child-sensitive reporting mechanisms, protection for vulnerable groups, and robust systems of accountability and oversight.

Legal, procedural gaps

Coinciding with the release of the report prepared by Equality Now, our agency spoke with Dr. Dima Dabbous, the organization’s Regional Representative for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), about the findings and the evolving legal landscape surrounding this complex issue.

Dr. Dabbous highlighted significant legal and procedural gaps in how rape is addressed across many Arab states. She said statutory definitions are often narrow and fail to encompass internationally recognized forms of sexual violence — for example, male-on-male rape, assaults involving children, or attacks using objects rather than genital contact. “These gaps in legal definitions are a major obstacle to protecting survivors and holding perpetrators accountable under international standards,” she warned.

She added, “A second major gap exists in the laws even before addressing procedures: the lack of recognition of marital rape. This is a serious problem, as many women experience sexual violence within the home and family, yet are unable to claim their rights or access justice. They remain trapped in their circumstances, unable to break free or seek protection, leaving them effectively imprisoned without any path to justice.”

Dabbous also criticised procedural barriers facing survivors who seek to file complaints. In many jurisdictions, evidence becomes inadmissible if a victim does not report within two or three days — a requirement that ignores the psychological shock many survivors experience. “What are survivors supposed to do? They lock themselves away, they suffer trauma. How can we expect them to rush to the police?” she asked. She also condemned prevailing social attitudes that blame victims — questioning what they were wearing or saying — while leaving perpetrators unchallenged.

Fair justice for sexual violence survivors

Dr. Dima Dabbous also stressed the importance of training programs and presenting research findings to key stakeholders such as police and judges. She called for the presence of female psychologists in police stations to facilitate conversations on such sensitive issues, especially in conservative societies. She criticised the lack of psychological support during forensic examinations, often carried out by men without a psychological companion, underscoring that awareness and training are crucial to ensure survivors remain engaged in legal proceedings. “Impunity only fuels the continuation of these crimes,” she said.

Despite the immense challenges faced by survivors, Dabbous noted signs of hope, pointing to active civil society campaigns pressing for legal reforms. One of the most significant achievements, she said, has been the repeal of laws in several Arab countries that once allowed rapists to escape punishment by marrying their victims — a practice she condemned as ethically and humanly unacceptable. “Forcing survivors to marry their rapists is a lifelong continuation of the assault,” she said, citing Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, and most recently Kuwait as countries that have abolished this provision.

The report, she explained, also highlights the distinct challenges faced by women in times of conflict, where sexual violence occurs at rates up to ten times higher than in peacetime. Women and girls are systematically targeted and used as tools of war to humiliate the enemy, compounding the severity of violations.

“In such contexts, access to justice is almost impossible,” she added, pointing to the collapse of judicial institutions, the lack of evidence-gathering mechanisms, and the absence of complaint procedures. Survivors are thus left with no hope of redress. She urged sustained pressure on governments and the United Nations to establish clear mechanisms and supportive institutions for women after conflicts, enabling them to demand their rights and access justice.

Breaking silence on sexual violence in war

“Our goal with this two-year study is to shed light on an assault that devastates women’s lives, driving them into psychological distress, forcing them out of the workforce, and leaving many unable to rebuild,” said Dr. Dima Dabbous. “This is a huge problem, and we must speak about it — because it is not being spoken about. Addressing this issue is in the interest of society as a whole; we want healthier communities.”

She recalled how systematic rape has been used as a weapon of war in Lebanon’s civil conflict, in Gaza, against Yazidi women in Iraq, in Bosnia, and even in Syria’s Sweida. “To this day, women in these conflicts have not received the justice they deserve,” she said. “The issue of sexual violence in armed conflicts can no longer be avoided — it must be confronted. Through this report, I hope we can begin this conversation, improve our societies, and reduce injustice.”