Syrian refugees' camp in Cappadocia, Turkey. Image: Fabio Sola Penna / Flickr
There are three million registered migrants in Turkey, 90% are from Syria of whom one and a half million are women. Interviews with migrant women reveal that many are exposed to sexual harassment and assault during war, migration and resettlement processes, with the perpetrators including soldiers, border officers and migration officers. Turkish NGO’s have collected women’s testimonies, some of which are translated for this piece, such as this one, given by a 27 year old woman who came to Turkey two years ago with her husband and children:
“The ISIS members used the women as slavery. They came to my neighbours’ door and said ‘Your daughter is beautiful; you must give her to us.’ They cut her husband’s head. My neighbour was forced to give her daughter to them because they are frightened to death. Then she came to us. She had been scared and looked crazy.”
