Iraq

Like everything in the country, Iraqi women live between the weight of traditions, the power of clans, with law neglecting of their rights and defence. Where many women are still subjected to physical and psychological violence by their families, with the difficulty of getting accurate statistics of what they are exposed to daily due to the fear of “scandal”.

As a drowned seeking refuge in a saviour, women who are exposed to violence escape to civil society organisations to seek help, but they end up with another violence, and a long way of suffering, this time, outside the country. domestic violence to prostitution networks

With the absence of an actual role to protect women, in addition to the control and power of clans, the mechanism of action of official organisations is not as enough for what women are exposed to in Iraq. Where these organisations have secret shelters for abused women. There are six shelters in Baghdad, with other shelters in the Kurdistan region, where cases of violence against women there rise by 62%.

These shelters work to rehabilitate women through several stages, starting with the psychological side, then trying to involving them in educational and cultural courses. In rare cases women can get a new official identification and they are moving to other regions because their stay inside the country poses a threat to their lives by their families. domestic violence to prostitution networks




And with such humanitarian organisations there was a groups that work outside and inside Iraq to “exploit” abused women who are looking for a way to escape.

Many girls with different ages arrived in Turkey through these “fake organisations”, through illegal ways which deceive women by persuading them to provide a safe shelter, or to migrate outside the country with a job opportunity, and as soon as the girl arrives, she raped and forced to in prostitution networks.

After the process of luring women to escape from their families to begin the stage of physical exploitation, and both stages are through trading in the suffering of women.

Noor Karim, one of the victims, asked to speak under a pseudonym, . said sadly, “There is no way back. here my life started, waiting for the dark future.”

Noor said “I born for a very rich and known family in Baghdad, and I was abused daily by my brothers at the pressure of my mother, who was encouraged them to hit me.”

 

There is no way back. here my life started, waiting for the dark future

Noor’s life begins to change when she meets a woman via social media. She says, “She claimed to be the owner of a well-known organisation for the protection of women.”
Not long after talking to this woman, “Noor” resorted to this organisation, and she said,

“As soon as I arrived in Turkey, my passport, along with all my identification papers and the money that I took with me, was withdrawn by one of the gang members,” she noted. “I was offered to work in prostitution networks, with the threat of handing me over to state security or being deported and handed over to my family.” domestic violence to prostitution networks

The “gang” not only exploited Nour’s body sexually but also filmed her in sexual videos and photos for the purpose of blackmailing her family in Iraq. However, during her forced work in “prostitution,” one of the young men was responsible for obtaining a new passport and official papers for her in complete confidentiality. domestic violence to prostitution networks

“Noor” was able to escape and return to Erbil Governorate in northern Iraq, while attempting again to contact one of the official organizations to help her travel to Europe. domestic violence to prostitution networks

Then, “Nour” was able to communicate with an official, non-local organization for the protection of abused women. After verifying her situation and her social and psychological state, several organizations specialized in this matter were contacted, and her safe arrival in one of the European countries was ensured with several women with similar issues and stories, according to what she indicates. The victim said, “Many women were subjected to what I was subjected to,” adding, “Some of them were saved by power.” domestic violence to prostitution networks

In light of the dominance of conservative tribal traditions, resorting to official authorities to resolve family issues becomes very limited compared to the many cases that occur on the ground. domestic violence to prostitution networks

According to the Director of Security in the Community Police, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Jihad, “The police record dozens of cases of domestic violence in Baghdad against women and children, in addition to many cases that have not been reported.” domestic violence to prostitution networks

Regarding the spread of these fake organizations and ways to verify them, a member of the community police said, “The directorate was able to partially control most of these cases in cooperation with the security forces in Kurdistan (Asayish).” domestic violence to prostitution networks

She added, “Strict measures have been imposed on the entry of girls who have not reached the legal age into Erbil.” domestic violence to prostitution networks

For her part, the head of the Al-Amal Association in Baghdad, Hana Adwar, said, “The majority of violent practices against women in Iraq are far from the media, with women refraining from reporting. In addition, there is a scarcity or absence of social research and assistance centers in most Iraqi cities, and the control of clans versus the law,” adding that “people, because of the prevailing culture, do not find any benefit in the intervention of the social researcher.”