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CRSV, Palestine

Sexual Violence Under Settler Colonialism: A Feminist Justice Lens

Sexual violence against Palestinians is not merely an unfortunate byproduct of conflict, it is in fact a weapon of settler colonialism. It is systemic, deliberate and intricately tied to the architecture of control and domination that defines Israeli settler colonialism.

A graphic shows a map outline with blood splatters and the text SEXUAL VIOLENCE IS A COLONIAL WEAPON on an orange grid background.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 7 min
The authors of this blog post prefer to remain anonymous
19 June 2025

The genocide in Gaza continues to unfold and the horrifying atrocities committed against Palestinians somehow continues to be normalised. Our blog series seeks to go beyond what we are seeing and analyse the root causes of this conflict. 

On the International Day of Conflict Related Violence we shed a light on sexual violence against Palestinians. 

Sexual violence against Palestinians is not merely an unfortunate byproduct of conflict, it is in fact a weapon of settler colonialism. It is systemic, deliberate and intricately tied to the architecture of control and domination that defines Israeli settler colonialism. Yet discourse rooted in frameworks like “Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)” as articulated in the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, has failed to capture this reality. Conflict is defined with a narrow lens but if viewed with a colonial settler lens, we see this as part of a continuum. Therefore to truly understand and eradicate this violence, we must apply an intersectional feminist lens that centres the pursuit of multiple forms of justice: political, economic, legal, emotional, bodily, technological, epistemic and relational.

1. A Narrow Understanding of Sexual Violence 

International criminal institutions often frame sexual violence through the lens of armed conflict, relying on narrow definitions that erase the structural realities of settler colonialism and also of sexual violence in conflict. For example, reports such as the 2024 OSRSG-SVC mission mention sexual violence only briefly (1), choosing to validate Palestinian testimonies through Israeli institutions – the very institutions accused of inflicting or concealing such harm. This reinforces the illusion of impartiality while deepening the silencing of survivors. Sexual violence against Palestinians is not an unfortunate byproduct of the conflict before us, but it in a weapon and a deliberate strategy of settler colonialism. From a feminist perspective, this reflects a failure of political justice, where systems uphold state power over people’s rights, and legal justice, where survivors are denied redress and recognition. Feminist justice demands we dismantle legal mechanisms that protect colonial legitimacy and instead centre survivor testimony and community-defined forms of truth and accountability.

2. Control Over Bodies: Bodies, Emotions and Relationships

Sexual violence under settler colonialism is not random. It is a strategic tactic of control embedded in the everyday lives of Palestinians. It is used to humiliate, dominate, subjugate and fragment Palestinian individuals and communities. This violence occurs across different sites including  in prisons, at checkpoints, during home invasions and in courtrooms. Survivors report forced nudity, sexualised threats, invasive touching and physical assaults by Israeli military, police and even settlers. Men, women, children and non-normative people are targeted. Female soldiers and guards have also been documented as perpetrators. This reflects an ongoing regime of bodily and reproductive injustice where Palestinian bodies are treated as objects of punishment and control. At the same time, emotional justice is violated as people are denied the ability to feel safe, or free from constant threat and surveillance. Relational justice also suffers, as sexual violence ruptures family bonds and communal trust, and isolates individuals through shame, stigma, or fear of retaliation.

3. Everyday Oppression: The Normalisation of Sexualised Violence

Under settler colonialism, sexual violence is not confined to times of “war” or “emergency”, but is woven into the daily lives of Palestinians. This normalisation is part of what makes it so difficult to detect through traditional legal frameworks. Yet for Palestinians, the threat and experience of sexualised violence is part of navigating everyday spaces. It occurs at checkpoints, during prison visits or court hearings, on the streets, during home raids and demolitions and through digital blackmail. The patterns of sexual violence illustrate how sexualised domination is sustained daily, through state violence, settler aggression and digital coercion. Feminist justice helps name this embeddedness and calls for its dismantling.

4. Structural Violence and Epistemic Silencing: Economic, Technological, and Knowledge Justice

The consequences of sexual violence extend into economic, technological and epistemic realms. Palestinian detainees lose income, survivors face employment discrimination, and families carry the financial burdens of legal fees, travel and trauma care, where available. Technologically, Israel’s surveillance systems enable a regime of digital harassment and coercion. This type of violation uses technology to deepen colonial control through digital blackmail and manipulation. In addition, one major barrier to the documentation of sexual violence against Palestinians is the persistent mistranslation and misinterpretation of local concepts. Survivors often use the Arabic term tankil to describe the abuse they endure, a word that conveys a continuum of violence including physical, psychological, and sexual torture. However, when translated into English, it is often reduced to the generic term “abuse,” stripping it of its specific cultural, emotional and political weight. This linguistic flattening reflects a broader failure to apply an intersectional lens, one that considers the interplay of gender, colonialism, language, and power. Without recognising the meanings embedded in survivors’ own words, dominant frameworks continue to obscure the realities of settler colonial sexual violence and hinder efforts at documentation, advocacy, and accountability.

5. Whitewashing and Pinkwashing: Racial, Environmental and Social Justice

While Palestinian bodies are surveilled, dispossessed and violated under a regime of settler colonial control, Israel cultivates a global image of liberal progress, championing LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability. These narratives are not incidental. They are deliberate strategies of concealment. Through greenwashing, pinkwashing (2) and purplewashing, Israel repackages its colonial violence in the language of human rights and social justice, obscuring the racialised militarism, ecological destruction and systemic sexual oppression that define Palestinian realities. This branding presents Israel as modern and enlightened, while casting Palestinians as backward, patriarchal and incompatible with liberal values. Such tactics reinforce racial and social injustice in addition to discrimination, where global systems reward surface-level inclusion and reform while ignoring structural domination. Feminist justice rejects these narratives and demands accountability that is anti-colonial, intersectional, and rooted in the material conditions of those most impacted.

6. Reframing Accountability: What Feminist Justice Requires

A feminist approach does not isolate sexual violence from its political and structural roots. It insists on accountability that is survivor-centred, historically grounded and community-led. This includes:

  • Recognising sexual violence in Palestine as settler colonial violence, not merely “conflict-related”
  • Supporting Palestinian-led documentation, advocacy and healing processes
  • Shifting from criminal justice models to holistic models that centre lived realities, truths, safety and dignity; and
  • Integrating intersectional understandings of how gender, race, imperialism and power function together.

Feminist justice is not retributive – it is transformative. It seeks to dismantle the systems that produce violence, not just respond to violence after it occurs.

Conclusion: Justice Across All Fronts

Feminism is not a single-issue ideology, it is a pursuit of justice across domains: political, legal, emotional, bodily, technological, environmental, social, racial, and epistemic. When we apply this lens to sexual violence under settler colonialism, we move beyond symbolic outrage toward meaningful transformation. Palestinian survivors deserve more than inclusion in reports. They deserve a world where their pain is not normalised, their dignity is not conditional, and their freedom is not deferred. That world begins by recognising the full spectrum of injustice and insisting, in all forums, that justice must be intersectional, feminist  and anti-colonial.

  • (1) For example, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict made a visit to Israel and the West Bank in January and February 2024, at the invitation of the settler colonial Israeli government. This visit, and the reporting that emerged from it, largely focused on allegations of Hamas sexual violence on October 7. It only briefly mentioned sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians while overwhelmingly missing the broader realities of apartheid and occupation.
  • (2)  Pinkwashing refers to the promotion of LGBTQ+ rights by states such as Israel to present a progressive image while deflecting attention from human rights violations against Palestinians. Purplewashing and greenwashing refer similarly to the instrumental use of feminism and environmentalism, respectively, to obscure oppressive policies.
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The authors of this blog post prefer to remain anonymous

The authors of this blog post prefer to remain anonymous, in fear of Israeli settler colonial violence.

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

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Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

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WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.