“They Treated Us in Monstrous Ways”: Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women in the Syrian Conflict, released Wednesday. “Heterosexual men and boys are vulnerable to sexual violence in Syria, but men who are gay or bisexual — or perceived to be — and transgender women are particularly at risk.”HRW interviewed 44 survivors, mostly gay and bi men and trans women, who had fled to Lebanon.
They described horrendous abuse, such as being raped with objects, in addition to other forms of sexual violence and harassment.Yousef, a 28-year-old gay man, was detained by Syrian intelligence agencies, not because he was gay but for other reasons.