Gaddafi Soldiers May Be Using Viagra to Rape Their Opponents

After the high-profile story of Eman al-Obeidy, the Libyan woman who broke into a Tripoli hotel full of foreign journalists, determined to tell the story of her brutal gang rape at the hands of Gaddafi’s soldiers, it’s disturbing but not unsurprising to hear that Gaddafi may be using rape as a systematic weapon against opponents of the regime. According to the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Gaddafi’s forces may also be provided with Viagra, to aid in this horrifying tactic.

According to the BBC, Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that he had “collected evidence suggesting the Libyan leader had decided to punish women by using rape as a weapon in the hope that it would instil fear and curb dissent.”

He also said that some witnesses had confirmed that the Libyan government appeared to be buying containers of a Viagra-like drug to “enhance the possibility [of] rape.”

Needless to say, both of these allegations are incredibly serious. But it’s also difficult to know, Moreno-Ocampo said, how widespread the rapes are.

Last month, Moreno-Ocampo asked the ICC for arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi, accusing them of crimes against humanity.

The UN is deeply concerned with the issue of rape as a weapon of war. In a 2008 resolution, the Security Council declared that “rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide.” Major-General Patrick Cammeart explained that rape works as a weapon by “[destroying communities]…You punish the men, and you punish the women, doing it in front of the men.” He added, “It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict.” Rape is also seen, rightly, as a method of torture.

Rape was famously used as a weapon during the Balkan crises in the 1990s, and continues to be employed in the Congo. But Moreno-Ocampo may have a tough path ahead of him, both in substantiating the instances of rape, which can be hard to prosecute, especially since women and men (perhaps even more so) are often reluctant to come forward. It can also be challenging to figure out how to tackle such a problem, and to provide the appropriate resources for survivors. But it’s encouraging to see that the chief prosecutor for the ICC is aware of this issue, and seems dedicated to finding out exactly what is happening to people who may be suffering from sexual violence in Libya.

Photo from B.R.Q.'s Flickr photostream.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Joy J.

6:16AM PDT on Aug 24, 2011

Rape will lead to killing. It needs to stop.

send a green star

Diana S.

4:15PM PDT on Jun 28, 2011

Rape is always a weapon. This is awful.

Lysander S.

5:13PM PDT on Jun 16, 2011

This Gaddafi/Viagra nonsense is nothing but propaganda and information warfare directed against the American people to get them to go for ANOTHER illegal war. It also shows that the ICC is a tool of Western powers.

Notice the rebels are in the part of the country that contains all the oil.

NATO Making Libya a Failed State.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/707/207/NATO_Making_Libya_a_Failed_State.html

Faith P.

10:03AM PDT on Jun 15, 2011

apparently people have successfully forgotten about how rape was and is being used as a weapon in Darfur too, we're focusing on only one place where this is happening, we really need to help more people than just these, but at least if we figure out a good way to help these people, it shouldn't be too hard to implement the same tactics elsewhere

3:18AM PDT on Jun 14, 2011

Gaddafi Bitch-Slaps Arab Leaders

http://members.beforeitsnews.com/story/713/499/Gaddafi_Bitch-Slaps_Arab_Leaders.html

Parvez Z.

4:08AM PDT on Jun 13, 2011

NATO forces is supplying arms and money to rebels to over through a legitimate Govt in Libya then they must be supplying Viagra to rebels to Rape women so it can be used as propaganda against Gadhafi soldiers NATO forces and their agents can go to any extent

Salome W.

1:04AM PDT on Jun 13, 2011

Rape has always been a weapon of war - but this systematic clearcutting of women's (and men's) rights to possess their own bodies, Viagra or no, cuts right through a clear pulse of civilization in the Arab emirates.

Women have far lagged behind the west when it comes to their lawful right to say no, and have it backed up by the law.

But the uprising in the Middle East, Egypt, etc., have been accompanied by a loosening of the strict rules of the fundamentalist Islamic society.

So Ghaddafi throws his energy straight at women, the women who are just getting a taste of freedom. Perhaps he thinks that this will terrify and turn upside down the fight for freedom.

Thus far, I have not heard of honor killings. I certainly HOPE and PRAY that my sisters are accepted back into their families and communities, and the men as well.

To go back to the old, cruel, CRAZY ways of blaming (and killing) the victims, would give Ghaddafi pleasure and would derail the uprising.

May any rapes that have taken place SPUR the uprising, to stop this murderous, MAD, OLD, MAN!

Past Member .

6:24PM PDT on Jun 12, 2011

Men acting badly, I hope they don't get away with a "slap on the wrist" and be held accountable, perhaps they would like to be raped, you know, just to fell what it is like....I wonder, would this end this type of inhuman treatment of another?

Loo S.

10:10AM PDT on Jun 12, 2011

noted

1:22AM PDT on Jun 12, 2011

These rape charges have turned out to be propaganda.

NATO Making Libya a Failed State
http://members.beforeitsnews.com/story/707/207/NATO_Making_Libya_a_Failed_State.html