Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts in English
ejaculated. They would beat her if she refused. In August 2017, shortly before she fled the
country, she “massaged to ejaculation the most important big officer” at Thana Shok police
station. She was also raped at Tankaling camp no. 19.409
184. The Mission documented the rape of a transgender girl, from Pyar Pin Yin village
under Ah Twin Hnget Thay village tract in Buthidaung Township, who was sexually
abused and raped by the police when she was fifteen. She stated that “they removed my
clothing and raped me, they forced me to do bad things.”410
185. Tatmadaw soldiers, police and members of ethnic Rakhine communities also gang
raped, raped and committed other forms of sexual violence against transgender Rohingya
persons as they fled Myanmar during the clearance operations that began on 25 August
2017.411
186. After the “clearance operations” began, a transgender survivor was apprehended and
gang raped by Tatmadaw soldiers wearing a green uniform at Tomburu Tala hills close to
Bangladesh in Maungdaw Township. She was caught by three of these uniformed men as
she tried to cross the hills. They ripped off her clothes, while they held her hands so she
could not move. She told the Mission that she screamed as one soldier was on top of her
“doing bad things” to her private parts. After they let her go, she was covered in blood but,
when she met up with her family, she was too ashamed to tell her parents she had been
gang raped by the military, instead stating she bumped into something as she fled. 412
187. Three days after the “clearance operations” began in 2017, in Ka Nyin Tan near
Maung Ni in Maungdaw Township, a transgender person was gang raped multiple times by
six men. Three wore black uniforms and white and red gloves while the other three were
non-Rohingya in civilian clothes. They tied her hands, made her lie down and raped her
repeatedly, forcefully inserting their penises inside her mouth and anus. The gang rape left
her bleeding from her penis and anus and caused her to faint.413
Conclusions and legal findings
188. For all the cases documented in this section of the report, the Mission concludes on
reasonable grounds that the violence amounted to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.414 Similar to its conclusions above, the Mission also
concludes on reasonable grounds that the sexual violence violated the Government’s
obligation not to defeat the object and purpose of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. 415 The
Mission also concludes that the sexual violence against transgender people, as members of
the Rohingya civilian population in Rakhine State, amounted to the crimes against
humanity of torture, rape, other inhumane acts and persecution as part of the widespread
and systematic attack against the Rohingya civilian population as documented in the
Mission’s 2018 report. Additionally, some cases of sexual violence were sufficiently
connected with the armed conflict between the Tatmadaw and ARSA in relation to the
“clearance operations” that began on 25 August 2017 to warrant an investigation as a war
crime of rape, sexual violence, torture, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal
dignity.416
VIII. Witnessing of sexual violence against Rohingya
189. The Mission received credible information that Rohingya have been traumatised by
their witnessing of rape and other sexual violence committed against wives, daughters,
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411
412
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414
415
416
44
NI-001.
NI-005.
NI-002, NI-003, NI-004, N-005.
NI-005.
NI-003.
NI-001, NI-002, NI-003, NI-004, NI-005.
See para. 30
NI-002, NI-003, NI-004, N-005.
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