2011 Libyan rape allegations

Allegations arose in 2011 that Viagra and other impotency drugs were being distributed by Gaddafi to sustain the rapes.[3] The charges were denied by Libyan diplomats and described as propaganda.[3] Libyan psychologist Seham Sergiwa reported a wide pattern of rapes by Libyan government soldiers during the 2011 conflict.[4] In June 2011, the International Criminal Court began an investigation into the rape allegations seeking to add the rapes to Gaddafi's list of war crimes charges.[5][6]

United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton, stated that "rape, physical intimidation, sexual harassment, and even so-called 'virginity tests' have taken place in countries throughout the region."[7] Clinton also stated that "It is an affront to all people who are yearning to live in a society free from violence with respect for basic human rights. We urge all governments to conduct immediate, transparent investigations into these allegations, and to hold accountable those found responsible."[8]

Patrick Cockburn expressed concern that misleading reports of rapes by Libyan government forces were used to justify the NATO-led 2011 military intervention in Libya.[1] In June 2011, the UN investigator M. Cherif Bassiouni did not find evidence of mass rapes.[9]

In the 1970s and 1980s there were reports of Muammar Gaddafi making sexual advances toward female reporters and members of his entourage.[10] After the civil war, more serious charges came to light. Annick Cojean, a journalist for Le Monde, wrote in her book, Gaddafi's Harem that Gaddafi had raped, tortured, performed urolagnia, and imprisoned hundreds or thousands of women, usually very young.[11] Seham Sergewa stated that five of Gaddafi's female bodyguards had been raped by him and other senior officials.[12]

After the civil war, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, said there was evidence that Gaddafi told soldiers to rape women who had spoken out against his government.

In 2014, the new Libyan government said that compensation should be paid for the victims of rape during the war.[15]

In 2016 there were reports that African women were being raped by the same Libyan rebels who overthrew Gadhafi. This is part of a larger picture of abuse of black Africans in Libya that is emerging in the wake of the rebel victory, born of allegations that Gadhafi often hired sub-Saharan Africans to fight for him.[16]

In 2019, leaked phone calls by Gaddafi government officials were claimed by The Libya Observer as evidence that Baghdadi Mahmudi, prime minister of Libya from 2006 to 2011, had coordinated systematic rapes.[17]

• Wartime sexual violence
• Human rights violations in the 2011 Libyan Civil War
• Atrocity propaganda

Blundy, David; Lycett, Andrew (1987). Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution. Boston: Little Brown & Co. ISBN 978-0-316-10042-7.

Harris, Lillian Craig (1986). Libya: Qadhafi's Revolution and the Modern State. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-0075-7.