Human Rights in Burma - State-sanctioned Torture and Rape

State-sanctioned Torture and Rape

A 2002 report by The Shan Human Rights Foundation and The Shan Women's Action Network, License to Rape, details 173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) troops in Shan State, mostly between 1996 and 2001. The authors note that the figures are likely to be far lower than the reality. According to the report, "the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State." Furthermore, the report states that "25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months." The Burmese government denied the report's findings, stating that insurgents are responsible for violence in the region.

In a 2003 report "No Safe Place: Burma's Army and the Rape of Ethnic Women", Refugees International further documents the widespread use of rape by Burma’s soldiers to brutalize women from five different ethnic nationalities.

Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International also report frequent torture of prisoners, including political prisoners.