Content warning: The following content contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault and abuse that some readers may find disturbing.
Around 60% of women abducted during sectarian attacks last year in the western Hama countryside and Homs have not been returned, according to a report published last month by the Syrian Feminist Lobby.
The report, Abduction of Syrian Women: A War on Dignity, argues that violence against women from minority communities, particularly Druze and Alawite women, has been enabled by the collapse of state institutions, weakening the rule of law, and a growing culture of impunity.
In 2025, the Syrian Feminist Lobby documented 82 abduction cases across the Syrian coast, western Hama countryside, and Homs. Some 10% were girls, while 90% were women aged 15 to 40.
At publication, only 40% of abducted women had been released. The organization said many of those freed were subjected to extortion and violence during captivity.
Citing a March report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the lobby said authorities failed to respond effectively to complaints. Police reports were filed but not followed up on, and in some cases, officials discouraged families from pursuing legal action.
Ransom demands were made in a minority of cases but were rarely accompanied by proof of life or location details. In one case, a family paid a ransom, but the woman was not returned.
Families also reported receiving messages telling them to “forget” their missing daughters. Others said they received calls from local and international numbers warning that continued searching would result in the women being returned dead.
In more than one case, husbands were sent divorce papers believed to have been issued under coercion. At least one underage girl was forced into marriage.
Based only on verified cases, 190 women and girls disappeared after the July attacks on the Druze community in Sweida. Some were later located after communications were restored, while others remain missing.
The lobby said many abducted women were released through mediation or exchange deals. In some cases, deaths were confirmed during release processes, though circumstances remain unclear.
The report states that women were used as leverage against local communities for political purposes. “This targeting was preceded by waves of sectarian incitement and hate speech in the media and on social networks. The pattern reflects the intersection of gendered violence with sectarian targeting, in which women's bodies are used to send collective messages beyond the individual victim to her community,” the lobby assessed.
During extrajudicial killings in Sweida, where men were subjected to religiously charged insults before being brutally murdered, the report also documents cases in which women were stripped before being killed, and in some instances their bodies were mutilated or burned. Photographs of bodies were later circulated online. The report also cites the rape of a young girl in front of her mother and the abduction of children as young as 11 months. It says the youngest hostage still in captivity is 15.
The impact of the violence continues to be felt by survivors, who now face severe psychological, social, and economic consequences, the report added. It warns that limited access to witness protection and justice deepens vulnerability. Many women in Homs described confining themselves to the home, fearing being taken in public, while others described withdrawing from education out of fear of further violence.
Drugged, held in the dark, fear used as a weapon
Women who escaped or were released described being drugged, held in dark rooms, and moved between locations. One survivor said masked armed men forced abducted women to wear black niqabs covering their entire bodies before leaving them at the abduction site and threatening them not to speak.
“This threat shows how violence extends beyond detention. Fear is used to enforce silence and maintain control over survivors and their families,” the lobby noted.
Some women reported witnessing money exchanged for transfers, which the lobby says indicates links to human trafficking. Others described hearing multiple dialects and foreign-accented Arabic.
One survivor said she was subjected to sexual violence and held in solitary confinement for a week. She said captors forced her to record a video claiming she had left voluntarily with a lover. A man referred to as “the sheikh” supervised the recording and pressured her into accepting divorce and marriage to her abductor in exchange for release.
“This pattern reflects the use of coercion to produce forced narratives that deny the violation and turn the survivor into an instrument for concealing the crime rather than documenting it,” the report states.
The case, which resembles one referenced in the UN report, also alleges police treated the survivor as a criminal and issued a religious ruling against her before release. The lobby claims her access to legal support was obstructed, and her abductor obtained security information about her, “indicating a link to official agencies.”
In Syria, adultery is a criminal offense, with penalties ranging from three months to two years, depending on jurisdiction. Islamist authorities have also previously executed women accused of extramarital relations.
The report describes strong religious framing in many cases. Abductors reportedly called themselves a “lifeline” while threatening the killing of “infidel Nusayris” (a derogatory term for Alawites). Victims were allegedly forced to convert, marry captors, and adopt religious practices, including the niqab and rituals.
Multiple survivors described being transported through checkpoints where security personnel appeared to interact with abductors familiarly.
Several women also reported seeing abductors in military-style clothing resembling General Security uniforms or armed groups with red headbands, which the report suggests indicates possible involvement of auxiliary forces or affiliated actors.
Lack of concern from officials
The report also cites concerning official responses, including families being told their daughters were “immoral,” had “left voluntarily,” or could not be controlled. The lobby said such statements undermine trust in justice institutions and limit access to remedies.
In one case, a survivor was held for more than five hours without medical or psychological care by General Security, while her father was detained for several hours before seeing her.
Other survivors were forced to give statements inside security facilities in the presence of individuals allegedly linked to their abductors, and threatened with solitary confinement if they refused. Some testimonies were later broadcast publicly.
“I lost trust in people. For many years, I was very enthusiastic. When we went down to demonstrations or gatherings, we felt a sense of belonging to Syrians and to Syria. Today I do not have that feeling. I also feel a loss of trust in the future. What future is waiting for us?” a survivor of the Sweida massacre told the lobby. “I have no trust in politics, and no trust in the world either. They all failed us. Politics looks for interests without thinking about people and what happens to them. The world is also not fair, and all the talk about human rights or global solidarity has no value."
The report says survivors were coached to repeat phrases thanking security agencies and denying abduction, while being prevented from naming perpetrators or describing detention sites. It argues this violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and obstructs investigations.
It also documents incitement in official or semi-official media against investigators and women human rights defenders.
The lobby said authorities largely dismissed the reports. Syria’s Interior Ministry reportedly said 41 of 43 reported abductions of Alawite women were not genuine cases, further weakening trust in judicial institutions.