No one is mentioning that the UN and NGOs quietly agree - and admit that their own aid workers are often the ones who blackmail women into prostitution to get aid that should be free.
As we've noted, a May report by the UN said, "Insufficient and unreliable aid, distributed under conditions of insecurity that do not allow adequate targeting, expose vulnerable groups to violence, exploitation and abuse, trafficking and forced prostitution, including by aid workers. "
It referred to an April report by the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Network - which is no longer linked on its website, but can be seen here - that says, "Food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, and acute aid dependency are highly engendered matters that further expose women and children to SGBV [sexual and gender-based violence] and VAC [violence against children], including by Aid Workers" and that there is a danger of an "epidemic of SEA [sexual exploitation and abuse] abuses committed by personnel related to humanitarian operations."
But the truth doesn't matter to the Arab world as much as honor. When Al Nami wanted to expose the abuse and protect Gaza women, the Arab world shot the messenger.
Al-Nami says he heard this secondhand from a Muslim Brotherhood member who said that "the situation in Gaza is so dire that women are resorting to prostitution." He named a social media figure who recently visited Gaza as the source of the information. Al Nami's point is to show how desperate the situation is in Gaza, not to impugn Gaza women.
The reaction to Al Nami's video was swift and furious. Thousands of people were upset at him tarring the reputation of upright, moral Gaza women. A typical comment:
The people of Gaza are the memorizers of the Quran, patient in hardship and distress, and the remembrance of the Lord of the Worlds is never absent from their tongues. We see the chaste women of Gaza, in the most difficult moments of helplessness and oppression, with their full veil, cover, and chastity. So you and your ilk, you dogs of Hell and mounts of the Jews, come and slander their honor with your filthy tongues? But it is said that only those whose sperm is suspicious and whose origin and lineage are doubted find it acceptable to talk about people’s honor.A group of 27 doctors who visited Gaza "refuted" his story, saying,
By entering the Gaza Strip during this heinous and ongoing aggression, we witnessed the extent of the noble morals of the people of Gaza, which overwhelmed us from every direction and side. Their men, with their chivalry, courage, and generosity, on the one hand, and their women, with their chastity, dignity, and keenness to ensure that the Gazan woman remains an eternal example [for the world.] We did not imagine that even the most extremist of the Zionist entity would use attacking the chastity and honor of the women of Gaza as a cheap weapon in this battle...pure, honorable and chaste women, and those who are cited as an example of patience, steadfastness, support for resistance and jihad.
Absence of proof is obviously not proof of absence. No one is claiming that desperate Gaza women are walking around half naked and publicly offering themselves to men.
At least two criminal complaints were filed in Kuwait against Al Nami for attacking the dignity of Gaza women.
This mentality, where publicizing the crime it is considered worse than the crime itself, is shared by the NGOs who briefly reported on the story and then covered it up. The PSEA Network report warns of publicizing their own findings:
Safeguarding claims, nonetheless, shows the pick of the iceberg of misconduct of aid workers and poses risk for the communities, aid staff and aid institutions alike.Identified risks are:- Humanitarian aid diverted causing further harm to the community and increasing tensions- Potential retaliation against aid workers (physical harm)- Lost of trust in aid institutions calling for further acts of incivility: deterioration of the operational environment- Media attention to safeguarding incidents which can also have an uncontrolled political manipulation
Everyone cares more about protecting the reputation of Gaza women more than protecting their bodies. NGOs don't want publicity for aid workers committing horrific abuses, and Arabs don't want publicity that they believe would hurt Gaza women's "honor" in the Arab world.
So the abuse continues, and the people who claim to care the most about Palestinians are the ones who are ensuring that nothing is being done.
