The UN confirms that the honor/shame culture causes Gaza men to rape women and abandon their hungry families ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

The UN confirms that the honor/shame culture causes Gaza men to rape women and abandon their hungry families

We've discussed the honor/shame culture prevalent in the Middle East many times. In short, it can be described as a world where appearances are more important than facts and avoiding shame is more important than life itself - hence, "honor killings" where murder if preferable to being shamed.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) issues regular reports on gender-based violence, and their October report on gender-based violence (GBV) Gaza has the honor/shame culture as a theme throughout, without quite saying it. And that culture results in Gaza men acting in horrific ways.

Domestic, Emotional, and Psychological Violence
Families under extreme pressure are increasingly resorting to violence. Physical violence recorded the steepest increase in August, becoming the most reported form of GBV in Gaza City, with a rise of nearly 30 percent compared to July. Emotional and psychological violence also rose sharply (approximately 25 percent) underscoring the strain that displacement and grief have placed on family relationships.

Survivors reported escalating verbal abuse, intimidation, and coercive control within households. The sense of hopelessness and inability to provide for families is compounding these dynamics, as captured by one case manager:

“There are many men that can’t face their wives or their children. They cannot see them suffering without food. So they leave them all day, leaving their wife to deal with everything. To look after children, to find food. The men are ashamed of what has happened to them, and to their families.”
– GBV Case Manager, Gaza City

The UNFPA doesn't have anything negative to say about these men abandoning their families, refusing to help them find food, and even attacking their wives and children. It is a cultural thing! You can't blame them - it hurts them to see their families suffer so they have no choice but to run away to smoke with their buddies at cafes while their wives are left to fend for themselves! Don't judge!

Or maybe some of them are finding "honorable" ways to make money and feel like real men

Sexual Violence
Reported cases of sexual assault also increased in August compared to July, making sexual violence one of the most prevalent forms of GBV after physical and psychological violence. The rise reflects the growing risks faced by women and girls amid displacement, the absence of adequate shelters, and environments where privacy and safety are severely compromised.

With protective structures weakened, women and girls are increasingly exposed to harassment and assault in public spaces.

“Women and girls who are trying to flee Gaza City are being targeted by transport providers. If they don’t have cash, some drivers demand sexual favors in exchange for taking them south. Many survivors tell us they feel they have no choice, without transport, they remain trapped under bombardment.” – GBV Case Manager, Gaza City

“There are men that are looking to take advantage of women. They see them in the streets looking for transport, for food, for water. They promise them all of these things, and convince her to go with him. Sometimes he doesn›t even give her what he promised, other times he gives just a small amount of money.” – GBV Case Manager, Gaza City

The UN excuses the very culture that supports attacking women in the name of avoiding shame. It contextualizes violence and sexual assault as a cultural thing that cannot be avoided.

An April report on GBV also implies that Hamas and other armed groups are raping as well, calling them a "risk factor:"

Presence of Armed Actors: Conflict Related Sexual Violence including rape, sexual harassment and sexual abuse including acts of humiliation, targeting both women and men.

And we've discussed how aid workers themselves engage in sexual abuse and blackmail.

Of course, the media ignores these UN reports - or they cherry pick it to make it sound like Israel is to blame for Palestinian men to attack their wives and children, a common theme in NGO reports.

Palestinians themselves are never held to any moral standards. Their acting like animals is expected and excused - by the very groups who pretend to be fighting for them.