Sexual violence against men and boys in general is also carried out through stigma and norms that denigrate same-sex sexual relations. Dustin Lewis, senior researcher at the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, writes: [I]t would be inaccurate to say there is no ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ component to male-male sexual violence. To the contrary, it is in part precisely because of the potential negative effect of imputing a ‘gay’ identity or ‘homosexual’ behavior to the victim that male-male sexual violence can be psychologically and emotionally damaging…. [25] This report is based on interviews Human Rights Watch conducted in Lebanon with 40 gay and bisexual men and transgender women—some of whom were perceived by perpetrators to be gay men—and non-binary individuals, as well as 4 heterosexual men. The survivors all described their experience of sexual violence in Syria. We also conducted interviews with 20 caseworkers and representatives of humanitarian organizations operating in Lebanon. While many of the men and boys and transgender women interviewed have also experienced sexual violence in Lebanon, those incidents lie outside the purview of this report. I]t’s a shame to be LGBT [in Syria]. If you are LGBT you bring shame to the family and you should be killed. The family should wash the shame so that they can have friends again.

Human Rights Watch makes every effort to abide by the best practice standards for ethical research and documentation of sexual violence. The interviews were conducted by a female researcher and a female interpreter, with Arabic to English translation. All interviews were conducted privately. One heterosexual survivor was accompanied by his case worker at his request. As a state party to these international treaties, Syria is bound to fulfill its obligations under the treaties and respect and protect all individuals within its territory and jurisdiction. Apart from these treaties, Syria is also bound by rules of international human rights law as part of customary international law. Although non-state armed groups cannot be a party to international treaties, since they are also part of customary international law they are still obligated to respect fundamental human rights—such as right to life and absolute prohibition against torture—in areas where they exercise control over the state territory. [223] Aside from the fact that no single group is more associated with the term “cat people” than lesbians, this Hays Code-era horror classic is one of the early examples of established markers of “otherness” standing in as shorthand for queerness. Directed by Jacques Tourneur, “Cat People” tells the story of a woman who believes she is descended from a race of people who shape-shift into panthers when sexually aroused or angered. The fear that her repressed identity will be found out, as well as her resistance to committing to a heteronormative marriage, made the queer themes in “Cat People” quite clear in its time. —JDSome survivors Human Rights Watch interviewed served in the Syrian army after the uprising started in 2011. Some interviewees had friends who had served in the army and were, they believed, raped because they were gay, bisexual, or transgender. Some fled the country because they were called to the army for the first time or were called to serve again as a reservist. [114] With satirical aplomb, Cody transformed the iconography of possession into an allegory for how women’s sexuality is demonized in the service of patriarchy. Add to that some explicitly Sapphic overtones and Kusama’s expert direction, and it’s no surprise that “Jennifer’s Body” became a cult hit. Now if we could only relaunch Megan Fox’s career, that would be the final bit of justice served. —JD Repeal Article 520 of the Syrian Penal Code 1949, which criminalizes “any unnatural sexual intercourse.” When committed with criminal intent “serious” violations of international humanitarian law, or violations that “endanger protected persons or objects or if they breach important values,” amount to war crimes. [209] This applies to both international and non-international armed conflict, and to both state and non-state actors. [210]

Jane Schoenbrun’s directorial debut is steeped in the language of Youtube and chat rooms — various real cult online personalities make appearances in the grainy World’s Fair videos — and the wistful music of lo-fi music icon Alex G, but the film’s exploration of the internet digs at something deeper than aesthetic authenticity. Tinged with queer and trans subtext about freeing yourself from physical restrictions, “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” captures the terror of releasing a part of yourself into the online void, and how you never quite know the people who choose to respond. —WC Female sexuality carries the same taboo as a ravenous flesh-eating teenager in this provocative feature debut from French filmmaker Julia Ducournau. “Raw” may start out like any other coming-of-age tale, but as soon as Justine (Garance Marillier) gets her first taste of meat, she’s transformed from good girl to social outcast, rejected by society for her carnal desires. Taking the token gay friend to his rightfully sensual ends, her roommate Adrien luxuriates in his sexuality, bringing boys home and flaunting the pleasures of the flesh that seem so out of reach to the ravenous Justine. The explicit recognition and documentation of CRSV against men and boys as sexual violence is an important step to ensure provision of services tailored to the needs of all survivors of sexual violence. This moves the issue out from being considered only under the more general rubric of “torture,” under which it has previously fallen in reporting and legal analysis. This report aims to shed light on the sexual nature of crimes perpetrated against Syrian men and boys and transgender women.

Ducournau tears down the walls of a genre often identified with male filmmakers. Shrewdly using the art-horror format to upend the traditional teen Bildungsroman, “Raw” makes it impossible to look away — as much as you might want to. —JD In Lebanon, several NGOs, service providers, and humanitarian organizations provide health services to male survivors, including psychosocial support, some medical care and sexual health services. [163] However, survivors who Human Rights Watch interviewed said that existing services are not comprehensive, and staff resources and capacity are too limited to meet the needs of male survivors of sexual violence. Interviewees told Human Rights Watch that survivors of sexual violence face challenges receiving survivor-centered medical and psychological health services in Lebanon. A prolific and successful horror fiction writer who began directing to adapt his work himself, out gay filmmaker Clive Barker is responsible for two of the films on this list, “Nightbreed” and “Hellraiser.” Barker’s directorial debut spawned a wildly successful horror franchise that includes 11 “Hellraiser” movies. Intelligence officers detained Haytham, a 37-year-old heterosexual man, in June 2011 and took him to the Air Force Intelligence Branch in Damascus where they beat him on his genitals. Hayhtam said the officers lit a candle and forced him to crouch over it and that they forced him to watch intelligence officers rape a woman in the detention center. He was kept for 18 days, then released because his arrest was a case of mistaken identity. [141]

That’s both in spite of and because of its embrace of queerness (from the barely-there short-shorted young men with glistening torsos batting around the volleyball to hilariously sharp quips like, “She’s a real carpenter’s dream: flat as a board and needs a screw”) and its entirely problematic relationship to it. Spoiler alert: In the wild climax, it’s revealed that the killer, a dark-haired girl named Angela, is actually a boy named Peter. The final shot shows a deranged-looking Peter holding a knife covered in blood, penis in full view. It turns out that Angela died in a boat accident, and her brother Peter was raised as the dead girl by their aunt.

A case manager working in Bekaa explained: In Bekaa, we have more cases of Syrian heterosexual males who were subject to torture in prison. Although we know that many of [the men] are subject to sexual violence, we hear from women. They say, ‘My husband, my son was exposed to violence.’ Men don’t complain. They feel like it’s shameful. Women don’t give details. Men don’t tell them [the details]. [199] Wes Craven’s provocative sexpolitation film is one of the earliest examples of a rape revenge fantasy, a common trope that has recently undergone a much-needed reinvention and reclamation by women filmmakers. Craven’s controversial directorial debut was a major box-office success, even if critics at the time could not get over the extreme depictions of sexual violence. In a wild performance, Jeramie Rain plays the unhinged and intense woman who helps lure the two young victims to their deaths. The queer themes become quite explicit, however, when the victims are forced to perform sexual acts with each other. —JD

Most of the male survivors encountered the violence while in Syria. They don’t know about NGOs when they come to Lebanon. Once they come to us it is months or even longer after the violence happened, after they fled Syria. So, the cases become much more intense when they come to us. [173] Somehow, though, he contains the psychopathy and performs the kind of stoic macho man the horny, philandering Miriam would like to get it on with: He doesn’t speak, and he adopts a more butch posture, even showing off his strength by hitting the bell with a mallet at the carnival’s strongman game. Miriam is hooked. But it’s not a tryst Bruno has in mind when he finally completes the seduction and gets her alone. It’s a moment that shows, no matter what, you’ll be hot to someone — and how easily performed crude gender roles can be. —CB In his take on the classic vampire tale, Francis Ford Coppola unleashes the sexuality that was always lurking underneath Bram Stoker’s original “Dracula” in sumptuous color and delicious visuals. Some have noted queer themes even in the 1931 original, most notably in Count Dracula’s mistresses. Coppola made these characters much more explicit, embroiling the women in a sensual and pretty overtly Sapphic orgy. —JD Like its genre cousin, science fiction, horror films have long used supernatural terrors as stand-ins for real-life fears. When Jordan Peele used the genre to show white supremacy as the ultimate terror in “Get Out,” he was inspired by years of socio-political readings of his favorite horror films. Even though openly LGBTQ characters in horror were rare until recently, when it comes to queer subtext, the genre is ripe for exploring themes such as possession, body transformation, fear of the other, uncontrollable desire, and hidden identities.Human Rights Watch did not compensate interviewees but did cover transportation costs for interviewees who traveled to meet the researcher. A Note on Gender Identity and Expression