Chilling document reveals: Preparing for horrifying scenarios of pregnancies in Hamas captivity

Nine months have passed since twelve women were kidnapped and held captive by Hamas. The horrifying possibility of pregnancy in captivity has resurfaced. A new medical document reviewing the medical literature highlights the anticipated medical, psychological, and social issues that could arise should one of the raped hostages become pregnant.

Published in the latest issue of the “Harefuah” journal by the Israel Medical Association, the article was written by Dr. Lea Shelef from the School of Social Work at Sapir College and psychiatrist Dr. Gil Salzman from Geha Hospital. 

The authors note that in several wars around the world, rape has been systematically used as a method to annihilate populations. For example, ISIS attacks since 2014 during the war in Iraq and Syria, and the mass rapes of women in the wars in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. 

Several studies examining the psychological consequences of rape in women who survived war conditions revealed that they suffer from a range of mental illnesses including anxiety, depression, dissociative disorders, sexual dysfunction, alcohol and drug abuse, and suicide attempts. The risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a rape event is 6.2 times higher, and when women are exposed to other traumatic events like assault, torture, murder, or the rape of others, severe long-term psychiatric disorders accompany  PTSD. A review of the literature indicates that the likelihood of pregnancy resulting from rape in captivity can reach up to 20%.

Ironically, ISIS’s “rape law” prohibits the rape of pregnant women. Therefore, the organization prevents women taken captive and turned into sex slaves from becoming pregnant. However, according to the horrific ideology of the murderous organization emulated by Hamas, impregnating a woman essentially converts her and her children to Islam, and she should be grateful for this throughout her life.

An official ISIS leaflet on captives states that a fighter can rape a woman he enslaves almost under any condition, even if she is a child, but he must ensure she is not pregnant. Some survivors reported receiving birth control pills or morning-after pills in captivity.

How can Israel help hostages who faced sexual violence in captivity?

Despite the difficulty in bearing the idea of pregnancies resulting from rape in captivity, the researchers emphasize the necessity to prepare for every scenario. This involves using all known trauma treatment methods to alleviate suffering and foster resources through tools that recreate a sense of security. 

The method of ending a pregnancy depends on the fetus’s age and the timing of the decision. In the early weeks of pregnancy, it can be terminated using relatively simple methods, medicinal or surgical. In the case of pregnancy beyond the viability threshold of 24 weeks, termination is performed by fetal demise in the womb and emptying the uterus in a stillbirth, which is a traumatic event requiring close mental health support.

In conclusion, experts recommend preparing the treating teams for every scenario, including situations where a woman chooses to continue the pregnancy for religious reasons. 

“It is crucial to respect the victim’s decision without any preconceptions by the medical team. However, the transition from total lack of autonomy in captivity to freedom can be confusing, and the team needs to provide advisory support if the victim struggles to decide. Even in the most severe cases in the literature, proper and sensitive treatment showed improvement in the emotional state of a significant portion of the victims.”

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