Fwd: JUST RELEASED: Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled

[chairperson לביא שי AIA‎]

לחברות וחברי האיגוד,

שלום רב,

מצ"ב קישורים, תקציר מנהלים לדוח הנציבות האזרחית לפשעי המין שביצע חמאס באופן מאורגן ומתוכנן ב-7 לאוקטובר 2023.

הדוח, ואפילו התקציר קשים לקריאה.

ויחס עם זאת זהו דוח חשוב מאין כמותו, המבוסס על מלאכת איסוף וליקוט מידע, הצלבתו, ניתוח בכלים מחקריים וטכנולוגיים מתקדמים כדי לעמוד מאחורי הקביעות הקשות וההמלצות המשפטיות המוצגות בו.

גם איגוד הארכיונאים משמש ממליץ לדוח זה.

ד"ר לביא שי, יו"ר האיגוד הישראלי לארכיונאות ולמידע

https://www.archives.org.il

---------- Forwarded message ---------
מאת: Cochav Elkayam-Levy <pres...@civilc.org>
‪Date: יום ג׳, 12 במאי 2026 ב-10:55‬
Subject: JUST RELEASED: Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled
To: Merav Israeli-Amarant <c...@civilc.org>
Cc: Danae Marx Callaf <Da...@civilc.org>, Inbal Eshed <in...@civilc.org>

"You hear it, it is right next to you. You hear the screams... and then you hear silence." — Darin Komarov, Nova Survivor

 

Silenced No More

Sexual Terror Unveiled:
The Untold Atrocities of October 7
and Against Hostages in Captivity

 The Civil Commission on the October 7 Crimes Against Women, Children, and Families

Dear Friends and Partners,

The Civil Commission is honored to present to you the most comprehensive report published to date regarding the sexual and gender-based crimes committed on October 7th and during captivity. This report is being shared with you as part of an extensive international effort to ensure recognition of these atrocities and to promote justice for the victims.

To download the full report, see here: full report ; Media kit available here: media kit; The report received prominent international coverage, including front-page features by CNN, Jerusalem Post, Daily Mail, Le Monde, The Times of Israel, leading Israeli media outlets, and other leading global news outlets.

After more than two years of painstaking documentation and independent investigation, the Civil Commission reaches a clear conclusion: Sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread, and integral to the October 7 attack and against hostages in captivity.

This is a deeply meaningful moment for us, and especially for the victims and survivors whose voices and testimonies this report preserves. In many ways, this report is not only a legal and factual document, but also a historical record that carries global importance for victims of sexual violence all over the world, and particularly for those who are still living through the aftermath of these crimes.

The report was prepared in collaboration with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, which is led by Prof. Irwin Cotler, Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, who has been truly a mentor. We worked to ensure that it not only documents the crimes, but also establishes a clear legal and evidentiary foundation for accountability and prosecution.

This report and archive allow us, perhaps for the first time, to step back and grasp the full scope of the sexual violence committed on October 7 and throughout captivity. The report reveals that sexual violence was not incidental, but part of a deliberate strategy that unfolded across multiple locations and successive stages of the attacks and hostage-taking. Its findings expose acts carried out with exceptional cruelty and systematic brutality.

The report reveals 13 recurring patterns of abuse. It documents evidence of prolonged sexual abuse and torture during captivity, and further exposes the deliberate use of digital dissemination as a means of amplifying terror and humiliation, intensifying the suffering of victims and their family members.

In many ways, this report marks a watershed moment. It establishes a substantial evidentiary foundation that shifts the global conversation from questions of whether these crimes occurred to the far more urgent questions of their consequences, accountability, and prevention.

One thing is clear: we cannot begin to prevent atrocities we refuse to see or fully understand. It is our hope that this report will contribute not only to justice for the victims of October 7, but also to a deeper global understanding of conflict-related sexual violence and its devastating impact on victims, families, and societies everywhere.

We intend to present the report’s findings to parliaments, policymakers in the fields of human rights and counter-terrorism, international legal experts, and leading global organizations, and would deeply appreciate your support in helping advance these efforts.

Most importantly, recognition is essential for the victims. We meet survivors, families, and former hostages on a daily basis, and for many of them this report creates a new reality: one in which their pain is acknowledged, their experiences are no longer denied or erased, and their voices enter the historical record. They will be silenced no more.

We would greatly appreciate your support in helping amplify the report and its findings, including by sharing the report with colleagues, experts, and policy makers. 

With gratitude, 

Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Founding Chair of the Commission

Adv. Merav Israeli Amarant, CEO and Co-Founder

The Civil Commission on the October 7 Crimes Against Women, Children and Families 

To support the work of the Commission: https://www.civilc.org/donate

For Press Inquiries, Information and Coordination, please contact: 

• Ms. Inbal Eshed, Director of International Relations: +972 (50) 6203902, In...@civilc.org
• Ms. Danae Marx, Director of International Communications: +972 (52) 4334557, Da...@civilc.org

 

About the Report
Over two years, the Commission analyzed more than 10,000 photographs and video segments of the attack, amounting to over 1,800 hours of visual material, alongside more than 430 testimonies, interviews and meetings with survivors, witnesses, released hostages, experts, and family members. The investigation draws on firsthand accounts, documentation, site visits, and open-source materials, all systematically archived and cross-referenced within the Civil Commission’s October 7 War Crimes Archive.

The report reveals - victims include individuals from 52 different nationalities.

Based on a uniquely constructed war crimes archive and a two-year independent investigation, the report provides the first extensive documentation of sexual and gender-based violence across the full continuum of the attacks, from the initial assault through hostage-taking, transfer, and prolonged captivity, and concludes that the documented acts constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts under international law.

The Commission's War Crimes Archive
At the foundation of the report lies the War Crimes Archive established by the Commission, which is managed according to the strictest international standards.

Because the Commission began its documentation work immediately after the attacks, it preserves material that is no longer publicly available, including original footage, communications, and testimonies that were later removed or lost. By consolidating this early, perishable evidence alongside extensive survivor and witness accounts, including Commission-filmed testimonies, into a single verified record, the report offers an account of events that could not previously be seen in their totality. The Commission’s research team directly reviewed and analyzed this material, including perpetrator-recorded footage, materials, satellite imagery, victims' testimonies, and real-time communications from the attacks.

Partners and Supporters

The valuable support of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), headed by Prof. Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, contributed to this report by providing insights that link the discussed events to the broader global context.

We have been honored to receive the distinguished support of a broad international coalition of leading jurists, human rights advocates, policymakers, and global leaders, including among others:

• Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
• Ms. Sheryl Sandberg, Founder, Lean In, and former COO of Meta.
• Justice Aharon Barak, former President of the Supreme Court of Israel.
• Ambassador Isabelle Rome, French Ambassador-at-large for Human Rights and former Minister for Gender Equality.
• Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff.
• Prof. David Crane, Founding Chief Prosecutor of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone.
• Prof. Yuval Shany, former Chair of the UN Human Rights Committee.
• Prof. Mukesh Kapila, former Special Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• Noëlle Lenoir, former Justice of the Constitutional Council of France and former Minister for Europe.
• Alice Wairimu Nderitu, former Under-Secretary General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
• Prof. Nienke Grossman Professor of Law, Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law, University of Baltimore Law School
• Mr. François Zimeray Former French Ambassador for Human Rights; Founding Partner, Zimeray & Finelle
• Other distinguished endorsers include women leaders, legal experts, human rights advocates, and civil society figures from around the world, including Muslim, Yazidi, and Iranian activists.

Attachments and Links

• Full Report on the Commission Website: https://www.civilc.org/silenced-no-more
• Watch the Report Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7fJuzr4wkU&feature=youtu.be
• The Executive Summary is attached to this email as a file.
• Share our social media campaign: 

 The Civil Commission:

Instagram: @theCC07

X (Twitter): @theCC07

Facebook: @ theCC07

LinkedIn: The Civil Commission

 

Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy

Instagram: @cochavelkayam

X (Twitter): @CochavElkayam

Facebook: @cochav.elkayam

LinkedIn: Cochav Elkayam Levy

 

About the Civil Commission

The Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, a nonprofit, independent organization, was founded to document, research, and raise international awareness of the war crimes and gender-based violence committed against women, children, and families during their brutal attack on Israel on October 7th and in captivity. For more information: https://www.civilc.org/

To support the work of the Commission: https://www.civilc.org/donate

Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy is an expert in international law and human rights, recipient of the 2024 Israel Prize (Israel's highest civilian honor). She is the founder and chair of the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, teaches at Reichman University. After October 7, she represented the Israeli women’s rights protest movement at the United Nations and was among the principal authors of a legal analysis— co-authored by leading feminist scholars—opposing the judicial overhaul. She is also the 2024 recipient of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation’s Medal of Distinction and the Jane Evans “Pursuit of Justice” Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Reform Jewish movement. Elkayam-Levy sits on the Public Council of Women Wage Peace, the Israeli women's peace movement.