0:00:00.341,0:00:02.457
[This talk contains mature content]

0:00:04.975,0:00:06.589
When I was 14,

0:00:06.613,0:00:10.781
my parents intended to marry me off[br]to a man of their choosing.

0:00:11.433,0:00:12.660
I refused.

0:00:13.171,0:00:17.366
That choice to defy my family[br]shaped everything in my life

0:00:17.390,0:00:20.330
and set me on the path[br]to become who I am today.

0:00:20.978,0:00:24.094
But it was very painful at times[br]and continues to be so.

0:00:24.988,0:00:29.289
My parents were raised in traditional,[br]uneducated Moroccan families

0:00:29.313,0:00:33.564
where a girl's main value[br]is measured by her virginity.

0:00:34.095,0:00:35.851
They emigrated to Belgium,

0:00:35.875,0:00:38.872
and I was born, raised and educated there.

0:00:39.571,0:00:41.913
I did not accept their view of the world.

0:00:42.421,0:00:44.478
When I said no to them,

0:00:44.502,0:00:48.135
I paid for it dearly in terms of[br]physical and emotional abuse.

0:00:48.717,0:00:51.472
But eventually, I escaped from their home

0:00:51.496,0:00:53.578
and became a federal police detective

0:00:53.602,0:00:55.914
who could help protect[br]the rights of others.

0:00:56.493,0:01:00.431
My specialty was investigating[br]cases in counterterrorism,

0:01:00.455,0:01:02.762
child abduction and homicide.

0:01:03.191,0:01:04.506
I loved that work,

0:01:04.530,0:01:06.491
and it was extremely fulfilling.

0:01:07.562,0:01:10.769
With my Muslim background,[br]Arabic language skills

0:01:10.793,0:01:13.320
and an interest[br]in working internationally,

0:01:13.344,0:01:15.695
I decided to seek new challenges.

0:01:16.132,0:01:18.605
After decades of being a police officer,

0:01:18.629,0:01:23.199
I was recruited to become an investigator[br]of sexual and gender-based violence

0:01:23.223,0:01:27.408
as a member of the Justice Rapid Response[br]and UN Women roster.

0:01:28.169,0:01:30.571
Justice Rapid Response is an organization

0:01:30.595,0:01:33.360
for criminal investigations[br]of mass atrocities.

0:01:33.781,0:01:37.208
They run on both public[br]and private funding

0:01:37.232,0:01:41.791
and provide evidence and reports[br]to more than 100 participating countries.

0:01:42.630,0:01:46.472
Many countries in conflict[br]are often unable to provide a just process

0:01:46.496,0:01:49.148
to those who have been[br]victims of mass violence.

0:01:49.554,0:01:50.847
To respond to that,

0:01:50.871,0:01:55.050
Justice Rapid Response was created[br]in partnership with UN Women.

0:01:55.571,0:01:56.724
Together,

0:01:56.748,0:02:01.750
Justice Rapid Response and UN Women[br]recruited, trained and certified

0:02:01.774,0:02:04.331
more than 250 professionals

0:02:04.355,0:02:07.945
with a specific expertise[br]in sexual and gender-based violence,

0:02:07.969,0:02:09.126
like me.

0:02:09.571,0:02:13.088
Our investigations are carried out[br]under international law,

0:02:13.112,0:02:17.424
and our findings eventually become[br]evidence to prosecute war criminals.

0:02:18.122,0:02:21.260
This mechanism provides hope to victims

0:02:21.284,0:02:24.784
that justice and accountability[br]may someday be found

0:02:24.808,0:02:26.802
in the wake of war and conflict.

0:02:28.205,0:02:31.823
Let me tell you about the most[br]challenging work I have ever done.

0:02:32.560,0:02:34.905
This was in Iraq.

0:02:35.492,0:02:40.179
Since the rise of the Islamic State[br]of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS,

0:02:40.203,0:02:43.056
this group has systematically[br]attacked and tortured

0:02:43.080,0:02:46.416
many religious minorities and ethnicities,

0:02:46.440,0:02:48.169
such as the Christians,

0:02:48.193,0:02:53.365
the Shia Turkmen, Shia Muslims,[br]Shia Shabaks and the Yazidis.

0:02:53.788,0:02:57.690
The persecution of the Yazidis[br]has been especially horrific.

0:02:58.102,0:03:01.242
On the 3rd and 15th of August 2014,

0:03:01.266,0:03:06.390
ISIS attacked approximately[br]20 villages and towns in Sinjar, Iraq.

0:03:07.046,0:03:11.668
They executed all the males[br]over the age of 14,

0:03:11.692,0:03:13.719
including the elderly and disabled.

0:03:14.096,0:03:16.737
They divided up the women and girls,

0:03:16.761,0:03:17.965
raped them

0:03:17.989,0:03:20.778
and sold them into sexual[br]and domestic slavery.

0:03:20.802,0:03:21.968
One month later,

0:03:21.992,0:03:26.695
a UN Human Rights Council resolution[br]led to the fact-finding mission on Iraq

0:03:26.719,0:03:30.102
to investigate and document[br]alleged violations and abuses

0:03:30.126,0:03:32.732
committed by ISIS and associated groups.

0:03:33.136,0:03:36.984
I was sent to investigate the atrocities[br]committed against the Yazidis,

0:03:37.008,0:03:39.943
with a focus on sexual[br]and gender-based crimes.

0:03:40.737,0:03:44.500
The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking[br]ethnoreligious community

0:03:44.524,0:03:46.122
based in Northern Iraq.

0:03:46.655,0:03:51.560
Their belief system incorporates[br]aspects of Judaism, Christianity,

0:03:51.584,0:03:54.166
Islam and Zoroastrianism.

0:03:54.669,0:03:55.937
For hundreds of years,

0:03:55.961,0:03:59.305
Muslims and Christians[br]who do not understand their beliefs

0:03:59.329,0:04:02.686
have condemned the Yazidis[br]as devil worshippers.

0:04:03.171,0:04:07.679
ISIS thought of them in this way[br]and vowed to destroy them.

0:04:08.703,0:04:11.761
OK, let's do an experimental thought here.

0:04:12.369,0:04:16.702
I want you to think about[br]your worst sexual experience

0:04:16.726,0:04:18.571
and recall it in detail.

0:04:20.341,0:04:22.976
Now turn to the person to your right

0:04:23.000,0:04:24.842
and describe that experience.

0:04:25.283,0:04:27.954
(Laughter)

0:04:29.520,0:04:31.260
I know it's difficult, eh?

0:04:31.284,0:04:33.191
(Laughter)

0:04:33.215,0:04:35.410
But, of course, I don't[br]expect you to do that.

0:04:35.434,0:04:38.563
You would all be uncomfortable[br]and embarrassed.

0:04:38.587,0:04:42.399
And so imagine an 11-year-old girl[br]in the Middle East

0:04:42.423,0:04:45.187
who was not educated about sexuality,

0:04:45.211,0:04:47.395
who was taken from her comfort zone,

0:04:47.419,0:04:48.632
her family,

0:04:48.656,0:04:52.680
who witnessed the execution[br]of her father and brothers,

0:04:52.704,0:04:54.549
having to describe in detail

0:04:54.573,0:05:00.326
the rape that she faced in a culture[br]where talking about sexuality is taboo.

0:05:00.884,0:05:05.281
Her only way of recovering her honor[br]is to hide the crime,

0:05:05.305,0:05:07.802
believe she was married against her will,

0:05:07.826,0:05:11.980
or deny the events out of shame[br]and fear of being rejected.

0:05:12.004,0:05:14.463
I interviewed a girl[br]who I will call "Ayda."

0:05:14.487,0:05:17.653
She was purchased[br]by an ISIS leader, or emir,

0:05:17.677,0:05:22.118
together with 13 other girls[br]aged between 11 and 18 years old.

0:05:22.142,0:05:25.339
Amongst the group were[br]her three nieces and two cousins.

0:05:25.815,0:05:29.791
The 14 girls were taken[br]to a house full of ISIS fighters.

0:05:29.815,0:05:33.950
An imam was present who made it clear[br]that their religion was wrong,

0:05:33.974,0:05:38.300
and the only good path was to accept Islam[br]and marry a Muslim man.

0:05:39.126,0:05:43.451
The emir wrote the names of the girls[br]on 14 small pieces of paper.

0:05:44.030,0:05:47.668
Two ISIS fighters would pick[br]a piece of paper each.

0:05:48.290,0:05:51.344
They would call out the name[br]written on the paper,

0:05:51.368,0:05:54.872
and those girls were forcibly taken[br]into another room.

0:05:55.739,0:05:58.886
While the emir and the imam[br]heard the two girls screaming

0:05:58.910,0:06:00.782
as they were being raped,

0:06:00.806,0:06:02.382
they began laughing.

0:06:03.118,0:06:04.747
Both were telling the other girls

0:06:04.771,0:06:08.364
that the two girls should enjoy[br]the experience instead of screaming.

0:06:08.996,0:06:12.168
After a while, the girls[br]were brought back into the room.

0:06:12.636,0:06:15.064
They were in shock and were bleeding.

0:06:15.537,0:06:19.207
They confirmed that they had been married[br]and suffered a lot of pain.

0:06:19.960,0:06:23.100
It is important to consider the fact[br]that they had been raised

0:06:23.124,0:06:26.962
to believe in sexual intercourse[br]with one man in their lifetime:

0:06:26.986,0:06:28.189
their husband.

0:06:28.554,0:06:32.247
The only connection that they could make[br]in their shocked state

0:06:32.271,0:06:35.353
is to define their rape as marriage.

0:06:36.694,0:06:39.512
Before the next two girls[br]were taken to be raped,

0:06:39.536,0:06:41.665
Ayda made a terrifying decision.

0:06:42.169,0:06:44.821
As the oldest of the group,[br]she convinced the emir

0:06:44.845,0:06:48.720
to let them use the bathroom in order[br]to wash themselves before marriage.

0:06:49.103,0:06:51.481
Ayda had been told by one of the girls

0:06:51.505,0:06:54.012
that she noticed rat poison[br]in the bathroom.

0:06:54.596,0:06:57.837
The 14 girls decided[br]to end their suffering

0:06:57.861,0:06:59.502
by drinking the poison.

0:07:00.293,0:07:02.559
Before the poison took full effect,

0:07:02.583,0:07:05.161
they were discovered by ISIS[br]and taken to the hospital,

0:07:05.185,0:07:06.549
where they survived.

0:07:07.038,0:07:09.757
ISIS decided to separate the girls

0:07:09.781,0:07:12.010
and sell them individually.

0:07:12.770,0:07:16.679
Ayda was taken to another house[br]and brutally raped

0:07:16.703,0:07:20.179
after she attempted again[br]to kill herself with her headscarf.

0:07:20.607,0:07:23.449
She was beaten and raped every two days.

0:07:23.976,0:07:26.703
After four months in captivity,

0:07:26.727,0:07:28.742
Ayda found the courage to escape.

0:07:29.147,0:07:31.786
She never saw the other 13 girls again.

0:07:32.881,0:07:35.423
I interviewed Ayda multiple times.

0:07:35.447,0:07:38.840
She was willing to speak to me[br]because she had heard from other victims

0:07:38.864,0:07:43.433
that there was a woman from the UN[br]who understood her complicated culture.

0:07:43.457,0:07:44.886
I looked into her eyes

0:07:44.910,0:07:48.123
and listened deeply to the stories[br]of her darkest hours.

0:07:48.735,0:07:52.492
We established a personal connection[br]that continues to this day.

0:07:52.970,0:07:57.671
My upbringing made it easy for me[br]to understand her extreme sense of shame

0:07:57.695,0:07:59.784
and her fear of being rejected.

0:08:00.291,0:08:04.466
These types of investigations are not only[br]about gathering information and evidence,

0:08:04.490,0:08:06.800
but they're also about victim support.

0:08:07.220,0:08:09.472
The bonds I established with the victims

0:08:09.496,0:08:12.922
strengthens their confidence[br]and willingness to seek justice.

0:08:14.128,0:08:15.538
As she considered her escape,

0:08:15.562,0:08:18.068
Ayda, like all Yazidi survivors,

0:08:18.092,0:08:19.456
faced a dilemma:

0:08:20.234,0:08:24.178
Should she continue to suffer[br]the abuse of her captors,

0:08:24.202,0:08:26.994
or would it be better to return home,

0:08:27.018,0:08:30.307
where she would face shame, rejection

0:08:30.331,0:08:33.344
and possibly honor killing?

0:08:34.009,0:08:36.524
I know all too well the pain[br]of being rejected

0:08:36.548,0:08:38.564
by my Moroccan community in Belgium,

0:08:38.588,0:08:42.048
and I did not want this to happen[br]to the Yazidi community.

0:08:42.072,0:08:43.843
So a group of concerned entities,

0:08:43.867,0:08:49.344
including the UN, NGOs, politicians[br]and members of the Yazidi community

0:08:49.368,0:08:51.184
approached a religious leader,

0:08:51.208,0:08:52.379
Baba Sheikh.

0:08:52.403,0:08:53.667
After many meetings,

0:08:53.691,0:08:57.223
he realized that these girls[br]had not disrespected their religion

0:08:57.247,0:08:59.619
by being forcibly converted to Islam

0:08:59.643,0:09:01.608
and married to ISIS fighters.

0:09:01.632,0:09:06.659
Instead, they have been abducted,[br]raped and sexually enslaved.

0:09:07.279,0:09:09.752
I am happy to report[br]that, after our meetings,

0:09:09.776,0:09:11.874
Baba Sheikh announced publicly

0:09:11.898,0:09:14.514
that the survivors should be[br]treated as victims

0:09:14.538,0:09:16.588
and embraced by the community.

0:09:16.971,0:09:19.490
This message was heard[br]throughout the community

0:09:19.514,0:09:23.145
and eventually reached the survivors[br]being held captive by ISIS.

0:09:23.550,0:09:25.544
After his declaration of support,

0:09:25.568,0:09:28.534
the survivors were motivated[br]to escape from ISIS

0:09:28.558,0:09:30.113
as Ayda has done,

0:09:30.137,0:09:33.148
and many young Yazidi women[br]took the bold step

0:09:33.172,0:09:35.397
and returned home to their communities.

0:09:35.979,0:09:38.224
Baba Sheikh's public pronouncement

0:09:38.248,0:09:40.844
saved the lives of many[br]young Yazidi women,

0:09:40.868,0:09:44.072
both in captivity and after their escape.

0:09:44.824,0:09:48.696
Sadly, not all religious leaders[br]agreed to talk with us.

0:09:48.720,0:09:52.200
Some victims had far[br]worse outcomes than the Yazidis.

0:09:52.224,0:09:56.680
For example, only 43[br]of the 500-600 victims

0:09:56.704,0:09:58.723
from the Shia Turkmen community

0:09:58.747,0:10:02.347
were able to return home[br]after escaping ISIS.

0:10:02.371,0:10:04.671
Some of them were advised by their family

0:10:04.695,0:10:06.322
to stay with ISIS

0:10:06.346,0:10:10.692
or commit suicide in order[br]to save the honor of the family.

0:10:10.716,0:10:14.173
Germany established a project[br]to support survivors of ISIS

0:10:14.197,0:10:19.059
by providing psychosocial support[br]and housing for 1,100 women and children,

0:10:19.083,0:10:20.315
including Ayda.

0:10:20.339,0:10:23.087
I visited Ayda several times[br]during my work.

0:10:23.111,0:10:26.364
I am so proud of her[br]and the other victims.

0:10:26.388,0:10:29.119
The progress they have made is remarkable.

0:10:29.586,0:10:32.159
It is really moving to see[br]how many of them,

0:10:32.183,0:10:33.699
despite their struggles,

0:10:33.723,0:10:35.766
have benefited from this program.

0:10:36.208,0:10:39.129
The program includes[br]individual and group counseling,

0:10:39.153,0:10:41.492
art therapy, music therapy,

0:10:41.516,0:10:42.793
sport activities,

0:10:42.817,0:10:44.038
language courses,

0:10:44.062,0:10:46.336
school and other integration efforts.

0:10:46.833,0:10:49.228
What I observed was that[br]removing the victims

0:10:49.252,0:10:52.143
from an area of conflict[br]to a country at peace

0:10:52.167,0:10:55.045
had a positive impact on all of them.

0:10:55.727,0:10:58.418
This project caught[br]the attention of other countries,

0:10:58.442,0:11:00.999
and they were interested[br]to help more Yazidis.

0:11:02.194,0:11:04.994
The Yazidi women and girls[br]still call and text me

0:11:05.018,0:11:07.223
to tell me about their grades at school,

0:11:07.247,0:11:08.971
fun trips they've taken,

0:11:08.995,0:11:11.843
or to inform me about their future dreams,

0:11:11.867,0:11:15.167
like writing a book about[br]what they have faced with ISIS.

0:11:15.191,0:11:16.466
Sometimes they are sad

0:11:16.490,0:11:19.265
and feel the need to talk again[br]about the events.

0:11:19.756,0:11:21.165
I'm not a psychologist,

0:11:21.189,0:11:24.672
and I have faced secondary PTSD[br]from their horrific stories.

0:11:25.085,0:11:27.262
But I keep encouraging them to talk,

0:11:27.286,0:11:28.743
and I keep listening,

0:11:28.767,0:11:31.923
because I do not want them[br]to feel alone in their suffering.

0:11:32.460,0:11:33.839
Through these anecdotes,

0:11:33.863,0:11:36.315
I see a bigger picture emerging.

0:11:36.339,0:11:38.662
These women and girls are healing.

0:11:38.686,0:11:41.625
They are no longer afraid to seek justice.

0:11:42.124,0:11:45.477
Without hope there can be no justice,

0:11:45.501,0:11:48.594
and without justice there can be no hope.

0:11:49.737,0:11:52.736
Every 3rd and 15th of August,[br]it's my remembrance day,

0:11:52.760,0:11:57.267
and I reach out to the Yazidis to let them[br]know that I'm thinking about them.

0:11:57.291,0:11:59.110
They're always happy when I do that.

0:11:59.134,0:12:00.888
It's an emotional day for them.

0:12:01.383,0:12:04.283
This past August, I spoke with Ayda.

0:12:04.307,0:12:06.233
She was so happy to announce

0:12:06.257,0:12:09.452
that one of her nieces[br]who was abducted with her

0:12:09.476,0:12:12.476
was finally released[br]out of ISIS hands in Syria

0:12:12.500,0:12:14.184
and returned to Iraq.

0:12:14.208,0:12:15.621
Can you believe that?

0:12:15.645,0:12:17.209
After four years?

0:12:17.782,0:12:20.843
Today, her biggest wish[br]is for her whole family,

0:12:20.867,0:12:23.021
now located across three continents,

0:12:23.045,0:12:24.518
to be reunited.

0:12:24.542,0:12:25.858
And I hope they will.

0:12:26.747,0:12:29.205
When I think about[br]the survivors I work with,

0:12:29.229,0:12:32.689
I remember the words[br]of an Egyptian doctor, writer

0:12:32.713,0:12:34.399
and human rights activist,

0:12:34.423,0:12:35.941
Nawal El Saadawi.

0:12:36.332,0:12:38.991
In her book, "Woman at Point Zero,"

0:12:39.015,0:12:41.929
she wrote, "Life is very hard,

0:12:41.953,0:12:44.463
and the only people who really live

0:12:44.487,0:12:47.092
are those who are harder[br]than life itself."

0:12:47.820,0:12:51.890
These victims have been[br]through unimaginable pain.

0:12:52.312,0:12:53.629
But with a little help,

0:12:53.653,0:12:55.759
they show how resilient they are.

0:12:56.339,0:13:00.431
Each has their own perspective[br]on what kind of justice she seeks,

0:13:00.455,0:13:01.880
and I believe deeply

0:13:01.904,0:13:04.547
that a credible justice process is key

0:13:04.571,0:13:06.477
to how she reclaims her dignity

0:13:06.501,0:13:08.642
and finds closure with her trauma.

0:13:09.257,0:13:12.738
Justice is not only about[br]punishing the perpetrator.

0:13:12.762,0:13:16.253
It's about victims feeling[br]that crimes committed against them

0:13:16.277,0:13:19.533
have been recorded and recognized[br]by the rule of law.

0:13:20.142,0:13:23.079
For me, it has been[br]the experience of a lifetime

0:13:23.103,0:13:24.845
to work with these survivors.

0:13:25.339,0:13:27.346
Because I share their sorrow,

0:13:27.370,0:13:29.815
their language and their culture,

0:13:29.839,0:13:32.340
we connect on the deepest human level.

0:13:32.838,0:13:36.384
This itself is an act of healing:

0:13:36.408,0:13:39.015
to be heard, to be seen,

0:13:39.039,0:13:42.105
to be given compassion[br]instead of condemnation.

0:13:42.724,0:13:45.634
When we get so close to people in pain,

0:13:45.658,0:13:48.645
it creates pain[br]for the investigators, too.

0:13:49.288,0:13:53.728
My work is challenging,[br]heartbreaking and trauma-inducing.

0:13:54.282,0:13:56.132
But let me tell you why I do it.

0:13:56.709,0:14:00.392
When I meet the survivors[br]of these mass atrocities,

0:14:00.416,0:14:04.194
when I hold their hands[br]and look in their eyes,

0:14:04.218,0:14:07.226
it does not erase my own pain,

0:14:07.250,0:14:09.631
but it does make it almost worthwhile.

0:14:10.038,0:14:12.469
And there's nothing[br]I would rather be doing.

0:14:13.358,0:14:15.869
When I see these brave survivors

0:14:15.893,0:14:19.372
struggling to connect again[br]to their own self-worth,

0:14:19.396,0:14:23.575
to their families, to their place[br]in a society that values them,

0:14:24.552,0:14:27.333
it is an honor to bear witness;

0:14:27.357,0:14:29.943
it is a privilege to seek justice.

0:14:30.704,0:14:32.801
And that is healing, too --

0:14:33.389,0:14:34.849
for all of us.

0:14:35.487,0:14:36.638
Thank you.

0:14:36.662,0:14:42.709
(Applause)