Advance unedited version CCPR/C/132/D/2615/2015 neighbours. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding profusely from her vagina. The neighbours bathed her and helped her change her clothes. 4 The neighbours informed her that the soldiers had been in the house for about one hour while members of the Armed Police Force waited outside by the door. 2.4 After the attack, the author was in a state of shock and was physically very weak. The following day, on 21 August 2002, her husband and some of her neighbours took her to a medical centre in the nearby town of Jhalari, where she received treatment. 5 For almost one month after the attack, the author stayed in bed and was unable to stand up.6 She suffered from insomnia, migraines and recurrent nightmares and episodes of crying. She experienced physical pain all over her body and in particular in her breasts. 2.5 The author gave birth to a girl in June 2003. Both the author and her husband were convinced that the pregnancy had resulted from the rape. 2.6 The author still suffers from severe physical and psychological consequences of the rape, including pain in her lower abdomen, back and legs. She continues to suffer from insomnia and recurrent nightmares, and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Since the events, she feels scared of everything and needs to be accompanied all the time. The rape also disrupted her personal and family life, as her husband has changed his attitude towards her. Since the events, he often insults her by calling her “the wife of a soldier” and her younger daughter “the daughter of a soldier.” He has also said on various occasions that the author and her younger daughter should both leave the house. The author feels deeply humiliated by these repeated insults, and fears for the future of her younger daughter. The inhabitants of the village where the author lives are aware of what happened to her. While some neighbours are sympathetic and supportive, others have marginalised her and her younger daughter, and have openly stigmatised them for being a victim of rape and a “product of rape,” respectively. 2.7 For numerous reasons, the author did not file a complaint for years following the attack. The very nature of rape made it impossible for her to report the crime to anyone, since doing so would have resulted in potential retaliation and more defamation towards her. Because of the patriarchal social structure in Nepal, it is unthinkable for victims of sexual violence to seek support from the community, since that would inevitably lead to further victimization rather than remedy. Hence, the author felt that her only option was to remain silent and try to forget what had happened, especially since she is a member of an indigenous community where sexual violence is highly stigmatized. Furthermore, during the conflict in Nepal, no one dared to complain about the police or the army, since doing so would result in reprisals. In addition, the author was not aware that it was possible to file a complaint, also known as a first information report. Most of the inhabitants of the village where she lived were illiterate, and no one there could help her to seek justice through legal procedures. The author was also 4 5 6 The author provides statements from two individuals who lived in the vicinity of the author and who corroborates the author’s overall allegations concerning the events of 20 August 2002. The author specifies that the medical centre was located in a rural district of Nepal and was not a proper hospital. Accordingly, the author was not subjected to a thorough examination nor did she receive any written certificate attesting to the harm that she had endured. The author provides a certificate relating to a forensic medical examination that was conducted by a medical doctor, apparently in 2012. According to the certificate, the author recounted the events of the attack and displayed no genital or anal injuries at the time of examination. However, she appeared to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The examiner referred the author to a psychiatrist for evaluation. The examiner also stated that there was no reason not to believe the author’s account of the attack and its consequences. The author provides a statement from her husband dated 17 December 2014, in which the following is stated. On 20 August 2002, while at work at a construction site, the author’s husband learned that members of the security forces, the Armed Police Force, and the police had arrived in the village. When he returned home for a lunch break at around 11 a.m., the author told him what had happened to her. The author’s husband felt bad and helpless, and neighbours helped to take the author to hospital. The author’s husband is not the father of the author’s younger daughter. The author’s husband does not know much about the incident but knows that the individuals in question did wrong to his wife. 3

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