VISION Director and University of Bristol professor, Gene Feder, has written an opinion piece, Sexual violence against Palestinians, for the BMJ with colleagues Rubin Minhas, Neve Gordon, Mishal Khan and Nick Maynard.

Conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) occurs across conflict and coercive settings and can be perpetrated by state and non-state actors. Strong accountability for CRSV is required, regardless of who the victims or perpetrators are. Reports across multiple settings show patterns of conflict related sexual violence against Palestinian people. Evidence of CRSV is dispersed across accounts of detention, gendered abuse, humiliation, displacement, and harms to children. The authors bring the evidence together to show why efforts to secure accountability must tackle sexual violence, regardless of setting.

Sexual violence in conflict is a grave violation of human dignity that can inflict profound physical and psychological harm; its consequences can fracture communities and endure across generations. All credible patterns of sexual violence must be subject to accountability, regardless of who the victims or perpetrators are or where the violence occurs.

To download the opinion piece: Sexual violence against Palestinians

To cite: BMJ 2026;395:e101118