AVIVA-BERLIN.de 10/22/5786 - Beitrag vom 25.05.2026


SILENCED NO MORE. Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity
AVIVA-Redaktion

The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children was established to document and raise international awareness of the war crimes and gender-based violence committed during the October 7 attacks and in captivity. Led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, a 2024 Israel Prize laureate and expert in human rights and international law, the Commission works to …

... give voice to victims while addressing the denial and under-recognition of these crimes.

AVIVA-Berlin presents the following selection of excerpts and key information from "SILENCED NO MORE. Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity", to support making these materials more visible to our readers on AVIVA-Berlin.

Across homes, roads, shelters, the Nova music festival, military bases, and during captivity in Gaza, Hamas and its collaborators used sexual violence as a widespread and systematic tactic. These were not isolated incidents. They followed recurring, organized patterns across multiple locations and phases of the attack, including during abduction, transfer, and prolonged captivity.

This report is the first to systematically assemble, verify, and analyze the evidence on sexual and gender-based violence during the attacks and in captivity, drawing on a uniquely constructed and independently secured war crimes archive.

What emerges is not a collection of isolated incidents, but a coherent and repeated pattern of violence, carried out across multiple locations and phases, from the initial attacks, through abduction and transfer, to prolonged captivity and the deliberate digital circulation of abuse.



For the first time, these crimes can be understood in their full scope, structure, and operational logic and documented in a way that establishes a clear foundation for accountability.

The Civil Commission (previously known as the Dvora Institute for Gender and Sustainability studies) has developed a dedicated war crimes archive to systematically collect, preserve, and analyze evidence. Built by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, legal experts, and trauma specialists, the archive serves as both a memorial and a rigorously documented historical record.
Supported by prominent international figures, including Sheryl Sandberg and Prof. Irwin Cotler, the Commission has helped raise global awareness, foster international partnerships, and advance efforts toward recognition and accountability.

The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children was established to document and raise international awareness of the war crimes and gender-based violence committed during the October 7 attacks and in captivity. Led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, a 2024 Israel Prize laureate and expert in human rights and international law, the Commission works to give voice to victims while addressing the denial and under-recognition of these crimes.
The Commission has developed a dedicated war crimes archive to systematically collect, preserve, and analyze evidence. Built by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, legal experts, and trauma specialists, the archive serves as both a memorial and a rigorously documented historical record.
Supported by prominent international figures, including Sheryl Sandberg and Prof. Irwin Cotler, the Commission has helped raise global awareness, foster international partnerships, and advance efforts toward recognition and accountability.

"When I first learned what happened to women and girls on October 7 and in the months of captivity that followed, I could not understand how so much of the world remained silent. This report refuses that silence. Drawing on more than 430 testimonies, over 1,800 hours of visual analysis, and thirteen documented patterns of violence, it is the most comprehensive evidence assembled to date, and the foundation on which accountability must now be built. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Elkayam-Levy and the Civil Commission for the rigor and moral courage this work required. The victims were never silent — the world was. This report ensures that can never be said again."
Ms. Sheryl Sandberg Founder, Lean In

The Silenced No More website features a full report and selected highlights in both English and Hebrew.
For more information about the report, visit the website: www.civilc.org

To support the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children go to: www.civilc.org/donate

Copyright / Credits:
Key visual: Ira Ginzburg
Text source: The Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children


More on this topic

The Dinah Project report, A Quest for Justice October 7 and Beyond by Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Nava Ben-Or, Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas, June 2025, Jerusalem.
thedinahproject.org

"Sexual Crimes in the October 7 War. Silent Cry", Special Report of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel": www.humanrightsvoices.org

"The October 7th Geo-visualization Project. Mapping the Women´s Massacre"
One week after the events of October 7th, three Israeli siblings took on a mission to preserve the memories of the victims and promote a deeper understanding of the tragic events by creating an interactive map. AVIVA-Berlin was reaching out to the oct7map team: to support and to make their important work and the victims and survivors of the massacre visible.

Screams Before Silence. A documentary film on the sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
During the October 7 attacks on Israeli towns and at the Nova Music Festival, women and girls were raped, assaulted, and mutilated. Released hostages have revealed that Israeli captives in Gaza have also been sexually assaulted.
Despite the indisputable evidence, these atrocities have received little scrutiny from human rights groups and international organizations. Many leading figures in politics, academia, and media have attempted to minimize or even deny that they occurred. In "Screams Before Silence", a 60-minute, presenter-led documentary film, Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta and founder of LeanIn.org, interviews multiple eyewitnesses, released hostages, first responders, medical and forensic experts, and survivors of the Hamas massacres.
More info: www.screamsbeforesilence.com and www.instagram.com/screamsbeforesilence

Read more on the AVIVA Berlin website

The October 7th Geo-visualization Project. Mapping the Women´s Massacre
One week after the events of October 7th, three Israeli siblings took on a mission to preserve the memories of the victims and promote a deeper understanding of the tragic events by creating an interactive map. AVIVA-Berlin was reaching out to the oct7map team: to support and to make their important work and the victims and survivors of the massacre visible.

Sexual Violence on October 7th. Part one: The Elusiveness of Knowledge
T. G. Moraga is an independent performing artist and researcher of Feminist Theory in science and technology studies (STS). She was raised in Jerusalem and has lived in Berlin for the past 12 years. In her article, written 5 months after the 7th of October attack, she deals with the "elusiveness of knowledge". In October 2025 she revisits her text and takes an analytical look back at the situation then and today, and how it has been assessed by feminists and international women´s organizations: in Israel, in Berlin, worldwide.

Literatur und Publikationen zum 7. Oktober. Eine aktuelle Auswahl auf AVIVA-Berlin
Mit den Massakern am 7. Oktober 2023 und den Folgen in Israel und in der jüdischen Community weltweit beschäftigen sich mehrere Publikationen, darunter "7. Oktober. Stimmen aus Israel", herausgegeben von Gisela Dachs, "Deutschland und Israel nach dem 7. Oktober" von Fania Oz-Salzberger. "Israel, 7. Oktober. Protokoll eines Anschlags" von Lee Yaron. "Siebter Oktober Dreiundzwanzig", herausgegeben von Vojin Saša Vukadinović. "Judenhass im Kunstbetrieb. Reaktionen nach dem 7. Oktober 2023", herausgegeben von Matthias Naumann.