The 176-page report by Human Rights Watch, “‘They Said We Are Their Slaves,’ Sexual Violence by Armed Groups in the Central African Republic,” documents 305 cases of rape and sexual slavery carried out against 296 women and girls by members of armed groups between early 2013 and mid-2017. The predominantly Muslim Seleka and the largely Christian and animist militia known as “anti-balaka,” two main parties to the conflict, have used sexual violence as revenge for perceived support of those on the other side of the sectarian divide.
