Story highlights Zainab Hawa Bangura visited refugees who fled Iraq, Syria conflict

Sexual violence is being committed against women strategically, she says

Zainab Hawa Bangura is the United Nations special representative of the secretary general on sexual violence in conflict and serves as the United Nations' spokesperson and political advocate on conflict-related sexual violence. The views expressed are her own.

(CNN) Nothing prepared me for what I saw and heard when I visited refugees from the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

As I traveled to Iraq and Syria, and to neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to meet with refugees and displaced women, I heard firsthand the horrifying stories of how they have been targeted in this conflict.

I was told, for example, how mothers with babies were separated out by members of ISIL (also known as ISIS) because it is the younger women who they want to take. I heard how these younger women are examined to see if they are virgins, and how the younger and prettier they are, the more likely they are to get taken to ISIL's headquarters in Raqqa. And I heard how the rest are taken to open markets, where they will end up being auctioned after being examined like cattle.

I was in the Middle East as the special representative of the secretary general on sexual violence in conflict, and while I had been monitoring the situation since the crisis began, this was the first time I was able to visit those who have been disproportionately affected by the conflict.

Zainab Hawa Bangura

The refugees and displaced women and girls I met told me how sexual violence is being committed strategically, in a systematic manner, and with a high degree of sophistication by most of the parties to the conflicts. Indeed, as I moved from country to country, I came to the terrible conclusion that this is in essence a war on women and girls, a group that finds itself under assault every day, and every step of the way, whether it be in areas of active conflict, those under control of armed actors, or at checkpoints and border crossings.

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