Why is UN’s Reem Alsalem Covering Up the Global Epidemic of Female Abuse?

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Henry Herrera

Why is UN’s Reem Alsalem Covering Up the Global Epidemic of Female Abuse?

July 11, 2024 – The problem of female-perpetrated sexual abuse has long been recognized, with researchers reporting that half of sexual assaults of men are committed by females (1, 2). Reports issued during just the past week suggest the problem may be getting worse:

Australia: A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence documented how media accounts often downplay the severity and impact of female sexual assault (3).

Netherlands: The Fier center reported that among 381 boys and young men who had been sexually abused, over 50 reported their mother, step-mother, or foster mother had been the perpetrator (4).

United Kingdom: On July 4, teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, was sentenced to six and a half years in jail for the sexual assault of two teenage boys, conceiving a baby with one of them (5).

United States: Within a one-week period, two female teachers in New Jersey were arrested for the aggravated sexual assault of their male students (6).

Despite these reports, Reem Alsalem of the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights has repeatedly hidden the problem of female-perpetrated abuse, including child sexual abuse, physical abuse of children, and intimate partner abuse.

Ignoring numerous government reports and research studies, Alsalem has promoted the falsehood that virtually all abuse is committed by males. This claim ignores the fact that in the United States, over 191,000 children have been abused by their mothers, compared to 125,000 children abused by their fathers (7). Similarly, hundreds of research studies conducted around the world show females commit at least half of all domestic violence (8).

The obfuscation is especially obvious in Alsalem’s report, “Custody, Violence Against Women and Violence against Children.” Her dishonest document drew intense criticism from around the world, including a petition signed by over 5,700 persons (9). One scholarly analysis concluded Alsalem’s report was filled with “misleading statements and blatant misinformation” (10).

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance calls on the U.N. Human Rights Council to launch an investigation into allegations of Reem Alsalem’s dishonesty and severe violations of its Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-Holders (11).

Express your concerns to Ambassador Omar Zniber, President of the U.N. Human Rights Council: hrcpresidency@un.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 147 member organizations from 36 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and sex-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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