Victory, violations, and investment: inside Islamic State’s system of slavery

Vale, Gina (2023) Victory, violations, and investment: inside Islamic State’s system of slavery San Francisco. Center for Justice & Accountability 28pp.

Record type: Monograph (Project Report)

Abstract

IS’ genocide of the Yazidis was pre-meditated and ideologically-driven. The group used varied means to attack and fragment the community, culminating in the mass murder, trafficking, and enslavement of thousands of men, women, and children. Media and scholarly attention has predominantly focused on the sexual element of IS’ abuses. While this study maintains focus on the treatment of captive Yazidi women (and their children), it applies a wide-angle lens in order to contextualise and better understand their victimisation within the holistic physical and biological annihilation of the minority community. Yazidi women were targeted as Yazidis, as women, and some as mothers. The diversity of the victims is mirrored in the varied violences of the perpetrators, accessories, and supporters of the genocide. As a complement and counterpoint to the group’s official documentation, the testimonies of survivors provide an ‘inside view’ of IS enslavement. Importantly, they expose the inconsistencies of, and deviations from, the group’s regulations, demarcating official policy from the unofficial or even illicit practices of individual group members. The data and accompanying analysis of this report maps the evolution of IS’ genocide in support of efforts to prosecute IS-affiliated persons for crimes that go beyond group membership.

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