Incident Location (Village, Township and District)

In mid-May 2019, Naw N---, a 17-year-old girl from H--- village, G---village tract, Bu Tho Township was forced by her adoptive mother, Naw P---, to marry Saw B---, a 48-year-old man from L--- village, Bu Tho Township. The girl vigorously refused the marriage at first, so Naw P--- subjected her to numerous forms of torture and abuse. These included beatings, repeated submersion of her head in water and forcing her to eat stale food meant for dogs. As Naw N--- could not take any more suffering and was dependent on her adoptive parents’ support, she eventually had to marry Saw B--- against her will.

After the marriage, Naw N--- could stay in her adoptive mother’s house. She was raped multiple times by her husband. She reported to a KHRG field researcher that he treated her like a prostitute or a sex slave. She eventually fled to her older sister’s and other villager’s houses to escape the sexual violence and put an end to her suffering. However, her adoptive mother ordered her to return home and forced her to marry that man again on June 10th 2019 [in this community, fleeing from one’s husband is considered as an informal divorce]. As Saw B--- raped her again after that, she fled a second time. 

On June 12th 2019, Saw B--- attempted to rape Naw N--- when she was alone at her older sister’s house. He forcibly grabbed and kissed her. Her shirt was torn apart and her sarong also fell off. After several attempts to escape, she managed to grab her sarong back and to run to her adoptive father Saw F---'s old hut covering herself with the sarong. She noticed that some men witnessed the incident, but they did not try to help her.

Naw N--- described the incident: "I came back from fetching firewood and he [Saw B---] was in the house. However, I did not know that he was inside. He grabbed my hands when I opened the door to enter the house. He grabbed me and attempted to rape me. I tried to escape from him but I could not at first. I had to try again and again. My sarong also fell off. Later, I could escape from his attempts. Then, I grabbed my sarong and ran to my father. Now we are waiting for the decision from the village tract head.”

Naw P--- forced Naw N--- to marry Saw B--- a third time on June 16th 2019. However, the girl suffered the same abuses and fled again. The local authorities, such as village leaders and the village tract administrator knew about the girl’s situation, but they did not take any action to protect her. Instead, they even took part in the marriage ceremonies. The girl asked the local authorities to formally divorce on September 16th 2019, but they just gave her three months to reconsider and took no further measures to ensure her protection from Saw B---. She was forced to marry him one last time on September 20th 2019.

Afterwards, Saw B--- associated with three individuals (U[4] M---, U D--- and a hermit) to make the girl fall in love with him by using witchcraft. As Naw N---’s mental health started deteriorating severely as a result of the numerous abuses she faced, the local population thought that changes in her behaviour were caused by witchcraft and started marginalising her. When her adoptive father Saw F--- noticed her behaviour changes, he assumed that she had been victim of witchcraft and investigated the case with the Karen National Police Force (KNPF)[5] in Bu Tho Township.

The KNPF arrested Saw B--- and U M--- on October 31st 2019. After interrogating them, the KNPF came to know about the forced marriage and multiple instances of rape. After further investigation, Naw P--- was arrested on December 12th 2019. Ultimately, Naw P--- was ordered to pay a fine of 2,000,000 kyats [USD 1384.76][6] by the Bu Tho Township Karen National Union[7] Court. She was released on January 31st 2020 after she paid it. It remains unclear what action will be taken against Saw B---.

The victim never reported her case to the police because she was afraid of her adoptive mother and still traumatised by the torture she inflicted upon her. She also lacked knowledge about criminal law and the justice system, and she felt too ashamed to share her feelings with others. Naw N--- is now staying with her neighbour's family without receiving psychological counselling services. She now has a strong adverse response to loud noises or unpleasant information. Therefore, she needs proper psychological support to try and overcome the traumatic events she experienced.