This compulsory enlistment has been criticized for entailing various human rights abuses, including prevalent sexual violence against female recruits. In the statehood era, the Eritrean military has become saturated with sexism, gender-based violence, sexual violence, subjugation of women, and abuse of power. During the long struggle, Eritrean women served in all capacities—including the frontline—except for the top leadership ranks. Moreover, enacting a policy that prohibited sexual relations was a clear attempt to work towards preventing sexual violence. The majority of former female conscripts reported that sexual violence occurs in both the Sawa military camp and elsewhere in the ENS after the first six months.

Source: Ethiopian News January 15, 2020 12:00 UTC