Rohingya Women Face Rising Sexual Violence Under Arakan Army in Rakhine

A new BROUK report alleges a disturbing pattern of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls under Arakan Army control in northern Rakhine State, including rape, gang rape, torture, and detention during displacement and military operations.

Photo Source: Collected

Sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls is reportedly intensifying in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where they face rape, gang rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and coercion under the Arakan Army (AA), according to a new report released Thursday.

The findings, published by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), describe what it calls a consistent pattern of abuse targeting Rohingya women and girls in northern Rakhine State. The area has seen expanding Arakan Army territorial control since 2023, alongside escalating conflict and mass displacement.

BROUK alleges that sexual violence is being used as a method of intimidation and control during recruitment raids, detention operations, and periods of incommunicado confinement. The report argues that these abuses are occurring against a community already under severe protection risks and movement restrictions.

Most documented incidents originate from northern Rakhine State, where Rohingya populations reportedly face forced recruitment pressure, arbitrary detention, and restricted mobility under armed control.

In one case cited in the report, a 22-year-old Rohingya woman was allegedly gang-raped by seven Arakan Army members while fleeing violence with her husband. Her husband was later killed. In another case, a young woman separated from her family during escape was later found after being raped by multiple fighters, according to the report.

“These attacks took place as Rohingya communities were scattered, displaced and left without protection during flight from violence,” BROUK stated.

The situation unfolds amid worsening displacement trends. According to the report, more than 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late 2023, adding to nearly one million already living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. It also notes that nearly 900 Rohingya are believed to have died or gone missing at sea in 2025, marking what is described as the deadliest year on record for maritime crossings.

The UN refugee agency has previously described the Andaman Sea as an “unmarked grave” for Rohingya refugees, reflecting the scale of deadly migration routes.

BROUK President Tun Khin said the international community has repeatedly failed to dismantle the structures enabling atrocities against the Rohingya.

“Today, those same structures are being reproduced under new authorities. This should deeply alarm the international community,” he said.

The report also states the current violence within decades of persecution against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority community in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The community has long faced systemic discrimination, including statelessness under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law.

Major waves of displacement include Operation Nagamin in 1978, the 1991–1992 exodus, and the mass forced displacement in 2017, when a military crackdown drove more than 750,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. Entire villages were burned and widespread killings were documented, with international observers later describing the campaign as bearing hallmarks of genocide.

BROUK has called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action, citing alleged violations of International Court of Justice provisional measures and ongoing abuses in Rakhine State. It also urged expanded humanitarian access and increased funding for Rohingya populations both inside Myanmar and in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

According to TRT World, nearly nine years after the 2017 crisis, accountability remains limited while Rohingya communities continue to face statelessness, restrictions, and insecurity under multiple authorities in a fractured conflict landscape.

Myanmar’s civil war, intensified after the 2021 military coup, has created overlapping zones of control between the military junta, ethnic armed groups, and pro-democracy forces, further complicating civilian protection and humanitarian access across Rakhine State.