Women in Gaza sold in exchange for food, forced to marry rapists: UN report

Women and girls in Gaza are being subjected to forced and child marriages in exchange for flour and rape survivors being pushed into marriages with their alleged perpetrators amid hunger, displacement and the collapse of social protections, according to a UN report describing increasing gender violence in the war-torn region.

According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), reported cases of early and forced marriage surged 123 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, with the agency warning of a "severe escalation" in the practice.

"Across the Gaza strip, women and girls are experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of violence, compounded by extreme survival conditions. The uptick includes a 123 per cent increase in reported forced and child marriage between January and June of 2026, as families struggle to survive amid severe hunger, poverty, lack of income and school closures," the UN agency said in its report.

The findings are based on data collected by 10 organisations as well as testimonies from 230 women living in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis.

One woman interviewed for the UNFPA report said that during last year's famine, a man married off his 14-year-old daughter in exchange for two bags of flour, allowing him to feed himself and his other children.

"During the famine, a man married off his 14-year-old daughter in exchange for two bags of flour so he and his other children could eat," a woman in Khan Younis was quoted as saying.

The report said six women interviewed across different displacement camps described similar exchanges, practices they said would have been unthinkable before the war.

One woman interviewed in a school-turned-shelter said rape victims were sometimes married to their alleged rapists to prevent social stigma and scandal.

"When rape cases are discovered in schools, you find weddings and celebrations at the school the next day," she said.

Girls who have lost their parents during the war are among those facing heightened risks.

One woman interviewed in a Gaza City camp said two girls from her family, aged 14 and 15, were married off by their uncles after their parents were killed.

"Their uncles married them off very young. Do you know why? Because their father and mother were martyred and their uncles wanted to get rid of the responsibility and expenses," she said.

"By God, they don't understand what marriage or life is."

UNFPA said the increase in early and forced marriage must be viewed against the broader collapse of living conditions in Gaza, where mass displacement, food insecurity, poverty and the destruction of public infrastructure have weakened traditional systems of protection.

Nestor Owomuhangi, UNFPA's representative to Palestine, described the trends as "shocking", saying years of conflict and displacement had severely weakened social structures. "Everything is eroded... there is no system," he said.

The UN agency said early or child marriage involved girls aged 12 to 17 in its analysis.

Before the war, child marriage was already more prevalent in Gaza than in the occupied West Bank, but the practice had been declining. The conflict has reversed some of those gains, with families facing extreme pressure to provide food, shelter and security for children.SEXUAL VIOLENCE REMAINS UNDER-REPORTED

The UNFPA-led analysis also found an increase in reported sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault.

Such incidents accounted for 2.7 per cent of reported gender-based violence cases between April and June 2026, up from 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter. The absolute number of reported sexual-violence cases increased by 61 per cent.

The UNFPA stressed that these figures do not represent the full scale of sexual violence in Gaza because such crimes remain severely under-reported due to stigma, fear of retaliation and difficulties accessing confidential reporting and support services.

Women aged 18 to 59 constituted the majority of identified survivors, followed by adolescent girls and adult men.- EndsPublished By: Ajmal Published On: Sep 24, 2026 14:52 IST