Marie, a 22-year-old Ivorian migrant, faced a horrifying encounter on the outskirts of Sfax, Tunisia. After traveling over 3,000 miles from her home, she was stopped by four Tunisian national guards who sexually assaulted her. Her screams eventually saved her, but she’s one of many women who have endured rape and violence at the hands of Tunisian security forces. These forces, allegedly funded by the European Union, have been accused of widespread abuse against sub-Saharan migrants like Marie.
According to Yasmine, who runs a healthcare organization in Sfax, hundreds of women have suffered violent sexual assaults by these officers over the past 18 months. Marie and others recount similar horrifying experiences, with Tunisian security forces using rape, torture, and robbery as common tactics against vulnerable migrant women.
Many of these assaults occur in makeshift camps like the one near El Amra, where tens of thousands of sub-Saharan migrants live in squalid conditions, unable to access help from humanitarian organizations or even the United Nations. Despite pledges from the EU to respect human rights in Tunisia, allegations suggest that the national guard is colluding with smugglers, robbing, beating, and abandoning migrants, often in desert areas with no food or water.
The EU-Tunisia agreement, which provided £89 million in funding, was designed to reduce migrant flows into Europe. However, testimonies from migrants and human rights groups reveal that Tunisia’s security forces are exploiting and abusing those they are supposed to protect. Moussa, a migrant from Guinea, witnessed mass rape by national guards at a base near the Algerian border after he and other migrants were caught attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
Reports also suggest that the national guard is profiting from the very smuggling operations they’re supposed to stop. Smugglers have described how the guards sell back seized boat motors and other equipment, further entangling them in the human trafficking business.
Despite these disturbing accounts, the EU continues to send financial support to Tunisia, turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in a desperate bid to reduce migration to Europe. The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, recently expressed interest in the EU-Tunisia deal, praising its success in lowering migrant numbers reaching Italy.
However, the brutal truth remains: thousands of migrants are trapped in Tunisia under inhumane conditions, facing violence, rape, and death. Many of them, like Marie, have no choice but to continue their dangerous journeys, hoping for a better life but often finding themselves caught in a vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation.