Key facts
- Female prisoners in Myanmar face widespread torture, sexual violence, and medical neglect, according to Human Rights Watch.
- The report details abuses including beatings, electric shocks, burns, and prolonged stress positions.
- Over 6,600 women, including 640 children, are among the more than 30,000 political prisoners detained since the 2021 coup.
- Prison authorities reportedly block access to necessary medical care for serious chronic and acute conditions.
- A UN report from 2025 documented similar forms of torture and sexual violence in Myanmar detention facilities.
- At least 74 political prisoners aged 18-35 have died in detention since the coup.
Female prisoners in Myanmar are subjected to widespread torture, sexual violence, and life-threatening medical neglect, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch on Wednesday. The New York-based rights group detailed a prison system where suffering and neglect are deliberate and routine for thousands of detainees.
Since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, Myanmar has been gripped by a protracted civil war. The report stated that over 6,600 women, including 640 children, are among more than 30,000 political prisoners detained since the coup. The report drew on interviews with 17 former female detainees conducted in 2025 and 2026, who described being prosecuted under post-coup laws and counter-terrorism legislation.
Allegations from former detainees include beatings with sticks, chains, metal pipes, and slingshots, as well as electric shocks, cigarette burns, prolonged stress positions, and sexual violence. Prison authorities are also accused of consistently blocking access to necessary medical care for serious chronic and acute conditions, with pregnant women denied such access and some left to give birth in their cells. One former prisoner recounted being put in chains immediately after giving birth.
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts, but they echo a 2025 report by United Nations investigators that documented similar forms of torture and sexual violence. At least 74 political prisoners aged between 18 and 35 have died in detention since the coup, some due to alleged inadequate medical treatment and harsh interrogation, Reuters reported in January.