LSE staff pen searing open letter against controversial sexual violence project

Staff at the London School of Economics (LSE) have come out against the instrumentalisation of sexual violence in support of genocide.

The group of highly-regarded experts on the Middle East and gender issues are on a collision course with senior management. Meanwhile, bosses insist an event platforming the controversial Dinah Project will go ahead.

LSE staff speak out

Staff weren’t pulling any punches in their open letter:

LSE senior management has been insisting on the Middle East Centre hosting the event. Centre staff pointed out that the report lacks academic rigor and presents several flawed assertions, and the Centre will now not host or endorse the event

They say the Dinah Project’s claims draws on racist tropes about Arab and Muslim men. And also ignores sexual violence carried out by Israel against Palestinians.

Undoubtedly, the Dinah Project has positioned itself as a champion of alleged sexual violence victims on 7 October. However it’s website says:

While acknowledging the circumstantial nature of this evidence,
the team concluded it indicates deliberate sexual violence, including sexually motivated torture and cruel treatment. The team was also convinced that this violence persists against the remaining hostages.

However, entire LSE academic departments have refused to attend the meeting, scheduled for 16 October:

With the unsubstantiated nature of the claims put forward, the severe methodological shortcomings, and the propagandist tone of the report, the Gender department, the Centre for Women, Peace and Security alongside other scholars of sexual and gender-based violence at LSE have also refused to be involved in this event.

The letter continues:

Overall, multiple parties have expressed concerns with the academic inadequacy of the report, and its instrumentalization of sexual violence to manufacture consent for the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Manufacturing consent for genocide

Electronic Intifada journalist Asa Winstanley was among the first to raise the alarm:

New: Staff at @LSEnews demand cancellation of secret event tomorrow by Israel's Dinah Project.

Open letter says project is "manufacturing an unsubstantiated narrative of sexual violence to justify the Israeli genocidal campaign against Palestinians" https://t.co/XFcLrkffv7

— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) October 15, 2025

He warned LSE that it was being used to launder a factually questionable report:

It seems Dinah Project is using the reputation of @LSEnews to launder its discredited report from July. @AliAbunimah and myself read the report: it contains nothing concrete to substantiate its lurid claims about the fabled campaign of "mass rape" on 7 October 2023.

— Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) October 15, 2025

And, Winstanley is not alone in his criticism.

In February 2024, the allegations carried in a notorious New York Times article were questioned by the Intercept.

Investigative reporters Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim spoke to Democracy Now on the issue in March 2024:

Israeli use of sexual violence

In March, the United Nations (UN) called out Israel’s “systematic” use of sexual violence against Palestinians.

The UN said:

Israel has increasingly employed sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader effort to undermine their right to self-determination and carried out genocidal acts through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities.

Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said:

There is no escape from the conclusion that Israel has employed sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians to terrorise them and perpetuate a system of oppression that undermines their right to self-determination.

At this stage in the Israeli genocide against Palestinians the words “every accusation, a confession” are getting a little tired. But once again we find ourselves having to deploy them.

LSE staff have made their strength of feeling known. And, their expert analysis of the situation makes one thing clear. The claims of sexual violence against Israeli hostages are unsubstantiated, methodologically flawed, and, might we add, politically expedient. However, the sexual abuse and torture of Palestinian hostages has been recorded by independent and verifiable sources. And, it is plainly a central facet of the Zionist attacks on Palestine to use sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Featured image via the Canary