Today, the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) released – SORVO: Israel, Zionist Entities, & Palestine. This groundbreaking report exposes how sexual violence and propaganda have shaped public perception, congressional debates, and international policy in Israel and Palestine.
The report, which employs the Systemic Oppression, Reverse Victim, and Offender (SORVO) framework, reveals how Israel fabricates and sensationalizes sexual violence committed by Palestinians, making it appear as though they are committing high rates of sexual violence. Meanwhile, Israel covers up and denies mass sexual violence committed by Israeli soldiers and citizens. This reversal of victim and offender has been repeated in political speeches, media coverage, and policy conversations to build support for genocide, displacement, and mass civilian casualties.
Israel is strategically using propaganda as a foreign policy tool, and it is working. Israel’s unverified claims of mass rape are routinely cited by U.S. leaders when making decisions about funding, arms, and diplomatic support. The report emphasizes that failure to scrutinize these narratives is legitimizing human rights abuses under the guise of protection.
The current use of SORVO against Palestinians mirrors the historic use of SORVO to instigate oppression during Jim Crow, Apartheid, the Holocaust, and against LGBTQ+ people. This was explored in the foundational SORVO report released last year that established the framework for identifying how sexual violence, and accusations thereof, are weaponized to justify oppression. In 2026, the SVPA will release reports on the use of SORVO against immigrants and trans+ people.
In conjunction with the publication of the report, the SVPA hosted a webinar with HEART titled “SORVO and Wartime Rape Propaganda: How Sexual Violence and Systemic Oppression are Weaponized against the Palestinian People.” This impactful event explored these two propaganda frameworks and the ways in which they are employed by Israel to justify the oppression of Palestinians.
Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the SVPA, said, “I am seeing SORVO employed against Palestinians every single day. We cannot allow Israel and the US government to use sexual violence to justify genocide. I encourage educators, activists, journalists, legislators, community leaders, and the general public to engage with this report. Knowing SORVO and calling it out weakens it.”
