// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Death threats and isolation - the cost of fighting sexual violence in Iraq
"Your camera is your weapon," says Sarah Jassim, who says the videos she posts help document evidence of harassment
This story contains details of sexual violence which some readers may find upsetting
"Get out of the car!" screams a woman, accusing a driver of exposing himself and making obscene comments as she walked by. She is filming the scene in a busy Baghdad street on her phone, and the camera captures him resisting her attempts to open the door as she confronts him.
The video can be seen, with others like it, on the Instagram page of Iraqi women's rights activist Sarah Jassim. She posts them on behalf of women who complain about sexual abuse and harassment by Iraqi men and boys.
"Your camera is your weapon," she tells the BBC. "It's a way to document evidence in case a woman decides to sue her harasser, or at least it is a means to shame him."
One of the videos she posted led to the arrest of the alleged perpetrator, a policeman accused of harassing schoolgirls, she says.
A video posted by Jassim shows a woman shouting at a man she accuses of exposing himself, then trying to open his car door
Jassim says posting the videos is risky both for herself and for the women concerned. We have spoken to numerous victims of sexual abuse in Iraq who say that society often blames the victim.
"I have received death threats, and I have also been threatened with acid attacks," Jassim says. "I have been accused of inciting public indecency, because I encourage women to speak in a society that expects us to be silent."
She now barely leaves home, for her own safety, and instead spends hours playing with her dog.