LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "Sexual violence in detention is one of many horrific weapons in the Syrian government's torture arsenal and Syrian security forces regularly use it to humiliate and degrade detainees with complete impunity," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW says.

"The assaults are not limited to detention facilities - government forces and pro-government shabiha militia members have also sexually assaulted women and girls during home raids and residential sweeps."

The highest prevalence of sexual assault in Syria was reported in the Homs province, which has long considered the epicenter of the popular revolt.

One man claimed he had been held in the Political Security branch in Latakia in a cell with over 70 other people. Young boys were reportedly treated worse than adults, brought back to the cell raped and with their fingernails pulled out.

"One boy came into the cell bleeding from behind. He couldn't walk. It was something they just did to the boys. We would cry for them," the man said.

A woman in a separate interview from the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood of Homs said she heard security forces and shabiha militia rape her neighbors while she hid in her apartment in March.

"I could hear one girl fighting with one of (the men)... She pushed him and he shot her in the head," the agency quoted the woman as saying. She said three girls, the youngest aged 12, were then raped.

After the men left, she went next door to discover that "The scene on the inside was unreal. The 12-year-old was lying on the ground, blood to her knees . More than one person had raped the 12-year-old . She was torn the length of a forefinger. I will never go back there. It comes to me. I see it in my dreams and I just cry."

Many of the victims reportedly did not want their families to know about the assault because of fear or shame. In one case, one female rape victim was willing to be interviewed but her husband forbade it.

"Even when they may wish to seek help, Syrian survivors of sexual assault have limited access to medical or psychological treatment and other services," HRW said.

"It is critical that survivors of sexual assault have access to emergency medical services, legal assistance, and social support to address injuries caused by the assault; prevent pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections; and to collect evidence to support prosecution of perpetrators."

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