on a woman expressing her sexuality] they did not care about our complaint. Although the attack was criminal, they told us to be careful about our movements in the community. Until now, my friend has terrible headaches caused by her injury and she has never received compensation or been able to bring her case to court.” 211212 Sexual rights defenders are particularly likely to be ignored and, according to a participant, never go to the police despite the gender-based violence they face. A participant working in the media explained how vulnerable she feels when she knows that she will get no support from the state “[when I worked as a journalist in a rural area] I felt insecure, embarrassed and lonely”. 213 Another participant highlighted how local government officials repeatedly reject applications to protest against perpetrators of rape. “Although women in Razua asked the township and police three times for permission to protest, they were always rejected and were eventually banned on the basis that such a protest would undermine peace in the town.” 214215 In the case of the woman whose face was slashed in Taunggyi in January 2013, even though the alleged perpetrator was clearly identified as being the subject of her newspaper article - a local male police officer - the court case was repeatedly delayed for unknown reasons from 2013 until it was eventually dropped in 2014. Institutions carry out reprisals against women. Participants pointed to the high risk of serious reprisals that women and civil society organisations face when defending women’s rights on controversial issues such as gender-based violence or sexual assault by the military. One participant pointed to the high number of cases recorded in which activists have sought justice for sexual violence committed by, in particular, the military.216 Another participant described how one local indigenous woman was brutally assaulted in Chin State in June 2014 by a soldier. Her family was offered US$100 and 15 packets of noodles in compensation, but the police refused to allow the victim’s friends to protest against the lack of police action. When they protested anyway, they were all arrested, sentenced to fines and given criminal records. 8-^." (``) '$+/ , &<$H & $+"&=/ 5 'L=$% & 7=% $ M $ ) = "=3 ? % 6 -&>.% 2=% > ) / # B% > ) / 6 .6<" 687>) : % & .B% & $+"&<B% #=?% # $% & #3 : % -/ 5 $ / 5 9 5 / & >3 " &6!<B% S 8$.%$"(/5:%:A>)/2@#5/:%& 'L=$%&7=%$M'#3=% 687>):%&.B%&$>)/<B;%0V%=/5 *A6.><B%S </5P6<"% 45#% 67"%68-"9/56<" '$+/,&<$H&$+"&$)" ="=3?%6-&$B;%9/56<"<@$+"&4A$)-1 'L=$%&7=%$M=/5 4-%#/5& 0V%*A6.>-1<B%S <"&6=":%$+"&<B% $/.%&$<"&$+"&87!%626<"'*1 ="=3?%6-&<@$+"&<B% 8-!%$M=+d&23.%<@$+"& 87!%=5.%L=8*:%& '$+/,&<$H&$+"&=/5 ="=3?%6-&>.%9/56<"<@$+"&<B% '$+/,&<$H&$+"&'"& 6."=%4-%'L=$%&7=%$M=/5 =+d&23.%##%L=<B%\5 693&6(3&<@$+"&= ?A5L=B%L=<B%S '4@&<87:;% 8:/$%&*+$%&!3"9(m8-,$M$+"&#3:% $+"&6<"'"&87:;% '$+/,&<"&$+"&87!%6<" 2A58*A,6>&G.%4$%&$+"&():;% >Q'>">)/$+"&<B% '$+/,&<$H&$+"&=/5 6?"=%+"&$+"&():;%#.%&#@ ARTICLE 19 - Censored gender: Women’s right to freedom of expression and information in Myanmar - Page 79