onboard a speedboat labelled “Libyan Coast Guard” attacked 150 migrants on board a rubber boat, in international waters 14 nautical miles out to sea. The men boarded the boat hitting the migrants with sticks. The attack caused one of the air-filled tubes to collapse and the migrants fell into the sea. After the attack, Sea-Watch said they were able to rescue 120 persons and recover four bodies. 26 other migrants are presumed to have died. A spokesperson for the Libyan Navy which oversees the Coast Guard, in Tripoli reportedly denied that the boat was attacked, but admitted an incident with Sea-Watch on 21 October whilst maintaining that the boat was in Libyan waters.58 6.5. Sexual violence Survivors and eyewitnesses have described to UNSMIL staff how migrant women and girls have been raped and otherwise sexually abused during their transit through Libya. Survivors have been threatened with guns and knives, and beaten when they resisted. They described their rapists as extremely violent. Survivors also indicated that abuses, including sexual abuse, by armed men and guards became worse noting that: “once they consume alcohol and drugs. They become unbearable…”. Women and girls reported that smugglers in Sudan and those in their community appear to be aware of the risks of rape and sexual violence in Libya, and some explained that they had been advised to take a three-month contraception injection before departure. Abuses also included sexual exploitation. Migrant women travelling without male relatives in Libya are particularly vulnerable to such abuses, including being forced to work as sex workers. The majority of men interviewed by UNSMIL staff who had been detained in “connection houses”, farms and DCIM detention centers, said that they had seen armed men and guards take women and girls away for periods that varied between a few hours and a few days before bringing them back. The interviewees believed that those girls and women had been raped and otherwise sexually abused. Cultural mediators from UNHCR and international non-governmental organizations in Italy have also reported that boys and men described being subjected to rape and other sexual abuse. They reported that doctors and psycho-social support staff had provided support to migrant men and boys who had been subjected to sexual violence. A 32-year-old woman from the Comoros Islands told UNSMIL staff that she flew to Tripoli in early 2016 with the intention of travelling to Europe. She contacted a smuggler who was referred to her by a friend. She went to Sabrata where she was held for two weeks on a farm with many other women. Three of the women were from the Comoros Islands; the others were from 58 Interview with Navy Spokesperson on Nabaa television at 10 p.m., available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htcXXCWewnw 21