Angelina Jolie tells Parliament ISIS uses rape as 'centrepoint of their terror'

• Hollywood star tells peers that sexual violence is an 'effective weapon'
• Warns it is used by the the 'most aggressive terrorist group in the world'
• Called for a 'very, very strong response' to the fanatics in Iraq and Syria
• Appearing at committee alongside former Foreign Secretary William Hague 

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie today told the Houses of Parliament that ISIS is using rape as the 'centrepoint of their terror' as she warned of the destruction caused by sexual violence in conflict zones. 

The actress and human rights activist spoke of the harrowing moment she met girls as young as seven who had been brutally raped in war zones. 

Jolie, who is giving evidence to a Lords committee, said jihadist fanatics in the 'most aggressive terrorist group in the world' were using sex attacks as a 'very effective weapon'.

She said the use of rape by ISIS as a 'policy' was a new horror that the world had not seen before and urged a 'very, very strong response' to the terror group in Iraq and Syria.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie today told the Houses of Parliament of the harrowing moment she met girls as young as seven who had been brutally raped in war zones

The actress and human rights activist was giving evidence before a House of Lords committee

Jolie clamped her hands together as she warned of the destruction caused by sexual violence in conflict zones

As the extraordinary hearing got underway, it emerged that Jolie had given members of the committee copies of her film 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'.

Jolie, who is a long-standing campaigner on the issue, is appearing alongside former Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The pair hosted an 'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' summit in London in June last year which brought together diplomats, officials and non-profit representatives from more than 100 countries to press for the rights of victims of sexual violence — women, men and children alike.

The most aggressive terrorist group in the world today knows what we know, knows that it is a very effective weapon 

Angelina Jolie 

Speaking today, Jolie said she wanted to express her gratitude to the UK for its leadership on the issue.

And she said there was not a country in the world where the use of rape and sexual violence was a major issue.

The global star, who is married to actor Brad Pitt, told peers: 'I think the most important thing to understand is what it’s not. It’s not sexual, it is a violent brutal terrorising weapon.

'And unfortunately it is everywhere, in and out of conflict in every country basically. I can’t think of one where there is not this issue.

'The most aggressive terrorist group in the world today knows what we know, knows that it is a very effective weapon and they are using it as a centrepoint of their terror and their way of destroying communities and families, and attacking and dehumanising.'

She said ISIS in Iraq and Syria dictates the use of rape as 'policy', adding: 'This is what is beyond something we have seen before. This is actually put into their policy. 

'They are saying "we should do this, this is the right way to build a society, so we tell you to rape".'

'We really have to have a very, very strong response at this time to this particular group on this issue.' 

The Hollywood actress expressed her gratitude to the UK for leading on the issue of sexual violence as a weapon

Jolie said the use of rape by ISIS as a 'policy' was a new horror that the world had not seen before and urged a 'very, very strong response' to the terror group in Iraq and Syria

Jolie is appearing alongside former Foreign Secretary William Hague (left) and his former special adviser Baroness Helic (centre)

Last year it emerged that ISIS had made made rape a central part of its religious doctrine - with members told the Koran 'condones and encourages' attacking women if they are not Muslims. 

Rape of women and girls has become a huge part of the culture of ISIS - with warehouses for holding victims, viewing rooms for inspections and a fleet of buses for moving them around. 

In a moving opening statement, she told peers: '‘For over 10 years I had been visiting the field and meeting families and survivors of sexual violence who felt for so long that their voices simply didn’t mater, they weren’t heard and they carried a great shame.

I remember distinctly meeting this little girl who was very young, probably about seven or eight, and she was rocking backwards and forwards staring at the wall, and tears streaming down her face because she had been brutally raped multiple times, you couldn't talk to her, you couldn’t touch her.

'I felt absolutely helpless, I didn’t know what to do for her.'

Jolie told how she felt 'helpless' after meeting a girl of seven or eight who had been brutally raped multiple times 

The actress, who is married to Brad Pitt, branded sexual violence in conflict zones a 'violent brutal terrorising weapon'

It emerged that Jolie gave members of the committee copies of her film 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'.

The Hollywood star, pictured arriving at the Houses of Parliament, said sexual violence was being used as a 'very effective weapon' by terror groups around the world

Jolie went on: 'More recently I met a 13-year-old girl in Iraq who had been kept in a room with many other girls and they were taken out in twos to this very dirty room and dirty couch and raped repeatedly.

'But they told that what was even worse than the physical violence was they then had to stand in rows and watch their friends be sold and to hear men arguing about what they were worth.

'Whether they were $40, $50. What was the price of them, what was their value and how humiliating that was. It made her question what she was worth.'

Jolie said it meant a 'great deal' to her that she had been able to stand alongside Mr Hague when he addressed young girls in Conga about their traumatic experiences and to 'express his opinion that they should have no shame, that it’s not their fault, that the shame should be on the perpetrators and that he would do what he could'.