As Sudan’s Darfur region has been overrun by militias, women are facing the constant threat of sexual violence, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported.
The medical charity said in the South Darfur region alone its workers treated 659 sexual violence survivors between January and March this year, more than two-thirds of whom had been raped.
“Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere. They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped,” said Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator, who called on the warring parties to hold their fighters to account.
“These attacks are heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators. This must stop. Sexual violence is not a natural or inevitable consequence of war, it can constitute a war crime, a form of torture, and a crime against humanity.”
Several women who gave testimonies to MSF described raids where fighters killed all the boys and men in a place before raping women and girls.
A 27-year-old nurse said she was raped last year by fighters who accused her of treating Sudanese army soldiers.
“I want protection now; I don’t want to be raped again … I was too afraid to go to the hospital. My family told me, “Don’t tell anybody”. I don’t have any more pain. But I have nightmares about it,” she said.
MSF said that 56% of the sexual violence they documented was perpetrated by non-civilians.
Women and girls having to walk long distances to gather food and water put them in particular danger, the report said. A third of women and girls were attacked while travelling to or working in fields.
Since April 2023, Darfur has witnessed a surge in human rights abuses as it has been taken over by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and allied militias as they fight for control against the government’s Sudanese armed forces.
The fighting has recently been concentrated around the city of El Fasher, where conditions have deteriorated rapidly for civilians. The RSF’s seizure of the nearby Zamzam displacement camp led to further reports of increased sexual violence.
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (Siha), a coalition of women’s rights groups, said it has verified 14 cases of rape but had received reports of many more, during the Zamzam attack and in the weeks since, as well as dozens of reports of women disappearing or being abducted by RSF fighters.
“Sexual violence has become an everyday reality for women and girls in Darfur, along with the rise in sexually transmitted diseases,” said Siha’s head, Hala al-Karib, who said the international community had abandoned women in Darfur.
Karib said the violence had been escalating since before the current conflict because of the withdrawa of a UN and African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur that had provided some protection to local communities.
“The peacekeeping mission primarily contributed to the safety and security of women by patrolling roads and enabling them to access their farmlands, while also securing displaced camps,” said Karib.
“The level of neglect toward women in Darfur is staggering. This region is experiencing active genocidal acts, horrific war crimes, and famine due to a siege on livelihoods by all actors. There is no dedicated support for women survivors … this crisis is unfolding amid complete silence and utter neglect from international actors.”
