By Shyla Gheek / GICJ
The United Nations (UN) has documented an alarming rise in sexual assault and rape by the male combatants from both sides of this war. By December 2024, according to the UN Gender Alert No. 2, women and girls in Sudan are being abducted during raids, subjected to sexual violence, and forced into domestic servitude—conditions that amount to sexual slavery and enslavement. Over 6.9 million women and girls, along with an increasing number of men and boys, are at risk of gender-based violence (GBV) across the country. Between December 2023 and December 2024, there has been a staggering 288% rise in the number of GBV survivors seeking support.
While sexual assault and rape have long been used as weapons against women in Sudan by armed forces, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the situation has exacerbated during the recent weeks. Many of these women experience sexual violence in front of their male family members. These acts of sheer violence are a means to assert dominance throughout the region, by stripping these men of the ability to defend their loved ones. Hence, they will never gain the strength to resist the paramilitary group (RSF) and therefore, their control over Sudan further solidifies.
It is women that we see in displacement sites, across Darfur. It is almost all women and children who are crossing the border into Chad. They travel so far with merely their children on their backs. According to many asylum seekers, most have reported experiencing or witnessing abduction, assault, rape, or other forms of gender-based violence.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) expresses deep concern over the ongoing violence in Sudan, which has disproportionately affected women and children. Despite international humanitarian law and human rights law, the warring parties continue to commit heinous crimes with impunity, showing a blatant disregard for the protection of vulnerable civilians. Women and children are facing unimaginable suffering, with sexual violence, abductions, and forced servitude becoming widespread.
GICJ urgently calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and demands that all parties prioritise the safety and well-being of women and children. These vulnerable groups must be shielded from the brutality of this conflict, and efforts should be made to safeguard civilian infrastructure, cultural heritage, and humanitarian workers who are often the last line of defence for these affected populations.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator based in Port Sudan, emphasised, “There is no time to lose.” The international community must not turn a blind eye to the ongoing crisis in Sudan. The safety of women and children must be prioritised, and immediate, inclusive political negotiations must resume. Supported by a humanitarian ceasefire, these talks are crucial to restoring peace, securing a transition to a civilian government, and ensuring the protection of Sudan’s most vulnerable populations.
Photo: UN.
References:
https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/sudan_gender_alert_2_final.pdf
https://www.unicef.org/sudan/sudan-crisis-childrens-crisis-0
